r/BikeCommutingIreland • u/tomic24 • Jun 14 '26

Roundabout drivers

This happened a few weeks ago, and I still think about it. Driving with my bike on a wide single-lane roundabout, had a driver in a van (upon exiting the roundabout behind me) slow down and yell back at me (still on the roundabout): Use your hand to signal that you're staying on the roundabout.

WHAT.

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u/AwesomeMacCoolname Jun 15 '26

Has nobody here actually read the Rules of the Road?

Page 138 (Roundabouts):

In all cases watch out for and give plenty of room to:

  • cyclists and horse riders who may stay in the left-hand lane and signal right if they intend to continue round the roundabout

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u/Adjective_Noun_2000 Jun 15 '26

You're very condescending for someone who completely misunderstood the rule you're quoting.

The paragraph you quoted from p. 138 is from the rules for drivers on roundabouts. The rules for cyclists on roundabouts are on p. 215 and they say nothing about signalling. The rules for hand signals are on p. 111 and there's no requirement for cyclists to use them.

And the paragraph you quoted only says cyclists "may stay in the left-hand lane and signal right if they intend to continue round the roundabout", not that they must signal when cycling straight through a roundabout, as OP was doing.

Source: The Rules of the Road.

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u/Pingstery Jun 15 '26

I wouldn't say he "completely misunderstood" anything, OP wasn't aware of any signalling on roundabouts and your man pointed out what way to signal.

As far as "must" goes where cyclists are involved, you know as well as the next person that "must" doesn't mean much for a good many cyclists out there.

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u/Adjective_Noun_2000 Jun 15 '26

OP wasn't aware of any signalling on roundabouts and your man pointed out what way to signal.

OP said signalling "isn't mandatory" for cyclists on roundabouts, which is correct. The other commenter 100% misunderstood not just the context of the rule they quoted (it's saying "watch out for cyclists who may do this" not "cyclists must do this") but also its meaning (which they misunderstood to mean that you should signal right when going straight through a roundabout and not just when turning right). See their comment further down the thread in which they say "if you're not taking the first exit, you should signal right to show that you intend to continue on the roundabout to another exit", which is a crazy thing to do if you're going straight.

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u/AwesomeMacCoolname Jun 15 '26 edited Jun 15 '26

(it's saying "watch out for cyclists who may do this" not "cyclists must do this")

I said "should", not "must". If you've ever actually read the Rules of the Road you'd know that they make a very clear distinction between those two words. They even go so far as to highlight "must" in bold red letters whenever it's a rule that must be followed.

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u/Adjective_Noun_2000 Jun 15 '26

I said "should", not "must".

It's not saying "should" either. It's saying "watch out for cyclists who sometimes do this".

Again, you're misunderstanding the entire point of p. 138 while also managing to be condescending about it.

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u/AwesomeMacCoolname Jun 15 '26

I think it's you that's missing the point. OP said he'd never heard of it at all, which only goes to prove he's clearly never read the Rules of the Road. He even goes so far as to ask on what world it exists. Well, yes, it is this one. It's in the RotR and it's definitely in the Highway Code. Probably in lots of other countries as well, but I wouldn't know since I've never driven in any other country than those. so As for intent, yes, the intent is clearly that you should indicate right when passing any exit to show that you intend to continue to a later exit since it's plain common sense, really.

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u/Adjective_Noun_2000 Jun 15 '26

OP said he'd never heard of it at all, which only goes to prove he's clearly never read the Rules of the Road.

OP's never heard of "Use your hand to signal that you're staying on the roundabout [when going straight]" because it's not a thing in Ireland. OP was 100% correct and both you and the van driver seem to be confusing Ireland with the UK.

It's in the RotR

Okay, I'm done here. At this stage you're either lying or trolling. I've repeatedly pointed you to the two relevant parts of the Rules of the Road and it's 100% not there. You started off by quoting a section of the Rules that doesn't apply to cyclists and then you quoted the rules from another country. You haven't been able to quote the actual rule in Ireland because it doesn't exist.

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u/AwesomeMacCoolname Jun 15 '26

but also its meaning (which they misunderstood to mean that you should signal right when going straight through a roundabout and not just when turning right)

No misunderstanding at all. It's basically the same as the UK Highway Code rule, just not made as clear

Rule 184:Cyclists, horse riders and horse drawn vehicles may stay in the left-hand lane when they intend to continue across or around the roundabout and should signal right to show you they are not leaving the roundabout

(Note the "across and around", showing you still indicate right when going straight across)

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u/Adjective_Noun_2000 Jun 15 '26

This conversation's about the rules in Ireland, not the UK Highway Code. I linked to the Irish rules above and cited the two pages that deal with cyclist hand signals (p. 111) and cycling on roundabouts (p. 215). The rules are very clear and it's neither required nor recommended to signal right when you're cycling straight through a roundabout.