How to Use A Roundabout

thethedev

How the feck does left make sense? The first exit has two lanes going into it, if your in the left lane you're going to collide with people in the right hand lane going left, because theres two fecking lanes.

Its the right hand lane unless the road markings say otherwise.
If in doubt get into the right hand lane and go around again

Slightly OT here but I was always thought that the first car on the roundabout had right of way no matter what lane they were in ????
I'm not sure on this so I only give way, never take it :O

jimmyw wrote: »

Thats you then, surrender it right now;)





Thats how the irish would do it


Would the people who say left explain how do they work out the left lane.Second lane is mostly for the third exit or right turn.Right lane it is.Who is the numpty that put a roundabout there anyway:(.They could not even put markings on it:mad:

corktina

this poll from drivers with an interest in cars just goes to show how bad Irish drivers are....however you look at it, around 50% of drivers are wrong here!

Voodoomelon

I just looked at the results, laughed out loud!

Right lane for me, its past 12 o clock and thats my reasoning. Number of exits means nothing if they're all on the far side of 12.

Shane732

It's amazing to see the results all right.

It does explain why we have so many Skoda drivers in Ireland using the wrong lane though approaching a roundabout!!

rex-x

this is interesting alright, half of Ireland and the uk cannot use a roundabout and the people in charge of road safety are unsure abut the answer :eek:

Inbox

So from the poll we can interpret that more than half the countries drivers are idiots and shouldn't have a licence.

Voodoomelon

phill106 wrote: »

Omg, I hate you people who get it wrong!
Left lane!

http://vimeo.com/8553732

Ki ki wrote: »

Anyone who answered "right" should surrender their license to help keep our roads safer.

I feel these posts should be removed from the front page as it makes first time readers think they're right!

jaffa20

Yeah, i was even doubting myself after reading the first few posts...

I see they have all gone quiet now though:D

Shane732

rex-x wrote: »

this is interesting alright, half of Ireland and the uk cannot use a roundabout and the people in charge of road safety are unsure abut the answer :eek:

I wouldn't say that the people in charge of road safety are unsure about the answer.

The answer is quite clear. I think the response from the RSA is pretty clear. I would imagine that the opening few lines are merely to cover himself off as there is always an exception to the normal rule.

taintabird

[IMG]file:///C:/Users/Ron/AppData/Local/Temp/moz-screenshot.png[/IMG]www.rulesoftheroad.ie/rules-for-driving/junctions-roundabouts/roundabouts.html

Left I say

hi5

Can I see a picture of the roundabout sign approaching the roundabout,then I'll vote.
We dont all have a satallite view of the world:).
Signs should be designed so familiarity with the physical layout is not needed.

R.O.R

taintabird wrote: »

www.rulesoftheroad.ie/rules-for-driving/junctions-roundabouts/roundabouts.html

Left I say

And you get left lane from that, how?

(oh, fixed the hyperlink in the quote above, looks like you link as well as you take roundabouts)

pajor

hi5 wrote: »

Can I see a picture of the roundabout sign approaching the roundabout,then I'll vote.
We dont all have a satallite view of the world:).
Signs should be designed so familiarity with the physical layout is not needed.

No, but we do have a Google Streetview of the world!

The sign on approach to the roundabout gives zero indication on which lane to take and yeah, there are no road markings either which doesn't help.

hi5

Just checked it on streetview,(I tried to embed it but it just brought up the code:o) maybe somone else?
On the sign the exit is at about 2 o clock,so I would take the right lane.

hi5

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Newport+NP20+6QP&sll=53.800651,-4.064941&sspn=11.175283,43.110352&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Newport,+Gwent+NP20+6QP,+United+Kingdom&ll=51.622117,-3.007384&spn=0,0.002631&z=19&layer=c&cbll=51.622086,-3.007641&panoid=0fYZ__LGuvPXRfHj_eB00g&cbp=12,198.3,,0,5

alias no.9

Common sense would dictate that with two lanes onto the roundabout and two lanes off at each exit (as far as I can make out) that you use the left lane for the first exit and the left lane of the second exit and the right lane for the right lane of the second exit and the third exit. Common sense does not always dictate law.

harr

phill106 wrote: »

Omg, I hate you people who get it wrong!
Left lane!

http://vimeo.com/8553732

if going right then its right lane if going left or straight its the left lane,the driver in the clip is in the right lane for third exit

BigEejit

I voted right as well because its after 12 o clock.

complicit

The Left hand lane is the correct lane to be in . If you are in the right hand lane , you will have to change to the left hand lane after passing the exit before that exit . A lot of drivers will take the right lane and then stay there right up until they enter the exit which is wholly incorrect . When two lanes merge into one , the left hand lane ( driving lane ) has priority .

tobsey

taintabird wrote: »

www.rulesoftheroad.ie/rules-for-driving/junctions-roundabouts/roundabouts.html

Left I say

How do you say left after reading that? It clearly says if you're going straight on to use the left lane. Then if you're taking any later exit you use the right lane, i.e. any exit after straight ahead! This does not always mean the third and subsequent exits.

