Here we go again – in a spin about circling those roundabouts

Not everyone takes the same care at roundabouts. Photo: Stock image

Eddie Cunningham Twitter

July 09 2022 02:30 AM

Roundabouts remain a mystery to many people, it seems.

I fear for some drivers, I really do.

I know I am playing an old record but from a few experiences I’ve had this past week I feel obliged to mention the issue again.

First of all it has to be said that there are some complicated versions of roundabouts where you go from the outside to the inside lanes quite quickly and have to negotiate a lot of traffic coming on and leaving.

But that is all the more reason to take greater care on approach.

I’m sure you have seen worse, but I think the incidence of people cutting across your path without any indication of intent is widespread. I had a few this week.

Many drivers seem to get into difficulty because they approach a roundabout too fast. Like everything else on the road the risk is greatly reduced if you cut your speed and yield to traffic coming from the right.

They say good advice is always worth repeating and the best bit I’ve come across is to treat the roundabout as a clock.

If taking an exit from the 6 o’clock to the 12 o’clock positions, generally speaking you should approach in the left-hand lane.

And if you are planning on using an exit between the 12 o’clock to the 6 o’clock positions, you should approach in the right-hand lane. I think that simple message is key to working a roundabout but I see too many signs of it not being followed.

Similarly, not everyone follows directions as indicated by road markings. And that’s the problem with how we treat roundabout driving: not everyone takes the same care.