Overtaking on roundabouts.

[Bottle_of_Rum]

I'm getting so fed up with boy (and not so Boy) racers who overtake on roundabouts that I'm beginning to doubt if it's me or them whose in the wrong.

So.... I approach a roundabout where I need to go straight on. there are 2 lanes and no queues. Straight ahead is exit 2 and it's only one lane.

I enter the round about only to find the guy who was in the right hand lane puts his foot down and pulls in front of me.

It's a while ago but I'm sure I was taught to use the left hand lane for straight across unless it was blocked in some way and that if I then used the right hand lane I had to give way to anyone in the left hand lane who was going straight over.

The highway code doesn't really clarify as it says to use the appropriate lane, but doesn't clarify any further.

opinions to keep me sane please.

B.O.R

 

[BlueMan]

Either lane is correct if you intend to leave at exit 2 as you have described it. It is rather like waiting in a queue at the post office - you just know that the other queue is going to move more quickly than yours!!

My pet hate is the people in the left hand lane in such a situation who then carve across both 'lanes' on the roundabout, effectively forcing anyone in the right hand lane onto the centre of the round about. Some people have no lane discipline. /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif

Now, don't get me started on people who indicate right at a roundabout and continue to do so as they exit the roundabout..........aaaargh!

I am neither a boy nor a racer but you might think so if I meet you at a roundabout.... /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[Bottle_of_Rum]

So if you and I were approaching the roundabout, it's a single lane road as you approach and your behind me, not on my tail but a sensible distance.

I take the left lane and you take the right, flooring it and with out signaling as you exit.

What does this come down to poor lane discipline? or am I expected to realise your going to overtake and slam on the anchors?

This isn't a personal thing and I agree on people who drive across not around!

B.O.R

 

[itsonlymoney]

I have to disagree with "Blue man" If as you say there are two lanes entering and only one lane exiting surely you should use left hand lane in order to go straight on as you would at a crossroads for instance.

My pet hate on this matter are people who use mini roundabouts as "overbouts" Aargh....
And...............
We have a mini roundabout near us that I use daily cos it's on the way to my office. One lane entering a mini roundabout which is effectively a "T" junction. People who position themselves on the left portion of road therefore holding up traffic wishing to go left, then cutting right over the roundabout and turning right. I deliberatly go down the side of them with my indicater on postioned correctly, but they look at you with such annoyance as though you are in the wrong. I just love the smell of road rage in the morning !
Ian

 

[SlowlyButSurely]

Depends what car you're driving. If it's a beemer and the other driver is in a merc then obviously you should give way, but if the other driver is in a beemer as well then expect to be carved up.

 

[BlueMan]

I would be signalling from the point at which I passed the exit previous to the one that I intend to take. You also would not need to take any evasive action as I would not pass you if there was not space to make it safe to do so. I would simply slow down and let you go ahead.

Having said that, if it was safe to pass I would certainly do so and use the full performance of my vehicle to make sure that I got clear ahead so that I didn't baulk you. The golden rule of overtaking is always to use maximum available performance to minimise the 'time exposed to danger'.

I too find it very frustrating to be overtaken by an idiot when in a long queue such that there is no place to go and no advantage to be had by them. On the other hand I will also take advantage of any safe and legal opportunity to overtake slower traffic and roundabouts sometime present the best and safest opportunity to do so.

I certainly wouldn't accuse you of doing so (as we have never met) but unfortunately some people do confuse assertive driving and using maximum performance where appropriate with driving dangerously and they are not the same at all.

If you are continuing to be bothered by this you might like to use some of the advice that I got on one of the regular defensive driving courses that my employer sponsors. If you slow down early when approaching the roundabout you can control the vehicle behind you. Time your slower approach so that you reach the roundabout when there is a gap in the traffic and you will be clear away before the boy racer has realised what has happened. That will really annoy them! It also massively reduces the chances of being shunted from behind (one of the most common accidents in our fleet) if you do have to stop.

Happy motoring/sailing!

 

[BrendanS]

here you go! <g>
http://www.2pass.co.uk/roundabout.htm

 

[AlexL]

as far as i'm aware assume you have a standard 4 exit roundabout with 2 entry lanes, then for the 1st exit you must be in teh left lane, for the 3rd exit the right lane and for straight on, in either. As has been said the main problem is people turning left from the right lane and vice versa.

 

[snowleopard]

like most situations on the road, there are those who have invented their own set of rules and those who know the rules but choose to ignore them.

i used to have fun every morning on the heathrow south perimeter road. there's a roundabout with 3 lanes coming in, the right-hand one clearly marked right turn only, those going straight on use the middle lane and get carved up by the boy racers taking the empty right hand lane then cutting in. and if you don't make room they hoot at you.

the next roundabout has 3 lanes in but no road markings so a truck and 2 cars approach together and the truck decides he can't be bothered to go round the outside and forces the cars onto the island.

it's interesting that the nearer you get to london the more often you get carved up by some prat who just has to get in front of you. now i'm down in cornwall i hardly ever see aggressive driving

 

[jfm]

You are at fault, not the other guy

On the facts in your post, the guy in lane 2 overtaking you on the roundabout is 100% correct in overtaking you. I do it often - roundabouts often produce excellent overtaking opportunities. This is not in contravention of highway code.

Now, if the overtaker cuts in front of you at the exit point forcing you to take action to avoid him, then he's in the worng. You didn't say in your post that this was the circumstance you had in mind. But he would be in the worng for cutting in, not for overtaking on a roundabout.

Incidentally, it is not always knowable on entry to the roundabout whther the exit will be one or two lanes. If the overtaker judges it wrongly so there are two of you trying to be in the exit lane at the same time, then the overtaker should out of courtesy let you go first as you were first in line, as it were.

