The proper use of roundabouts

DubTony

Tonight I was accosted by another driver. Here's the story.

I came down Ballycullen Rd to the roundabout. There was a car on the "outside lane" of the roundabout with the right indicator on. I was going straight through (staying on Ballycullen Rd) so took position in the left lane. As the traffic cleared I proceeded onto the roundabout with the other car beside and slightly behind me. I stayed in lane, i.e. to the left, indicated a left turn just after the first exit and carried on down Ballycullen Rd. The other car exited the roundabout at the same point and was still beside / behind me. He braked (he had to) and blew his horn. All the way down Ballycullen Rd he flashed his lights and blew his horn. When I stopped at the lights at Firhouse Rd., he got out of his car and gave me an earful about cutting him up on the roundabout. I told him to get a copy of the rules of the road. (By the way, I haven't even looked at one of those in about 8 years) The lights changed and I turned right and went down Firhouse Rd.

That's it. Just to be clear where I'm coming from, here's how I see how a roundabout should be used. And I'm talking about the single lane roads that go into a 2 lane roundabout with four exits.

If I'm turning left, I position on left with left indicator on from some point further back.
If I'm going straight I position on left and indicate left as I pass first exit.
If I'm going right, I position on right with indicator on from some point further back. I indicate left as I pass second exit.

The only time I should be positioned on the right lane is to turn right unless there are signs to indicate otherwise.

Am I right?

Tony

RicardoSmith

Love to know, myself. I've argued about this before. As far as I know its legal to go completely around a round about in the "left" lane. You also shouldn't exist a roundabout from the inner lane. Which you are doing by going straight through.

From a practial point of view some trucks and buses can't make the corner on the inner lane on smaller roundabouts. So have to go right around on the outside.

http://www.2pass.co.uk/roundabout.htm

Most people go straight through which is wrong IMO. But I'm not 100% certain about it. Check out this one.

http://www.roundabout.net/DIBcounterflow.html

:eek: :eek: :eek:

robbie1876

That magic roundabout looks savage. I'm thinking of the Walkinstown roundabout. Might sort it out once and for all.

MG

You are right, you acted correctly. However, you may use the outside lane to go straight through if the circumstances are appropriate.

http://www.iol.ie/~pt/roadrule.html


My interpretation of this is if it is a two lane road continuing on to a two lane road. I don't know the roundabout in question but I occasionally have the same problem on a roundabout which goes from a dual carraigeway to a single lane road.

However, he was signalling incorrectly as well, you were signalling correctly.

Unfortunately, few people seem to know how to use roundabouts properly and many roundabouts are too confusing.

cyclopath2001

I think you were 100% correct.

Given that few people indicate correctly & use the correct lane, you should have been suspicious when he appeared to be following the rules so correctly, it was too good to be true. ;-)

I've even had experience of going the correct way round a roundabout while turning right and having by a car overtake me going the wrong way round & which then cut me up to turn left......

Expect the worst on Dublin's roads and you'll never be surprised.

RicardoSmith

cyclopath2001 wrote:

....
Expect the worst on Dublin's roads and you'll never be surprised.

Exactly...

Downtime

IMHO He was well out of order, but you were too....

Now if I am thinking of the same roundabout - the second one if you come down from Hunterswood after the shops? as far as I am aware there is only one lane going onto the roundabout there - although it is very wide, two lanes are NOT marked there.

Mike_Hunt

It was my belief that you give way to traffic already on the roundabout. I didnt think it mattered which lane. :rolleyes:

jman0

DubTony wrote:

....He braked (he had to) and blew his horn. All the way down Ballycullen Rd he flashed his lights and blew his horn..

For some motorists it seems the horn is little more than a convenient button to vent their bottled up frustrations by audibly assaulting the general public.
I wonder are there regulations covering their use, or mis-use as the case usually is.
I've been considering mounting one of these babies on my bicycle:
http://www.iboats.com/mall/index.cgi?prod_id=626&current_category=boat%20horn&session_id=727436146&cart_id=822406694
But i'm not sure i should stoop to such levels. (I wonder if a Gard would stop me for using such a device in traffic)

RicardoSmith

I would have to be louder than my walkman cranked up to full, to drown the screaming of the passengers....

