Rules of the road question re: roundabouts

T L

Hi all,

I've a question regarding roundabouts, based on something that happened this morning on the way to work.

Car A is travelling on a ring road and approaches a four entrance/exit roundabout (large roundabout, the island is probably 20m in radius, entrances/exits are at 90 degrees to the roundabout). Car A stops completely in order to yield to traffic on the roundabout.

There is traffic waiting to enter the roundabout from the entrance to the right of car A, car B is at the front of this queue. At a point where the last car (car C) on the roundabout is exiting (on the exit/road that car A is approaching from, if that makes sense), car A begins to move on to the roundabout.

Car B is a car with a powerful engine. Car B accelerates onto the roundabout at a speed which causes him to "catch up" to where car A is pulling on to, but has not yet fully entered the roundabout (again, hope that makes sense). In order to avoid a collision, car B then has to brake. (And there's beeping etc.)

I understand that the rules of the road say to yield to traffic on your right on a roundabout. I'm wondering if there any allowance or precedent for a potential collision between car A and car B, considering that at the time car A started to pull onto the roundabout, car B was not on the roundabout, and couldn't enter the roundabout until car C had left.

I was in car A. While my car is "nippy" enough, it's a 1.4L auris and isn't exactly quick off the mark for acceleration. If I'm completely in the wrong (which I think I am myself), please let me know.

Do the rules of the road techinically mean that if at a roundabout you should yield to all cars on your right waiting to get onto the roundabout, no matter the situation, no matter the distance between you and them, no "ifs ands or buts"?

corktina

you yield to cars ON the roundabout. If your car A moved before Car B then A was in the "right"

Proving it is a different matter though in the case of an accident.

djimi

Car B had right of way. You should have only entered the roundabout once you were happy that car B wasnt going to impeded.

To be honest, I do what you did most of the time, however my car is quick enough to be able to get onto the roundabout before the car coming from my right reaches me! I wouldnt take the same chance in a 1.4 Auris.

corktina

djimi wrote: »

Car B had right of way. You should have only entered the roundabout once you were happy that car B wasnt going to impeded.

To be honest, I do what you did most of the time, however my car is quick enough to be able to get onto the roundabout before the car coming from my right reaches me! I wouldnt take the same chance in a 1.4 Auris.

Car B couldn't and didn't enter the roundabout until car C had cleared it's junction. Car A was free to the roundabout up until that time. You don't give way to vehicles not on the roundabout.

djimi

corktina wrote: »

Car B couldn't and didn't enter the roundabout until car C had cleared it's junction. Car A was free to the roundabout up until that time. You don't give way to vehicles not on the roundabout.

If Car C was exiting the roundabout at the same exit that car B was waiting at then car B did not have to wait for car C to clear the roundabout and the OP should have assumed that they would pull out.

Car C was probably taking the piss somewhat accelerating as they did when they could see a car pulling out at the next exit, but had there been a collision I think the OP would have a hard time proving that they were not at fault.

corktina

djimi wrote: »

If Car C was exiting the roundabout at the same exit that car B was waiting at then car B did not have to wait for car C to clear the roundabout and the OP should have assumed that they would pull out.

Car C was probably taking the piss somewhat accelerating as they did when they could see a car pulling out at the next exit, but had there been a collision I think the OP would have a hard time proving that they were not at fault.

that's not what he said...car C is exiting at car As junc not car Bs

"At a point where the last car (car C) on the roundabout is exiting (on the exit/road that car A is approaching from, if that makes sense),"

T L

Car C was exiting at my exit.

Thanks for both your posts!

Yeah I understand that proving something like this would be very hard without third party witnesses.

sebastianlieken

You said the roundabout was pretty big (around 20 meter radius) and that all 4 entrances/exits were at 90 degrees.

That leaves around 30 meters of road between where you and car B were waiting to get onto the round-about. That's more a than the length of a swimming pool!

You said that car C exited where you were entering - which would lead me to believe that car B would have already been on the roundabout before you would have started your entry onto the roundabout.

I would imagine car B had ther right of it.

corktina

that's not what he said either...

"At a point where the last car (car C) on the roundabout is exiting (on the exit/road that car A is approaching from, if that makes sense), car A begins to move on to the roundabout.

Car B is a car with a powerful engine. Car B accelerates onto the roundabout"

worst case they moved at the same time.... best case (as it's written) Car A moves on to the roundabout first

Car A may well have moved off really slowly, but whatever , it moved into a space the size of a swimming pool :-) with no cars in it

The_Nipper_One

This could probably be wrapped up with a simple question OP:

If things would have ended in a collision, where would the car have hit you?

If Car B would have hit you on the side, you misjudged it/weren't able to enter the roundabout fast enough.
If Car B would have hit your rear, he was driving dangerously/not observing ahead of him.