In the situation above be in the right lane and signal right, then indicate left once you pass the first exit and move over to the left while keeping an eye out for the numpties who approached in the left lane.

smokie2008

I've literally just had 6 two hour Lessons AND a driving Test in a Jeep and Trailer and passed no problem going through a roundabout Similar to this one in Naas and I can say 100% its the LEFT lane you should stay in.

corktina

In this example, the second exit is the equivalent of the third or subsequent as it after striaght on....try to think of it as if exit two is missing, that should sort out some of your confused and dangerous little heads. Quite an eye opener this thread...i hope Gaybo reads it!

Hammer Archer

complicit wrote: »

A lot of drivers will take the right lane and then stay there right up until they enter the exit which is wholly incorrect . When two lanes merge into one , the left hand lane ( driving lane ) has priority .

So basically, using your interpretation, even if a driver is taking the third exit on this roundabout (at 4 o'clock position) they should be using the left lane as two lanes merge into one in that case also. This would mean the right lane on the approach to the roundabout would be made redundant.

smokie2008 wrote: »

I've literally just had 6 two hour Lessons AND a driving Test in a Jeep and Trailer and passed no problem going through a roundabout Similar to this one in Naas and I can say 100% its the LEFT lane you should stay in.

Which roundabout as a matter of interest?

complicit

Hammer Archer wrote: »

So basically, using your interpretation, even if a driver is taking the third exit on this roundabout (at 4 o'clock position) they should be using the left lane as two lanes merge into one in that case also. This would mean the right lane on the approach to the roundabout would be made redundant.

Eh No . If they are taking the third exit , they will enter the roundabout in the right hand lane . But if the third exit has only one lane , they will need to give priority to any traffic in the left hand lane when exiting .

But the OP was talking about the SECOND exit .

GTE

It is a poor layout to begin with.

The left hand lane should have arrows to stop people using it for the second exit. That would let people approach for the second exit in the right hand lane safely and let people from other exits join onto that main road on the right hand lane safely.

In theory anyway. The signs are so important for that.

In an Irish roads context when there are no arrow markings you should be using the left lane for exit one and two and the right lane for anything after.

Tis my understanding and to me it's not difficult to work out.
I hope I'm right

EDIT:
Reading this again I find the argument that a driver should take a certain lane because the exit is after 12 o clock utter nonsense.
Lanes on roundabouts are judged by what exit you want to take, not where that exit lays in relation to a clock system.

jaffa20

complicit wrote: »

Eh No . If they are taking the third exit , they will enter the roundabout in the right hand lane . But if the third exit has only one lane , they will need to give priority to any traffic in the left hand lane when exiting .

But the OP was talking about the SECOND exit .

2nd or 3rd exit, you are contradicting your initial point of taking the left lane for the 2nd exit.

You take the right lane for this exit as it is past 12pm.

People shouldn't be to the left of you as they will be giving right of way to you when you are on roundabout so you should be ahead of them by the time you take the 2nd exit or 3rd..

niamhocxox

I'm completely gobsmacked at the poll results but on the other hand it explains why there are so many accidents on roundabouts. :rolleyes:

In my opinion its the right hand lane that shound be taken, its crystal clear in the sign approaching this roundabout that the exit is past 12, why would you take the left hand lane? :eek:

Would the people who say that the left hand lane is correct please give a good explanation as to how they have come to that conclusion?

BostonB

The RSA are clear about it. But I don't agree with it. Its just confusing to be in the left lane when taking the 2nd exit. Its also confusing to complicated with more rules about which o'clock it is.

The results of the poll suggest that 50% of the people find it confusing.

TBH thats what you see on the road. You you have to expect people doing it both ways and drive accordingly. Never mind that a bus or truck usually can't stay in lane anyway, because the roundabout is too small in the first place.

One rule should work for all roundabouts. if it doesn't, and you need other rules, O'clocks, or depending on road markings, it fails.

harr

just spoke to a neighbor who is a traffic cop and told to have a look at this thread and to see what he thinks,and his understanding is the right lane is the proper lane for this exit and if a collision was to happen between a car in the left lane and a car in the right lane if both cars were taking this exit that the car in the left lane would be at fault as the left lane would be for first exit only,but he also said it would depend on the sign before the roundabout.

GTE

niamhocxox wrote: »

In my opinion its the right hand lane that shound be taken, its crystal clear in the sign approaching this roundabout that the exit is past 12, why would you take the left hand lane? :eek::

Why is the exit being past 12 o clock important in your opinion?
Why does that dictate the lane choice when no arrows are on the road for example?
EDIT:
Why would it be any different to having the first exit at 9 o clock and the other directly at 12?