The DSA has sent out one of its periodic advice emails. This one concerns roundabouts.
When reaching the roundabout you should:
- give priority to traffic approaching from your right, unless directed otherwise by signs, road markings or traffic lights
- check whether road markings allow you to enter the roundabout without giving way. If so, proceed, but still look to the right before joining
- watch out for all other road users already on the roundabout; be aware they may not be signalling correctly or at all
- look forward before moving off to make sure traffic in front has moved off
Rule 185
I’ve given a lot of advice on how to handle roundabouts, including the non-existent 12 o’clock rule and also the Nuthall roundabout in Nottingham, and one of the main points to be aware of is that they’re not all the same and you cannot apply the exact same detailed procedure to every one you ever encounter, particularly when it comes to lane choice and signalling.
The DSA’s advice is written in a level of detail (i.e. not too much) so that it applies to all roundabouts for all normal drivers.
Once again, the amateur Sherlock Holmes’ out there (all driving instructors, obviously) are waffling on about the picture of that green car turning right and being shown in the right-hand lane – even though the green arrows show that it can exit in either lane (which it can).
What they all miss is the fact that the roundabout in the picture has two lanes on every entry, and this defines two lanes on the roundabout itself. It would be far more risky for anyone turning right to change lanes on most roundabouts part way through, and especially so for learners and inexperienced drivers (of which there are far more than the average amateur Sherlock Holmes realises, and some of those are a lot closer to home than he thinks).
So the position of the green car in the right-hand exit lane is actually the safest option – unless you’re a super-duper advanced-driving expert who doesn’t need to follow road markings or use signals merely because you read it in Roadcraft once!
Addendum: If you don’t like receiving these DSA advice (or other) emails – which it appears some don’t – then there is an absolutely clear link on each one which says “Unsubscribe”. Subscribing to them in the first place required a very deliberate act on the part of the subscriber. It stands to reason that unless the DSA is employing psychics now, unsubscribing will also require a very deliberate counter action on the part of that same subscriber!
Of course, if you don’t get them sent to you anymore then there’ll be nothing to complain about in future…