Gear at the roundabout?

booksale

Which gear should I use when I enter into a roundabout?

My friend said 2nd gear always. But sometimes when I drive into a big roundabout (without any cars in the roundabout and also no cars from the left), I feel it's better to use 3rd gear.

My friend said I should slow down enough to 2nd gear.

spiraleye

getting lessons myself and done a good few roundabouts with my instructor , he says work down the gears to second and then check if safe to go on to the round about

MascotDec85

In general roundabouts should be negotiated in 2nd. However, there could be some examples where 3rd could be use i.e. large roundabouts over motorways.

That said always be in a gear that is appropriate for you speed and your speed should be appropriate for the roundabout you are going round

Creamy Goodness

depends totally on the roundabout, whether the entrances/exits are concealed and whether you can see what's coming.

it's totally fine to go around a roundabout in any gear, generally i wouldn't in 1,5 or 6. but it's all about how comfortable you are in the car and how good you are at preempting dangers.

your friend is wrong, but you're also wrong there's no set gear to be in, you need to be just in the correct gear for the speed you are going and be able to stop if necessary.

number10a

I'd go with what spiraleye has said. Work down to second so that you can slow down enough to look, and then when you're onto the roundabout jump up to three if you're on a big one that's fairly empty.

There are exceptions, for example this roundabout in West Cork that I would drive through often enough has an exceptionally clear line of sight, is massive, and fairly quiet so I would often approach it and drive around it in four.

http://maps.google.ie/maps?q=Halfway+Cork&hl=en&ll=51.801808,-8.574636&spn=0.007072,0.021136&sll=53.401034,-8.307638&sspn=6.985649,21.643066&z=16&layer=c&cbll=51.801831,-8.57456&panoid=YWF9REf7pB9Uw1kDJ9jXQg&cbp=12,76,,0,0.82

booksale

i did quite a few lessons last summer as well. the instructor that time told me that when i was going into a big round about, i can just change down to the third (suppose traffic is smooth). but not sure as it's a year ago. it's not until recently that i need to drive through a lot of roundabouts and i personally found 3rd gear is better. but maybe i should slow it down enough to change to 2nd.

booksale

yes, the roundabout after the motorways i am talking about.

if i slow down the car into speed for the 2nd gear, i found the car behind me comes very close to me...!!!

Buffman

booksale wrote: »

yes, the roundabout after the motorways i am talking about.

These motorway roundabouts are usually designed with a larger diameter than others, so your speed is going to be higher. You didn't say what car you're driving, but I'd say 2nd is too low for them.

booksale wrote: »

if i slow down the car into speed for the 2nd gear, i found the car behind me comes very close to me...!!!

You seem to be adjusting your speed to suit gears, but you should be adjusting gears to suit speed.