Chalk

is this a 2 lane or 1 lane roundabout?
if its 2 lanes then either you cant turn off a rounabout like 90% of the drivers in ireland and exited the roundabout between both lanes or else he did.

you keep left genewrally but exiting a roundabout at the second exit from the right lane is legal,
most people cant hadle it and drive stratight across, which might be what he did.

/
passed my driving test less than 6 months ago.

therecklessone

DubTony wrote:

If I'm turning left, I position on left with left indicator on from some point further back.
If I'm going straight I position on left and indicate left as I pass first exit.
If I'm going right, I position on right with indicator on from some point further back. I indicate left as I pass second exit.

The only time I should be positioned on the right lane is to turn right unless there are signs to indicate otherwise.

Am I right?

Yes, 100%.

DubTony wrote:

Tonight I was accosted by another driver. Here's the story.

I came down Ballycullen Rd to the roundabout. There was a car on the "outside lane" of the roundabout with the right indicator on. I was going straight through (staying on Ballycullen Rd) so took position in the left lane. As the traffic cleared I proceeded onto the roundabout with the other car beside and slightly behind me. I stayed in lane, i.e. to the left, indicated a left turn just after the first exit and carried on down Ballycullen Rd. The other car exited the roundabout at the same point and was still beside / behind me. He braked (he had to) and blew his horn.

I'm slightly confused.

You say the other car was in the outside lane, but when you entered the roundabout in the left lane he ended up beside and slightly behind you. If he was in the outside lane, he was in the left lane. How did he end up beside you? Did he change lanes to avoid you?

I don't know the roundabout in question, but I encounter what sounds similar every day. The roundabout at the Coachman's Inn beside the airport has two lanes coming down from the side of the airport, and both lanes are maked for a right turn (to take the 3rd exit). Could that be the case with your incident? Was the other driver complying with road markings as he approached the roundabout, remaining in the outside lane for a legal exit on the right?

Chalk

now im confused.

i thought :
poster was in left lane approaching stayed left, exited staright thru, 2 nd exit
other driver was in right lane stayed right, exited straight thru, 2nd exit
both were legal but someone couldnt stay in lane.

now i dont know??

dmeehan

simple rule for roundabouts:
1st (indicate left turn) or 2nd exit approcah using left lane
3rd or subsequent exit approcah using right lane and indicate right turn

2nd or subsequent exits indicate left turn AFTER exit before one you want to take


it amazes me how people think that taking the 3rd or 4th exit can indicate left turn all the way around. i mean how could that be correct.

gobby

DubTony wrote:

Tonight I was accosted by another driver. Here's the story.

I came down Ballycullen Rd to the roundabout. There was a car on the "outside lane" of the roundabout with the right indicator on. I was going straight through (staying on Ballycullen Rd) so took position in the left lane. As the traffic cleared I proceeded onto the roundabout with the other car beside and slightly behind me. I stayed in lane, i.e. to the left, indicated a left turn just after the first exit and carried on down Ballycullen Rd. The other car exited the roundabout at the same point and was still beside / behind me. He braked (he had to) and blew his horn. All the way down Ballycullen Rd he flashed his lights and blew his horn. When I stopped at the lights at Firhouse Rd., he got out of his car and gave me an earful about cutting him up on the roundabout. I told him to get a copy of the rules of the road. (By the way, I haven't even looked at one of those in about 8 years) The lights changed and I turned right and went down Firhouse Rd.

That's it. Just to be clear where I'm coming from, here's how I see how a roundabout should be used. And I'm talking about the single lane roads that go into a 2 lane roundabout with four exits.

