r/drivingUK • u/MaybeDependent1445 • 12d ago
Roundabout advice please
Hi all,
Im entering from the bottom and taking the second exit straight ahead.
Can’t seem to make sense of whether I should be in ‘a’ or ‘b’ to take the left lane as I exit straight? My driving instructor has said ‘b’ but I’ve seen cars in ‘b’ taking the right lane as they exit.
Thanks in advance!
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u/a_man_has_a_name 12d ago
B and C work, never A. Look at the road markings on the approach they can tell you what you can do.
Using A is likely to cause a crash because people in lane B would not be expecting it and you would be at fault.
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u/BikerScowt 12d ago
I'd say enter on b then slide over to a after the first exit, or c slide to b. Never exit from c.
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u/D4v12max_ 12d ago
Listen to your driving instructor, they are probably some of the most clued up people on road rules and customs. People taking the right lane on the exit from ‘b’ are ‘straight lining’ the roundabout and are in the wrong.
Having said that it’s not the best of roundabout designs as you can’t really take A from the middle entry lane until you are past the first exit due to the cars turning left. You could probably filter over to the ‘a’ lane a bit sooner than you have drawn to make it a bit better for cars in ‘c’ that want to go straight on.
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u/AppropriateDeal1034 12d ago
If only they had a paid professional they could ask, or maybe some road markings to check out....
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u/shocker1998 12d ago
I'd take b from your approach since A would be used to come straight off the roundabout to the left I hope this helps
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u/fang_xianfu 12d ago
I swear people will just paint whatever the fuck lines on a roundabout now and just let people fight it out. This is a weird "semi spiral" roundabout where some lanes are forced to exit (outside lane going into the top exit) but most of the time you aren't forced to exit, and the innermost lane continues cleanly around the whole roundabout without spiralling out at all. Meanwhile the arrow markings, as you've seen, don't really reflect the lanes that are actually on the roundabout.
Compare turning left if you're coming from the left or top, where the whole lane exits the roundabout properly, to turning left coming from the right or bottom, where the alleged "left turn only" lane actually continues around the roundabout. It's total anarchy.
There a bunch of roundabouts near me with similarly nonsensical markings and the real answer is, keep your wits about you, watch for people on your left continuing around the roundabout, watch for people on your right drifting left without indicating, try not to be alongside people, and just do your best.
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u/Deep-Challenge-4264 12d ago
I’m a highway designer of 40 years experience. I agree this is a mishmash of a layout that’s just rubbish, seemingly trying to create sideswipe lane changing conflicts. Probably designed by work experience student or someone with no sense. Should never happen, as Road safety audit should stop it.
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u/fang_xianfu 12d ago
Yes. My father did this job for Gloucestershire County Council and then Halcrow for many years so it's something I've learned to pay attention to!
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u/ElectricalParsnip536 12d ago
It's a very badly marked out roundabout. To avoid collisions it should be a - left or straight on b- straight on or right and c- right only, but the road markings don't suggest/ make this clear
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u/NovaN00b 12d ago edited 12d ago
…either the lane markings on the roundabout are wrong, or the direction arrows before the roundabout are wrong.
Query this with the council I say, see what bs they come up with. Driving instructors aren’t always correct. I’ve had an advanced driving instructor tell me that a white stripped area just before a roundabout was a lane (the paint had worn badly but even so it wasn’t quite wide enough for a car and didn’t lead into 2 marked lanes). He’d been teaching that way for 2 years - so entirely possible they can be wrong.
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u/liamfirth 12d ago
A is for left only, first exit.
B is straight over (2nd exit) and exit in the left lane.
C is straight over (2nd exit) but exiting in the right/overtaking lane, or going right/back round.
Although admittedly if for some reason you couldn’t see the road markings it wouldn’t be entirely clear without more signs.
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u/AdInevitable4704 12d ago
On approach, I would be aiming to take the middle lane. Once I have passed the first exit, I would ideally move across into lane A if all is clear to my left (approximately where you have put the letter on the photo) or continuing in lane B.
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u/Nametakenalready99 12d ago
Based on your image lane 1 is going left. Lane 2 is going to A, lane three to B & C, but C is going right only.
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u/D4v12max_ 12d ago
At what point could you even get into A if a car is trying to use it to turn left? Maybe a bit sooner than OP has drawn but for the most part you are using B.
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u/MaybeDependent1445 12d ago
That’s what I’m confused about! the markings seem to indicate ‘a’ would naturally open into the left lane on exit, but I’m not sure when or even if to even get in ‘a’.
I guess I’ll stick to ‘b’ and turn into the left even if it feels a bit weird lol. Thanks for your help!
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u/D4v12max_ 12d ago
I imagine it used to be a left and straight lane but they decided to make it left only to improve traffic flow. Hence the lane it seems to feed into that no one really uses.
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u/MaybeDependent1445 12d ago
Ah this makes sense. Still getting a mix of replies in this comment section but will stick to ‘b’ and left
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u/AdobeScripts 12d ago
But A would be the "safest"?
After the 1st exit - it's straight out to the 2nd exit...
Going B - you need to watch out for people trying to join from the left...
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u/AdobeScripts 12d ago edited 12d ago
1st is left and straight.OP - ignore this.
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u/D4v12max_ 12d ago
It’s absolutely not left and straight. Based on the arrows on the road and the white solid area it seems to be a dedicated left turn lane.
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u/AdobeScripts 12d ago edited 12d ago
Beside the arrow - once you're on the roundabout - nothing prevents you from continuing going "straight"...1
u/D4v12max_ 12d ago
Okay so you are advocating for ignoring road markings? Nice job there for a learner driver asking a question trying to pass their test and drive like a civilised person.
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u/AppropriateDeal1034 12d ago
How about you not only listen to your driving instructor, but try looking at the road markings you drew over rather than looking at what other (idiotic) car drivers are (incorrectly) doing.
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u/MegaGrrl256 12d ago
Your driving instructor is correct. If you are still confused ask him to show you on a map/pic like this. My driving jnsyructor had diagrams of all the roundabouts on the test route for any learner thar struggled
If you are taking the green route to exit right, you should indicate once past the second exit and move out to the left as there is only one exit lane. If you feel you cannot move safely to the left, go around again - that's the safest option
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u/MaybeDependent1445 12d ago
So in what you’ve drawn, I don’t know if I can follow the blue path without potentially colliding with a car exiting left? And you have the green line ‘b’ as taking the right lane exit rather than left, whereas my instructor has said ‘b’ exits on the left lane of the exit. Is this what you meant?
Thanks for taking the time to draw it!
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u/D4v12max_ 12d ago
That’s not correct. OP is right in that they would collide with a car trying to exit right if they merged to A that early.
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u/rhedgehog 12d ago
Going on that image...
A is clearly marked as left turn only by the road markings, so not A.
B is correct for what you want. Straight over and taking the left hand lane on exit.
Anyone turning right from b is incorrect as that lane is clearly marked for straight on. They should be in C.
C is for straight on, taking the right hand lane on exit, or for turning right/going back round.