But it would be wrong of you to take offence just because someone happens to overtake you (without causing you to have to slow down or take avoiding action etc, ie the cutting in issue) when there's space to do so, even if that's on a roundabout. The overtaker has as much right to be there as the overtakee. You need to examine your own attitudes and consider why you are getting "fed up" at someone else putting their foot down and overtaking you when there's space to do so.......

 

[BlueMan]

Driving over a mini roundabout is of course an offence which is punishable by 3 points on your licence. The bad news is that all the government is interested in is 'Safety' Camera Partnerships and revenue generation. It is too hard to measure bad driving so they do not bother and don't fund the police to do so either.

You have to adapt my comments depending on the size of the roundabout. On some it would be quite inappropriate to pass another vehicle whereas on others it would be perfectly reasonable. Technically a roundabout is similar to a circular one way street so you are free (where it is safe to do so!) to pass on the left or the right.

Shall we move on to middle lane road hogs and fog light offenders to really get the debate going......it's almost as much fun as the IRPCS debates!!

Oh yes, and I hate (most) BMW drivers too!

 

[cameronke]

Your not from Edinburgh are you Bottle of Rum?

This is my pet hate too, especially in the Edinburgh area (Do unto others before they do unto you).

Cheers Brendan, feeling a little smug here, I have usually been doing it right.

If I come against this situation now, I act a little "daft" and position myself "badly", effectively blocking both lanes onto the roundabout to prevent such a situation.

As a student, I was a motorcycle courier and developed some very effective self preservation and assertion skills that come in very usefull round about Edinburgh.

Always great to get back to Gods own Argyll where people seem to be so much more civilised,considerate and polite.

(INCOMING !!!!)

Regards
Cameron

 

[StephenSails]

My driving instructor told me that mini roundabouts should really be treated as cross roads. I drive a chelsea tractor so it doesnt really bother me lol!

 

[StephenSails]

Dont get me started on caravans and lorrys overtaking on hills! grrrrrr fetch my gun

 

[itsonlymoney]

Answeres to..

para 1 - agreed

para 2 - point taken

pars 3 - oh yes lets

para 4 - dont know any that well really, most my mates seem to have rangies, mercs or porche so no comment.

Regards - Ian

 

[BlueMan]

mmm, I have a real problem with the advice that says that you should indicate right if intending to take exit 3. This is a recent invention and is responsible for so many people exiting a roundabout with their right indicator flashing away!

The advice used to be that indicating right is of course showing intent to make an illegal move as you can only turn left onto a roundabout. When on the roundabout you don't need to indicate until you intend to leave, and then you indicate left as you pass the exit prior to the one that you intend to take.

The mini-roundabout has modified my view slightly as it is then safer to indicate right for exit 3 as the Mr Average coming the other way (entering from exit 2) will probably not have the wit to realise that a lack of indicator means that you are intending to continue around the roundabout to exit 3.

The general principle is that you indicate when doing something that others would not expect or could not predict and therefore need to be warned about.

As a result the following hold true:

continuing round a roundabout - no indication required
moving back to the left after overtaking - no indication required as you are REQUIRED to do so
exiting a roundabout - indicate left as described previously
moving out to overtake - indicate right
turning left or right - indicate as appropriate

Ah, I feel so much better for that. Rant Off!

 

[BlueMan]

Any HGV drivers about? No, good.......

All HGVs should be banned from overtaking other vehicles of any description on any carriageway with less than 3 lanes each way between the hours of 6am and 8pm.

I have been told that there is some similar legislation in effect in Germany but I have no first hand knowledge of it.

Now for the controversial bit.....

No vessel required to use the small boat channel when entering or exiting Portsmouth harbour shall overtake or pull alongside any other vessel similarly required to use that channel when within the said channel.

Penalty is instant seizure of vessel and keel hauling of skipper.

 

[KREW2]

Must get some new glasses I havn't seen any roundabouts in the solent
KW

 

[tcm]

Re: Overtaking on roundabouts - help for Bottle-of-Rum

first off, iof course, it may be that your car is a bit on the weak and puny side. In any case, consider perfecting the "double dodge" aka the "flailing dodge". This involves feigning a sudden and dramatic move into the the next carriageway. Essentially, at any speed above about 10mph, if you waggle the steering wheel a lot the front of the car leaps about on its suspension, causing everone around to touch their brakes and give you a choice of any lane you fancy. Done correctly, the driove alongside sees your bonnet flailing around, locks the anchors and inadvertantly lets you in before he's realised that the moment he pauised you'd be in his lane.

The good news about this is that it even works on people who know about it, and you can always "break into" a line of traffic hoping to block you out and the relevant target thinks "heck - he's actually going for that non-gap!"

Otherwise, get a fast, cheap automatic car and give it loads of welly. The stickshift is ok, but too much work and not really as fast for short bursts - the 0-60 times are done without using the clutch or caring about the gearbox. Try them in a rental car, when you are really close to giving it back and just ram the gears. Of course, no prob if it's a company car...

Also, if someone cuts you up illegally, drive into them! - perfectly ok. I did this once as in slow traffic 5-10 mph as the driver infriont explained to his mate "look, see, this is how you cut into traffic..." then wham! i took his bumper off, smiled sweetly and said "i pretty sure it's my right of way, hm?". heehee.

For advanced roadburning, get a car capable of 0-60 in under 5ish seconds and you can blow the motorbikes away, beating them to the exit and forcing them to take a longer scarier route around. I could go on but would get nicked...

 

[KevB]

If there are two lanes approaching the roundabout and only one as a straight across exit, I would use the right hand lane for straight over and turning right with the left hand lane for turning left.