If I'm turning left, I position on left with left indicator on from some point further back.
If I'm going straight I position on left and indicate left as I pass first exit.
If I'm going right, I position on right with indicator on from some point further back. I indicate left as I pass second exit.

The only time I should be positioned on the right lane is to turn right unless there are signs to indicate otherwise.

Am I right?

Tony

Thats the way it should be as far as I know...

The thing that I dont like about your story is how the other driver was flashing and beeping as he drove behind you. I mean that has to be dangerous. He was distracting you as your trying to drive. Then to get out of his car and proceed to give you an earfull when he was (afaik) in the wrong! wtf!?!

My brother has recently started driving a car. Hes been on the road for a while driving bikes. We had a discussion about roundabouts and we both agreed that the way you outlined is the correct way to take a roundabout.

Also, when I was learning to drive thats how my instructor told me to take a roundabout.

Alun

I know someone who swears blind that their driving instructor told them that it was allowed to indicate left entering a roundabout when you planned on taking the second exit .....

Personally, I always take the left hand lane if there is more than one when taking the second exit, unless I know 100% that the exit road also has two lanes. Of course if you're in an unfamiliar area, and signposting being what it is here, sometimes you will end up in the wrong lane, and then all this theory falls down.

koneko

There are a few roundabouts where the right hand lane is marked for going straight through aswell. I haven't seen many of these, but when I have, it's on roundabouts where most of the traffic is going left, to alleviate that somewhat.

Other than that, Tony and dmeehan have it spot on.

Busy roundabouts are a nightmare when people don't indicate. How am I supposed to know where they're going if they don't let people know? I mean, really, what do they think the little blinking lights are for? Some people don't use them *at all* (let alone on roundabouts)

kenmc

jman0 wrote:

I've been considering mounting one of these babies on my bicycle:http://www.iboats.com/mall/index.cgi?prod_id=626&current_category=boat%20horn&session_id=727436146&cart_id=822406694
But i'm not sure i should stoop to such levels. (I wonder if a Gard would stop me for using such a device in traffic)

Better still, get one of these
http://www.deltacycle.com/airzound/hornbody1.php
I have one on my bike and it's good and loud. have frightened cars into stopping from turning in/out on me and to give me more road space near the kerb. Also useful to blast at bloody pedestrians walking on the bike lane so as not to wear out the path. Great yoke.

Chalk

im losing the lot of you.

would a roundabout with 2 entry lanes, in general not have two exit lanes?

seamus

I had a guy once, I came onto the Liffey Valley roundabout (not the M50 one, the **** of a one at Ronanstown), coming from the N4 slip, indicating right, towards St Loman's Road. I was about halfway through the roundabout when a guy shot onto the roundabout from my left, into the left-hand lane of the roundabout (when I say "shot out", he accelerated quickly onto the roundabout, almost as if he assumed I was doing a U-turn). Pretty much immediately after, I indicated left to take the third exit. He was about a meter behind me, and I was constantly looking forward, then looking at him etc, checking my clearance. We were going slow enough, a metre was plenty of room for me. He has to have seen me, he looked straight at me when I looked behind, so I take my exit. Nope. I hear the *thump* of him suddenly braking, and he blows me out of it.
Then he carries on, I see him in my mirror, turning right in the left-hand lane (from his perspective).

It's idiots like him that make driving dangerous.

seamus

Chalk wrote:

im losing the lot of you.

would a roundabout with 2 entry lanes, in general not have two exit lanes?

Yeah, if this wasn't Ireland

therecklessone

Chalk wrote:

im losing the lot of you.

would a roundabout with 2 entry lanes, in general not have two exit lanes?

Not always.

Take the Lissenhall interchange with the M1 and the old N1.

Approcahing the first roundabout coming North-South you're on a two lane dual carraigeway:

Exit 1 @ 90 degrees is one lane.
Exit 2 @ 135 degrees is one lane.
Exit 3 @ 205 degrees is two lane.
Exit 4 @ 360 is the other side of the dual carraigeway, and 2 lanes.

