Safe Speed Forums

BEDFORD A421/A603

The above roundabout is an abject lesson in exactly how bad drivers are.
The above image is the roundabout BEFORE it was resurfaced and re-lined/laned.
It is now possible, if your eyes work, to come off the D/C and into the lane needed to transit the roundabout and then exit it at the proper exit WITHOUT having to signal (much)
EVERY lane has BIG letters saying where you need to go....coming from town on the A603 (top of the left hand side) you have a choice of left turn into Priory Park, straight on on the lane marked A421 or make a slight right to the lane marked A603, or change lane to the lane marked C'RDGT (Cardington)....then exit the roundabout STILL on the MARKED lane without signals...
No, loads get it wrong and SELFISHLY wrong...they used the other lanes to overtake traffic on the RIGHT lane to get in front.
In short...wasters.
No, worse. Deliberately ignoring road markings for positional advantage. This is a BUSY roundabout with, at 0800z, a massive amount of traffic...in the next hour there will be at least 500 cars transiting the roundabout into Priory Park estate...NOT counting the other traffic crossing the roundabout. The same at 1700z. In reverse.

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The world runs on oil, period. No other substance can compete when it comes to energy density, flexibility, ease of handling, ease of transportation. If oil didn’t exist we would have to invent it.”

56 years after it was decided it was needed, the Bedford Bypass is nearing completion. The last single carriageway length of it.We have the most photogenic mayor though, always being photographed doing nothing

I have brought this topic in from here as I think it worthy of more in depth discussion ...

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Safe Speed for Intelligent Road Safety through proper research, experience & guidance.

Yet from looking at this it looks like a well designed and predictable layout ... so where do the 'driver' issues stem from.


I assume that you mean things are 'clear-er' or more 'controlled' ?
I am unsure precisely what you mean by not signalling much - so I assume you mean by 'being in the assigned lane' you are obviously going to 'X' location - and that perhaps you only indicate at the final exit ?
Now this situation can easily lead to confusion as some road users will treat this intersection as a road system (as I think you are) or as a roundabout, each road layout will have different perspectives on how to handle 'driving/riding' style and behaviour. Those that indicate at every moment while circumnavigating the roundabout and others provide minimal indication as they view it as a 'road' therefor indication is un-necessary until (perhaps) later or just after the last prior 'turnoff' as one might on both a roundabout and on the approach to any intended turn off.


So they assume all know 'where' they are going as it is 'clear', (?) -correct lane choice - as in, they would (obviously) be in another lane if they were going 'that way', (are there lights on this roundabout?) ?


If they see it as a road extension and there are long enough stretches and clear lane designation, and add very slow moving traffic (with bad, busy roads ahead when overtaking is difficult or impossible) then they 'take the perhaps clear (?safe) nip-in-front overtake.
This would be symptomatic if the roads prior / and /or ahead are bad or if the road user cannot overtake well and this seems possible at least ?

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Safe Speed for Intelligent Road Safety through proper research, experience & guidance.

Recent photographs of the SAME roundabout AFTER renovation. The pictures are 1-3 top...left to right. 4-6 bottom, left to right. Picture 1 is the exit from Priory park onto the A603 roundabout. You can see the lane markings and lettering. The roundabout goes under the A412 d/c. It is possible to join the RB from Priory park on the right lane and go all the way around the RB and exit on the A603 Bedford bound. Picture 4 are the lanes after going all the way around the RB, under the A421 and approaching the exit (A603) Bedford bound. Picture 5 is the A603 exit immediately after the lane marking in picture 5. Picture 3 is the NEXT exit after the A603 exit (Stannard Way/Priory park). You are only aware of the lanes you can reach really...the design is very good and needs little signalling once you are in the lane. All messed-up by drivers who are not looking, or are too intent on getting in front.

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The world runs on oil, period. No other substance can compete when it comes to energy density, flexibility, ease of handling, ease of transportation. If oil didn’t exist we would have to invent it.”

56 years after it was decided it was needed, the Bedford Bypass is nearing completion. The last single carriageway length of it.We have the most photogenic mayor though, always being photographed doing nothing

Ok just trying to find a reason why drivers might be confused, what if you do not understand the Priory Park ref - or you have a local ref to an 'A' referenced road (and no sat nav), that can cause confusion.
Some might change their minds on location / or realise a mistake and an 'overtake' might just be a decision change and a slot into a space.
Now I don't know the roads so am I right in assuming that Priory park and the A421E, A1 & A603 are all off the same road ? i.e a Right off the 4 way roundabout ? (3rd exit) ?
Even on a roundabout like this, I would still be indicating as necessary/recommended in Highway code. ... (point 184) ...

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Safe Speed for Intelligent Road Safety through proper research, experience & guidance.

I have to say I find these "spiralised" roundabouts a great improvement for bigger/busier junctions, as they take away most of the ambiguity over which lane you should be in. One of the few positive developments in modern road design. However, many drivers still don't really seem to understand them, and in particular have a tendency to drift in towards the centre, which you need to watch out for.

In the good old days they would have made a Public Information Film to explain them, of course.

Drivers have similar problems with "tiger-tail" merges and demerges on motorways.

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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

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The world runs on oil, period. No other substance can compete when it comes to energy density, flexibility, ease of handling, ease of transportation. If oil didn’t exist we would have to invent it.”

