Safe Speed Forums

What is difficult about the concept of signalling at roundabouts?

On my way to work today, on a dual carrigeway, approaching a roundabout a slower car in the inside lane starts to indicate right so I hold back to let him pull over. Does he pull over? does he heck, he enters the roundabout indicating right and after passing the first exit starts indicating left and continues down the inside lane of the dual carrigeway. Surely thats going straight on not right. He wouldnt indicate right to go straight on at crossroads so why at a roundabout? It happens so frequently that its almost tempting just to assume that although indicating right they are not actually going to turn right. Actually I saw this at another roundabout when a small 4x4 displaying a sticker "Back Off I'm Sticking to the Limit" approached a roundabout in the left hand lane then merrily turned right across traffic in the right hand lane going straight on. Thank goodness he sticks to the limits, at least tham means he is a safe driver.

Some years back as a passenger in a work collegues car I told the driver to turn right at a roundabout (there were only 4 entry/exits including the one we were on) we went straight over taking the second exit. When I told the driver I had said turn right he replied "This is right". How can straight on be right?

Improving road safety - Easy make it a condition of driving that you have to THINK what you are doing.

Dual carriageway roundabouts seem to be a complete disaster from a safety point of view!

I live near the Brampton Hut roundabout (A1/A14 interchange) which as well as 2 major 2 lane dual carriageways also has a service station. The white paint markings have been almost entirely obliterated, the signing is abysmal - and there is on average 1 minor shunt per day - normally caused by someone in the inside lane "going right" across someone else.

Technically the inside lane has right of way as the "outside lane" has to cross over the imaginary circular white line separating the lanes. Inevitably both lanes think that they have right of way - and this is complicated further by "A14 straight on" arrows in both lanes on the approach.

Spitals roundabout (A14/A141) was also a nightmare, averaging 1 overturned truck a week, but thankfully this now has traffic lights on it.

Incidentally the low speed accidents at Brampton Hut have been cited as justification for mobile scamera vans on the A14 a mile before the roundabout!

On multi-lane roundabouts, indicators become ambiguous, to say the least. Is he indicating left because he wants to move into the lane to his left, or is he indicating that he intends taking the next exit?

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“For every complex problem, there is a solution that is simple, neat, and wrong.” - H. L. Mencken

Because of the differing layouts and traffic volumes per exit at roundabouts, it is impossible to be totally dogmatic about how best to signal at them.

If a roundabout had an exit at 10 o'clock taking 90% of the traffic, and two further exits at 12 o'clock and 3 o'clock, if taking the second exit it would probably be reasonable to signal right when passing the first exit, to make it clear you were going straight ahead and not going left like most of the rest of the traffic.

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"Show me someone who says that they have never exceeded a speed limit, and I'll show you a liar, or a menace." (Austin Williams - Director, Transport Research Group)

Any views expressed in this post are personal opinions and may not represent the views of Safe Speed

I agree that the layout of the roundabout affects what lanes should be used for a given exit, however to clarify my initial post, all the roundabouts I was refering to had 2 roads crossing at rightangles (hence the crossroads analagy). In these cases the highway code is clear about what lanes go where. There again I guess that after passing the test, most drivers never look at the HC again!

Don't even get me started on this one

(Insert rant here)

classic this morning - three lanes at a roundabout left/middle to continue on dual carriageway, right lane to turn right. I was in the right lane indicating to turn, woman in middle lane cuts right across me, clipping the "apex" of the roundabout and carries on straight. Luckily I had dropped back slightly so avoided a collision but still had to brake. Absolutely oblivious to what was going on around her!

I bet she was driving with her eyes on the speedometer, like we are all supposed to.

i believe the term "use the force" applies....

i've lost count of similar incidents

It could be worse. How exactly are you supposed to signal at double mini roundabouts.

Are you supposed to signal left when exiting the first roundabout, onto the second, even though you have no intention of turning left at the second, because when entering the second you should be signalling your intentions for that roundabout, but you are still exiting the first.

I usually try to treat it like a non-roundabout junction, but I know many people who insist it's best to just not signal at all until taking the final exit because it's safer to have people having no clue where you are going than to have them thinking you are going somewhere else.

For bonus points, how the hell am I supposed to signal on this roundabout when entering from the left and taking the bottom exit?

Much dithering occurs at round abouts, mainly caused by lack of signals. You have to wait untill people are commited before making your move. Pity there's no straight on indicator... Don't forget lane disapline either, cutting the corners is fine and dandy when no ones about but please do shove me onto the island.

Lum, your supposed to treat each mini round about seperatly and indicate accordingly for each one.

Yes, but that rule was written before these abominations were invented. How am I supposed to simultaneously indicate left to say I'm exiting the roundabout, when on approach to a roundabout (ie. the second one) I'm supposed to be indicating right if that's the way I'm turning.

I realise I can change my signal as I cross the line, but that in itself causes problems and confusion.

Personally I think they should use more non-round roundabouts, eg. boneabouts where they currently put very small double roundabouts. These also have the added advantage of being easier to get on to in heavy traffic.

A word unknown to Google, so I think you made it up. But it's excellently descriptive... well done!

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Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

Hazard warning lights?

I take the view that for a mini-roundabout you should signal as though it were a T-junction or a crossroads. It is quite superfluous to make an additional left signal on exit.

For a double mini a left or right signal on entry, or no signal at all, should be sufficient to make your intentions clear.

_________________
"Show me someone who says that they have never exceeded a speed limit, and I'll show you a liar, or a menace." (Austin Williams - Director, Transport Research Group)

Any views expressed in this post are personal opinions and may not represent the views of Safe Speed

Only supposed to be used to indicate a stationary hazard, but I guess double mini roundabouts meet that description quite nicely

Not sure what you mean by this - there normally isn't any need to change lanes on the actual roundabout. If I want to leave the roundabout, I just signal left and leave even if I'm in the right hand lane - there shouldn't be any traffic to my left because they should all have left at earlier exits (although I do check my left-hand mirror just to be sure). And on gyratory roundabouts, surely you should just stay in your lane and you will be flung off at the correct exit?

The above, of course, assumes you know where you're going and are familiar with the roundabout - but if I'm on a r'bout I don't know and I miss my exit I usually just take another circle round

I disagree. The left signal on exit shows you are not doing a U turn, something I would assume if you were still signalling right.

You normally don't have time to signal left leaving a mini-roundabout though - even if you do, it doesn't make much difference as folk can tell by your body language where you're headed. If you signal left leaving a mini-roundabout, the time saved by someone entering the roundabout at the exit you're leaving at is likely to be... ooh... 1 second.

Signalling to leave a mini-roundabout seems overly pedantic to me.

I think you are just being lazy.