There is also an entry only lane from the M1 at roughly 320 degrees.

Chalk

i pass over 3 roundabouts on my way home [ down from 7 in my new job] #

all had two exits.
car drivers have to be reminded that if there in the left lane at exit two,
there exiting in the left lane at exit 2

not the middle of the left and right lane,
not the right lane,
and , as has been the case, the 3rd exit.

Chalk

im not familiar with the lissen hall interchange


i usually get on the m1 at the n32/m50 rounabout [min 2 exits each junction]
or get off the n1 at swords [min 2 exits each junction]

Alun

Chalk wrote:

im losing the lot of you.

would a roundabout with 2 entry lanes, in general not have two exit lanes?

In general, maybe There are plenty of examples of roundabouts where there are a mix of double and single laned roads on them. You can't rely on the roads on both sides of the roundabout being equal.

As I said, the only time I use the right hand lane for going straight on is if I know, from experience, that the exit also has two lanes, or if there are road markings indicating that I can do it. That having been said, I have come across one or two here where there were two straight-ahead lanes marked, but a single lane exit

Mr E

I think driving tests every 5 years should be compulsory. Idiots who don't know how to use roundabouts REALLY piss me off.

kenmc

my pet peeve is if for example we're coming into a 12-3-6-9 formation roundabout (i.e. as you enter there's a left exit at 90o, an exit straight through at 180o, and a right exit at 270 degrees) 2 lanes all over. I'm sitting in the right hand lane, to take the 270o exit, person beside me is taking the 180o exit, all should be well until the fu(ker decides to apex the roundabout like a rally driver and cut right across my front into my lane and then back out again. I'm seriously tempted to let some brand new car hit my 93 golf some day instead of backing off and laying on the horn - who's got more to lose in a crash do ya think? a nice shiny new one or me???

Chalk

even if theres only one lane after exit,
its usually split into two to make room for cars coming right from 3 entries back.

Downtime

jman0 wrote:

I wonder are there regulations covering their use, or mis-use as the case usually is.

As far as I know it is an offenceto use your horn between 23.30 and 06.00

therecklessone

Chalk wrote:

im not familiar with the lissen hall interchange


i usually get on the m1 at the n32/m50 rounabout [min 2 exits each junction]
or get off the n1 at swords [min 2 exits each junction]

Lissenhall is the next interchange after Fingallians, made up of two roundabouts over the M1. I'm talking about the 2nd roundabout coming from Swords direction, the 1st if you're approaching from the north.

MG

Chalk wrote:

im losing the lot of you.

would a roundabout with 2 entry lanes, in general not have two exit lanes?

No not necessarily. I regularly use a roadabout where a dual carraigeway turns into a single lane road i.e. two lanes in, one lane out or vice versa when coming at it from the other side. (one lane in, two lanes out - it never ceases top amaze me how many cars go straight into the outside lane even when the dual carraigeway is totally quiet but that is another discussion)

murphaph

kenmc wrote:

my pet peeve is if for example we're coming into a 12-3-6-9 formation roundabout (i.e. as you enter there's a left exit at 90o, an exit straight through at 180o, and a right exit at 270 degrees) 2 lanes all over. I'm sitting in the right hand lane, to take the 270o exit, person beside me is taking the 180o exit, all should be well until the fu(ker decides to apex the roundabout like a rally driver and cut right across my front into my lane and then back out again. I'm seriously tempted to let some brand new car hit my 93 golf some day instead of backing off and laying on the horn - who's got more to lose in a crash do ya think? a nice shiny new one or me???

I f***ing hate those wa**ers.

MrPudding

Here is a cool diagram:

http://www.highwaycode.gov.uk/17.shtml#160

I know it is from the mainland but the same rules apply.

MrP

DubTony

Downtime wrote:

IMHO He was well out of order, but you were too....

Now if I am thinking of the same roundabout - the second one if you come down from Hunterswood after the shops? as far as I am aware there is only one lane going onto the roundabout there - although it is very wide, two lanes are NOT marked there.