56 years after it was decided it was needed, the Bedford Bypass is nearing completion. The last single carriageway length of it.We have the most photogenic mayor though, always being photographed doing nothing

So many of the small roundabout s by me have arrows pointing out which lane to use for the direction you are going.......which you would say should help...the only problem is they are tending to send traffic turning left into the first lane and all other traffic into the right hand lane. In the majority of cases on these islands the traffic turning left is only going to a small carpark or a road which would take you back to where you have come from. This results in 75-90% of the traffic needing the right hand lane, effectively reducing the roundabout to a one lane entry....instant traffic congestion which is totally un neccessary if people are allowed to use it as a normal island.

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My views do not represent Safespeed but those of a driver who has driven for 39 yrs, in all conditions, at all times of the day & night on every type of road and covered well over a million miles, so knows a bit about what makes for safety on the road,what is really dangerous and needs to be observed when driving and quite frankly, the speedo is way down on my list of things to observe to negotiate Britain's roads safely, but I don't expect some fool who sits behind a desk all day to appreciate that.

Markings on the road have the problem that at busy times they are often obscured by stationary traffic so that strangers have to guess which lane to use and usually getit wrong.

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When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race. H.G. Wells
When I see a youth in a motor car I do d.c.brown

I take a contrary view here. I dislike marked lanes on roundabouts as they always seem to take you on an "unnatural" line through the junctions. Also, as these markings are a recent introduction and I have been around for years, I tend to look to the right when waiting to enter a roundabout and judge the intention of an approaching car by its position and attitude as well as signals. I tend to think that a person travelling at the outer edge of a roundabout is going to exit into the road which I am entering from. Lane markings which allow people stay on the outer circumference all round negates this anticipation.

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Malcolm W.
The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not represent the views of Safespeed.

Yes some roundabouts are marked sensibly, others seem to be a maze. Take the main one near Telford Centre and the Station. It took several attempts for them to mark the lanes out before getting it right. It seems to work sensibly now but you still get the odd pillock trying to cross a white line into your lane without any cares...but then these people are probably the people who don't indicate, use mirrors etc any way....probably really safe drivers, who never exceed 40 MPH though, so that makes it all all right....

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My views do not represent Safespeed but those of a driver who has driven for 39 yrs, in all conditions, at all times of the day & night on every type of road and covered well over a million miles, so knows a bit about what makes for safety on the road,what is really dangerous and needs to be observed when driving and quite frankly, the speedo is way down on my list of things to observe to negotiate Britain's roads safely, but I don't expect some fool who sits behind a desk all day to appreciate that.

http://www.multimap.com/maps/#map=52.67 ... |TF4%202AS

I had originally intended to put the above link up to show the lane markings on the roundabout but it doesn't really show them because the photo is a couple of years old. What it does show clearly is HOW EFFICIENT THAT ROUNDABOUT USED TO BE.
At the time of the photo they only had lights on two approaches (and they only switched on at 7AM and off at 6PM) and as you can see there is no standing traffic and everything is flowing smoothly. Now they have lights on every approach except one and there is ALWAYS standing traffic both on the roundabout and every approach road (probably hence the need for direction markings on the road of the roundabout, which weren't needed when it was smooth flowing)

Will local authorities EVER learn when it comes to keeping traffic flowing???

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My views do not represent Safespeed but those of a driver who has driven for 39 yrs, in all conditions, at all times of the day & night on every type of road and covered well over a million miles, so knows a bit about what makes for safety on the road,what is really dangerous and needs to be observed when driving and quite frankly, the speedo is way down on my list of things to observe to negotiate Britain's roads safely, but I don't expect some fool who sits behind a desk all day to appreciate that.

The Canford Bottom Roundabout on the A31 in Dorset has been recently 'spiralised'. As a result, some of the smaller-volume roads are A LOT harder to get out of at busy times.

Not contrary at all ... but perfectly understandable and for myself and many others I am sure, will be in perfect agreement.


Absolutely. There are many roundabouts that I encounter all over the Country have totally variable systems, one up here that is or was the Country's (I believe) the first spiral roundabout and it creates the largest queues.
I have been in touch with the local Council about it as the queues are hated esp in rush hour. (Well 30 minutes max)...

I agree with other points above to, the visitors to the area don't know where they are going and I have to confess I have sometimes driven 'by the satnav' and it sometimes tells me 'later' than I'd like which exit, if I am in doubt I use the right hand lane (if wrong can go all around) but it totally depends on size of roundabout too.
The control of which lane into a roundabout one is meant to take, is I think really wrong, as it is driving people into 'a lane set' than the more natural flow of traffic to negotiate as 'normal'. The highway code on roundabout lane designation implies that I should obey the lane I need, but when the roundabout is empty that is nonsense, more wear, more stress, more inefficient style and totally un-necessary, as the best route is as straight as possible.
Now during busy times, is the intended 'reason' to help traffic remain in certain lanes to help 'retain' clear paths for other routes, but this then bunches up the main through routes, (so some traffic cannot even get onto the roundabouts) whereas before two lanes might have been used to achieve the destination ?

So then - do we need larger more 'laned' roundabout options, to help the traffic flow, and preferably with wider road too on exit to help the traffic flow ? Would this 'just mean' that all you do is alter where someone sits in traffic than achieve 'flow'?
There is a psychological advantage to the driver who believes that they are making headway though - than 'not even got on the roundabout yet - or road I need, yet'?

One helpful feature I have seen, is to give prior slip roads for traffic taking the first exit at a roundabout.

(btw that latest photo I can see, makes this a 6 way roundabout - I'd said 4 earlier)

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Safe Speed for Intelligent Road Safety through proper research, experience & guidance.