Yet another roundabout question (with picture!)

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Postby nandn » Thu Jan 24, 2013 7:40 pm


Hi,

I've attached an accurate picture of a double mini-roundabout that my husband has drawn, based on an aerial photo. All road markings are shown on the picture.

If i am travelling from A to B which lane should i get into at the first roundabout?

I presumed the lefthand lane, but then it feels like i am cutting across a lane in order to get into the righthand lane on the second roundabout.

On my last visit to this roundabout, i was in the lefthand lane and a someone was in the righthand lane. They decided to go straight ahead, which meant that i was forced into the 'lefthand turn only' lane at the second roundabout and had to turn left.

I could well come across this roundabout on my driving test, so would like to know which lane the tester would expect me to get into. Also, if i was in the lefthand lane and someone was in the righthand lane, would the tester penalise me if i pulled away very slowly to see if the vehicle on my right was going to turn right or go straight ahead?

Any comments or advice is welcome,

Abbi

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Postby Gareth » Thu Jan 24, 2013 7:48 pm


If I knew the road layout in advance I would choose the right lane on approach to the first mini-roundabout. If I was unfamiliar with the area, I'd look for guidance signs on approach, or maybe road markings. If I found myself in the awkward position of being on the left of another vehicle moving straight ahead, I'd either aim to out accelerate them to gain the correct lane, or hang back with the right indicator on to attempt to adjust lanes behind them.

If I was learning to drive, the latter seems best, with a fall-back of taking the left turn at the second mini-roundabout. I'm fairly certain that in these circumstances the examiner ought to give you some warning about which lane to take, if there are no signs in advance of the junction, and anyway should not mark you down if you handle the junction in a safe fashion even if you don't take the desired exit.
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Postby Nigel » Thu Jan 24, 2013 9:21 pm


I know a set up just like that near Banstead in Surrey where the examiner usually gives advanced warning to stay in the right lane on approach to roundabout a or you get pushed over into the left turn
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Postby fungus » Thu Jan 24, 2013 10:24 pm


This is not helped by there being no lane direction arrows on the approach to the first roundabout. In this case an examiner should direct you into the most appropriate lane. However, if there are clear lane markings and they are visible to you, an examiner is under no obligation to direct you to the appropriate lane, some will, some won't.

As far as being in the wrong lane, out accelerating, or hanging back might be an option, and as Gareth said, hanging back is probably the safer option for a learner. You must be careful not to affect another road user by your actions, so I would advise you to follow the advice given in the DSAs Driving the Essential Skills. "If you find that you're in the wrong lane do not change lanes at the last moment. Continue in your lane and find another way back to your route." Remember your test is not a route finding excersise and if you do take the wrong exit, you fill not be faulted, and the examiner will find a way back onto route.

I have posted a couple of examples of double roundabouts near me in Dorset.

http://maps.google.com/?ll=50.745911,-1 ... 6&t=h&z=20

http://maps.google.com/?ll=50.752416,-1 ... 1&t=h&z=19
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Postby martine » Thu Jan 24, 2013 11:58 pm


Wot they said! Great advice.

Can we see a google streetview of the junction?
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Postby Ancient » Fri Jan 25, 2013 10:35 am


Indeed, what they said; I can only add that, when navigating a roundabout you should try to avoid being directly alongside another car in any case so pulling away more slowly than the vehicle on your right is not only acceptable, but good driving. This will put you in a better position when in the LH lane of the first roundabout and wanting to exit that roundabout in the RH lane.

If you approach the first roundabout in the RH lane, be aware that other drivers may also find the situation difficult and need to switch lanes between the roundabouts.
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Postby nandn » Fri Jan 25, 2013 5:15 pm


I'd just like to say thank you to everyone who has taken the time to reply to my questions.

When I'm home tomorrow I will post a googlemaps image of the junction and some advice I had from a local instructor.

Thanks again!

Abbi
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Postby nandn » Sun Jan 27, 2013 12:18 pm


I've attached a link to the Googlemaps photo of this double roundabout:

http://goo.gl/maps/fcjXj

I also asked a local instructor about these roundabouts and he confirmed that the testers from the test centre do not mind which lane you approach the roundabout in.

If going straight across both roundabouts he teaches his pupils to enter the first roundabout in the lefthand lane and then move to enter the second roundabout in the righthand lane. However, he also said that at 3pm, when the nearby school finishes, most people going straight across both roundabouts will use the righthand lane on the first roundabout because the lefthand lane is backed up with people turning left at the second roundabout.

From what i have learned, each roundabout should be treated separately. The first roundabout has two exits - 12 o'clock and 3 o'clock. It also has two lanes leading up to it. Logically, the left lane should be used for the 12 o'clock exit and the right lane for the 3 o'clock exit.

That's the theory! But in practice it feels safer to use the righthand lane on the first roundabout, and that seems to be the advice that most people on here have given me.

I'm going to practice this roundabout lots more and also stand on the pavement for a bit and watch what other drivers do there. Then i'll be more aware of all the possibilities.

Abbi
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Postby fungus » Sun Jan 27, 2013 6:19 pm


The only awkward approach is from 4-o-clock where neither lane is marked. If your instructor says that examiners accept an approach in either lane then I would go with what other drivers are doing to avoid conflict, but you need to be aware as much as possible of the driver in the lane along side of you, and as Ancient said,
Ancient wrote:I can only add that, when navigating a roundabout you should try to avoid being directly alongside another car in any case so pulling away more slowly than the vehicle on your right is not only acceptable, but good driving.


Here is an example near me where it's a case of doing what others are doing to avoid conflict when driving N-S or S-N. The lanes on the cross routes are too narrow for a car to fit in.

http://maps.google.com/?ll=50.738353,-2 ... 6&t=h&z=20
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Postby knighterrant » Mon Jan 28, 2013 1:17 pm


fungus wrote: then I would go with what other drivers are doing to avoid conflict

As a lifelong maverick, I generally tend not to do this. But advancing years also tells me that this can be sound advice too. Take, for example, a roundabout on the A404 near where I used to live. My regular route would take me across the top of the T that this roundabout formed. Two lanes lead into the roundabout, with two on the first (left) exit and quickly narrowing to one on the second (straight on) exit. The outer of the two lanes on which I entered the roundabout was marked with a straight ahead arrow, and the inner lane marked with a left/straight ahead arrow. The markings can still be seen here, although changes were being made when Google visited. https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Hatch+End,+United+Kingdom&hl=en&ll=51.605564,-0.377955&spn=0.001926,0.005284&sll=51.465978,-2.135824&sspn=0.000959,0.002642&oq=hatch+end,+United+Kingdom&t=m&hnear=Hatch+End,+Greater+London,+United+Kingdom&z=18&layer=c&cbll=51.605628,-0.378821&panoid=83BXN1nLIU4HIsnVsdlzTQ&cbp=13,226.53,,0,9.09
Usually I'd arrive at the roundabout to find at least one vehicle in the outer lane waiting to continue straight along the A404, whilst the inner lane was empty. The arrows on the road told me I could use that lane to go straight on, so I did. I always judged my speed so as to not interfere with the outer lane drivers, but on most occasions they still showed that they were upset that I didn't wait behind them. After receiving a dozen or more angry horn blasts I decided to stick with the lemmings and save the aggro. The extra few seconds of queuing didn't really matter, but on principal I was never happy doing it.
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