Downtime, you're spot on. I've actually had to go and check that roundabout and Ballycullen Rd. coming from Hunterswood has only one lane going on to the roundabout while all the others split into 2. Maybe that's what his problem was. Although it seems my interpretation of how to use a roundabout is correct, I may have been wrong in this case.

Having said that, I do use it almost every day in the same manner, and always without incident.

Thanks guys

Tony

Jefferson Darcy

RicardoSmith wrote:

http://www.2pass.co.uk/roundabout.htm

Regarding the 'Turning Right' methodology, I always use what is stated on this site. Especially with regard to remaining in the lane on the right. I find that in Dublin however, most drivers cut across into the left lane as they exit the roundabout. Not sure how many here are affected but if you've ever tried leaving the South County Business Park in Leopardstown during peak periods in the direction of the M50, you'll find that the plonkers who do this, render having two lanes completely useless. The racing line thing seriously annoys me.

The majority of people don't bother indicating left prior to taking their exit either. If they had bothered to indicate right in the first then they simply leave the right indicator on.

DubTony

MrPudding wrote:

Here is a cool diagram:

http://www.highwaycode.gov.uk/17.shtml#160

I know it is from the mainland but the same rules apply.

MrP

Can you imagine the carnage if they put two mini roundabouts together like that anywhere in Ireland?

Tony

MrPudding

DubTony wrote:

Can you imagine the carnage if they put two mini roundabouts together like that anywhere in Ireland?

Tony

It would be amusing!

MrP

therecklessone

On a related note:

From Feb 2002 Rules of the Road

Roundabouts:

• IF LEAVING BY THE FIRST EXIT approach and enter the roundabout in the left-hand lane signalling a left turn and proceed to leave the roundabout at that exit.
• IF LEAVING BY THE SECOND EXIT approach and enter the roundabout in the left-hand lane but do not signal until you have passed the first exit, then signal a left turn and leave at the next exit.
• IF LEAVING BY ANY SUBSEQUENT EXIT approach and enter the roundabout in the right hand lane signalling a right turn. Keep in the right hand lane (i.e. the lane next to the centre). As you pass the exit before the one you intend to leave by, signal a left turn and, when your way is clear, move to the other lane and leave at the desired exit.

The accompanying diagrams depict a slightly different picture, in that they refer to:

1. Making a left turn
2. Travelling straight ahead
3. Making a right turn

Not all roundabouts are of the 12-3-6-9 formation. So which applies?

Take as an example the roundabout I described in post 22 above (map here), where the 3rd exit is slightly right of straight ahead @205 degrees. Now when I approach that roundabout meaning to take exit 3, I stay in the right lane, indicate right until past exit 2 then indicate left and exit the roundabout (on to the right hand lane rather than the left)

What about a roundabout whoch only has 3 exits? I pass one regularly on the road along the side of Dublin airport from the Coachman's to St Margarets. The 2nd exit as you approach from the Coachman's is in the 270 degree position. Do I indicate right as I approach the roundabout then left when passed exit 1, or not indicate apporaching the roundabout then left after exit 1?

Shane™

DubTony wrote:

Downtime, you're spot on. I've actually had to go and check that roundabout and Ballycullen Rd. coming from Hunterswood has only one lane going on to the roundabout while all the others split into 2. Maybe that's what his problem was. Although it seems my interpretation of how to use a roundabout is correct, I may have been wrong in this case.

Having said that, I do use it almost every day in the same manner, and always without incident.

Thanks guys

Tony

Sorry Downtime was way off!

If you are going straight and there are no markings on the road to indicate lanes then you keep to the left side, even if it's only one lane, it's to show the driver behind what you intend doing.

It really p!sses me off when people use a round about wrong, now I understand what the problem is, it's not that they are ar$eholes, it's just that they are stupid, thanks guys for clearing this up.

Shane™

therecklessone wrote:

What about a roundabout whoch only has 3 exits? I pass one regularly on the road along the side of Dublin airport from the Coachman's to St Margarets. The 2nd exit as you approach from the Coachman's is in the 270 degree position. Do I indicate right as I approach the roundabout then left when passed exit 1, or not indicate apporaching the roundabout then left after exit 1?

You do the first, indicate right the left when you pass the first exit.

The rule is: Any exit beyond the 90° mark is treated as a third exit.

There are two of these round abouts in clondalkin right beside each other, but I have to say most people use them right (except when they forget to indicate :mad: )

therecklessone

Shane&#8482 wrote:

You do the first, indicate right the left when you pass the first exit.

The rule is: Any exit beyond the 90° mark is treated as a third exit.

There are two of these round abouts in clondalkin right beside each other, but I have to say most people use them right (except when they forget to indicate :mad: )

I take it you mean beyond the 180 degree mark? And if its the rule, where is it in the Rules of the Road?

Shane™

Yes that is what I meant 180

It's not in the rules of the road book, but my old man is an ambulance driver and had to take loads of advanced driving courses, this is what they said.

He and a coworker called up about this as it led to some confusion, if a round about has it's second exit beyond 180, which rule applies? apparently there isn't an answer, don't know who he called, but they told him a tester won't call on it.

therecklessone

Shane&#8482 wrote:

if a round about has it's second exit beyond 180, which rule applies? apparently there isn't an answer, don't know who he called, but they told him a tester won't call on it.

Therein lies the problem with driving standards in this country (not directed at you or your old man). So I apply my interpretation, you and your apply your own. Result? Nobody has a clue who'll do what... :rolleyes:

Rules of the Road again:

Remember that signals are merely indications of intent. They do not confer right of way. When in doubt, play safe - YIELD

Best bit of advice in it.

Shane™

therecklessone wrote:

Therein lies the problem with driving standards in this country (not directed at you or your old man). So I apply my interpretation, you and your apply your own. Result? Nobody has a clue who'll do what... :rolleyes:

Rules of the Road again:

Remember that signals are merely indications of intent. They do not confer right of way. When in doubt, play safe - YIELD

Best bit of advice in it.

That's exactly my fathers point, you have to be safe because you don't know what people are going to do.

But in this instance the other driver (as in the guy who didn't post) was clearly wrong, he indicated right, and failed to observe that there was a car on his inside, this happens to me a lot so I can understand the situation, although no-one has ever beeped at me.

As for the other rule I mentioned it's a guide not a rule, what you pointed out is the rule, and when it cannot be applied to a particular case, the latter should be used, like you said with a spread round about with 3 roads.

Capt'n Midnight

Really annoys me that roundabout in this country are so slow compared to foreign ones. Over there they use them fairly correctly and don't have to come to a virtual stop if it looks like anyone else might be on the roundabout at the same time as you.

Recently I've been in the left lane, not indicating since I wanted to go straight and had a muppet behind me pull up in the right lane beside me so of course I could not see the indicators. And of course he cut me off at the other side - going straight, no indicators when leaving the roundabout.

If people here got in to the correct lane and indicated properly then we could filter in and out between the traffic crossing the roundabout, instead they act as choke points where you dare not go more than a few kph in case you have to jam on..

cyclopath2001

Capt'n Midnight wrote:

you dare not go more than a few kph in case you have to jam on..

I think that people entering and going too fast around roundabouts causes congestion as it makes it more difficult for peolpe to merge in. The safety gaps have to be greater & people have to wait longer to find a safe gap to enter.

Another part of this is people rushing on to roundabouts without seeing if their exit is clear & then blocking the exit of others.

wideband

hi all,

when a road approaching a roundabout breaks into two lanes Both left and right lanes can travel straight through......

the only point to remember is you must give way to vehicles coming from the right unless road marking show otherwise.

Signal left as you approach the exit you wish to take......simple enough :eek:

causal

As the recklessone pointed out the problem is that there are two different methodolagies for dealing with roundabouts.
They are incompatible, but used interchangeably in the rules of the road, add to that too many road users who aren't aware of either system:

One system uses exit number: exit 1, exit 2, exit 3, ...
Other system uses: left turn, straight through, right turn (this is roughly equivalent to the clock (6-9-12-3) and compass (180-270-360-90) systems)

That's before you even get to deciding which lane to take, nevermind which indicator to use.

Another problem arises, as highlighted in Shanes post, is that advanced drivers are taught to be flexible and use the indication that will let other road users know their intention.

imho the simplest system to use is the 'exit number' methodology - because there is no driver interpretation involved.
This way the lane choice and indication to use are specific and as described in the rules of the road - which incidentally most ppl here don't know correctly

As threcklessone quoted:

"IF LEAVING BY THE FIRST EXIT approach and enter the roundabout in the left-hand lane signalling a left turn and proceed to leave the roundabout at that exit.
IF LEAVING BY THE SECOND EXIT approach and enter the roundabout in the left-hand lane but do not signal until you have passed the first exit, then signal a left turn and leave at the next exit.
IF LEAVING BY ANY SUBSEQUENT EXIT approach and enter the roundabout in the right hand lane signalling a right turn. Keep in the right hand lane (i.e. the lane next to the centre). As you pass the exit before the one you intend to leave by, signal a left turn and, when your way is clear, move to the other lane and leave at the desired exit."

- add to this the case where you are taking the second exit and there 2 lanes on the approach and there are two lanes on the second exit, then:
if you enter from the left hand lane - exit on the left hand lane
if you enter from the right hand lane - exit on the right hand lane

Of course there are exceptions to these rules on specific roundabouts where road markings dictate otherwise. But I think it's best to have a rule that has some exceptions - rather than have everyone make up their own rules.

causal

causal

wideband wrote:

when a road approaching a roundabout breaks into two lanes Both left and right lanes can travel straight through......

ONLY IF there are also two exits on the second exit!!

the only point to remember is you must give way to vehicles coming from the right unless road marking show otherwise.

What road markings might they be?
Approaching a roundabout (which is the topic here) you always have to yield to traffic already on the roundabout (unless there happens to be a Garda on point duty, a school 'lollypop person', or a person in charge of animals, who signal otherwise)
Even if the roundabout is controlled by traffic lights - and you have a green light - you still have to yield to the traffic already on the roundabout.

Signal left as you approach the exit you wish to take......simple enough :eek:

Simple you say! I'd score you 66% on the 3 points you made


causal

RicardoSmith

The problem is that the rules are designed for large multi lane roundabouts. Whereas mostof the roundabouts that I see are badly designed and usually too small for the junction (and the rules). Then theres roundabouts like the one at the Blanchardstown exit on the M50 where lanes suddenly change from 2 lanes to 3 and then back again as you drive around it. Also it has traffic lights on it too, plus buslanes leading up to and from it.

Then add to this bad drivers and bad driving.

therecklessone

RicardoSmith wrote:

Then theres roundabouts like the one at the Blanchardstown exit on the M50 where lanes suddenly change from 2 lanes to 3 and then back again as you drive around it. Also it has traffic lights on it too, plus buslanes leading up to and from it.

Don't get me started on them!

Actually, now you have...

The roundabout at the main entrance to Dublin airport is a nighmare. Confused drivers coming off the M1 thinking its the way to Dublin go from a one-lane off-ramp to four lanes to a three lane entrance to said roundabout that changes to a two-lane roundabout once you're passed exit 2. And its partially signal controlled!

I got rear ended last year after I had to brake to avoid a guy who went the whole way around the roundabout in the outside lane while I was positioned in the inside lane for the 3rd exit. Got hit from behind by a van while the other gob****e stopped at the lights, realised what he'd caused, then hightailed it.

Its road design like this thats increasing the frequency of accidents and leading to poor driving IMHO. Its impossible to apply standard driving techniques when you're encountering such engineering stupidity.