I tend to avoid them as I know routes round them but sometimes it is just unavoidable. My question if I want to join a multi lane roundabout do you need to wait to all lanes are clear or if the nearside lane is clear can you legally go?
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If the nearside is clear and you're taking the first exit (or the second) you should be OK. But watch the other guys like a hawk 'cos (a) they might not follow the rules and (b) you'll be maneuvering in close proximity to them.
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It is what I found the other day when I went round one of these in rush hour, I had to join as soon as the nearside lane was clear but it was a bit scary in case somebody didn't see me emerge and they decided to change lanes.
I have no problem with single lane rounabouts it is these multi lane ones in rush hour I am finding hard. Trying not to avoid things as much as I want to drive further.
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I join one every day. always join if my lane is free
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I just try and look at it that a year ago I was scared to drive to the next suburb, now I enjoy it.
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If you're going straight on, don't bother about anyone else.......keep an eye on other cars and take the racing line at speed.
That's the way to do it ! HeHe
Ted
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I agree, Ted... negotiating roundabouts, especially big ones, is all about being positive... Those who hesitate are lost!
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And ALWAYS wear sunglasses - any eye contact and you have to give way...
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I was going to add:
Don't force your way in, but make sure you can join without forcing anyone else to brake or swerve to avoid you and always, but always, keep both your eyes out for idiots...
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"I have no problem with single lane rounabouts it is these multi lane ones in rush hour I am finding hard."
These are the times when driving a powerful automatic in the city makes a lot of sense. And a lot of fun.
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i think thats what they are designed for. you know to keep traffic flowing, shift more traffic.
usually find near supermarkets where the council have got them to pay for road modernisation.
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>> i think thats what they are designed for. you know to keep traffic flowing, shift
>> more traffic.
>>
So why do so many of them have traffic lights to disrupt the traffic flow?
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We must have more than our fair share of them then.
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The Trafford Centre is like that, lots of big roundabouts with traffic lights. It has caused a lot of problems for the people who live near there, mind you they have a big sewage works in their garden so I doubt a shopping centre will make things that much worse.
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Look, no offence Sheikha, but how is it that a smart young fellow your age sounds quite such a little old lady all the time?
You have had the benefit of people's advice and encouragement here for what feels like centuries. Yet you still come on like a maiden aunt being asked to drive a bulldozer on a battlefield. I can only conclude that you are trying to wind people up.
Leave it aht Rats, knowImean?
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I was asking a driving question on a motoring forum. It was something I wasn't sure about because when learning I was told never to emerge onto dual carraige ways from a minor unless both lanes are clear in case a car decides to pull into the nearside lane.
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>> I was asking a driving question on a motoring forum. It was something I wasn't
>> sure about because when learning I was told never to emerge onto dual carraige ways
>> from a minor unless both lanes are clear in case a car decides to pull
>> into the nearside lane.
Maybe your instructor has something to answer for. What does RR think?
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Is the opening / closing gap situation taught during driver basic training these days ?
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The only thing that seems to be taught ON, is how to pass the test.
Any driving skills seem to be an optional extra.
Pat
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>> The only thing that seems to be taught ON, is how to pass the test.
>>
>> Any driving skills seem to be an optional extra.
>>
True, at least PassPlus is a step in the right direction... Though you could always have done that in the past, it just wasn't so formalised...
I could be wrong, but I'm not convinced that all Instructors have the experience to offer more advanced training, though... I seem to recall that advert for instructors mentioned that you only need 3 years full driving licence to become one... That seems like a very short driving career to then teach others?
Last edited by: hobby on Fri 4 Feb 11 at 09:29
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I go through a large roundabout joining the M5 several mornings a week. Oddly only one of the lanes is traffic light controlled, but it seems to work very well.
The road up to the roundabout is a dual carriageway, the left hand lane tends to move very slowly as it's used by traffic turning left onto the M5 towards Bristol. Most mornings I find it far quicker to use the right hand lane and make a complete circuit of the roundabout.
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Traffic lights on roundabouts aren't necessarily a bad idea, ON. Some big roundabouts can have such a steady flow of traffic in one direction at peak times that it can be impossible for anyone else to join.
Where a busy A-road crosses a motorway, for example, traffic leaving the motorway has to wait at the top of the sliproad for a gap in the straight-across traffic, which may be a long time coming. Meanwhile, traffic builds up down the sliproad and on to the carriageway, with potentially dangerous consequences on the motorway itself.
Traffic lights may slow down some individuals, but overall they mean fairer shares of access to the roundabout.
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You're quite right there Will. Anyone else use the A5/A43 junction at Towcester when busy? Absolute 'mare going south on the A5 as there's a near constant flow eastbound on the A43. About 25% of the other traffic are numpties who don't indicate/postion correctly so gaps are evident too late to use & a 5th road serving residential villages makes it worse.
The Council won't do peak hour only lights (which is when they're needed) and the 'average' problem is not so bad.
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"do you need to wait to all lanes are clear "
certainly not in Paris;
www.youtube.com/watch?v=lElTtHLdmPw
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best thing to do is dont look and just go for it
works most times
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>> best thing to do is dont look and just go for it
>> works most times
Not always, especially if it's a bus.
There used to be a fella on here knew a song about that.
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Ratto. If the nearside lane's clear, but you want to get into another, then certainly go, but only if you're confident about about changing lane (like on a motorway).
Whatever you do, don't dither and don't change lane unless you're sure it's safe to do so.
Get a copy of the highway code and read it until you understand it!
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I'm with bellboy on this. Just make sure nothing's coming from the right and try to stay within the lines. If it's really busy, follow the car in front if he manages to survive. Sometimes busy roundabouts revert naturally to a prioritie-a-la-droit approach, also known as the force-your-way-in-and-smile-apologetically technique.
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Get a Martini Racing BMW.
Anytime, any lane, any speed.
I did.
Seriously though...my driving instructor pal takes his Pass Plus pupils out on a Sunday specifically to get them used to the above scenarios. Nice easy drive on the M65, then the M61, M60 and round & round the Trafford Centre before lunch. Maybe thru the centre of Manchester then back on the motorways. They seem to love it. I'm not surprised because there cannot be many 17year olds allowed to drive a shiny new A3 Tdi 140 for the day!
Already this week he has had 6 new pupils ring up wanting lessons. Hardly surprising his car covers 60k + pa.
Last edited by: legacylad on Thu 3 Feb 11 at 23:34
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Before you reach the roundabout, look like you mean business. Be confident.
If it's one of those 50/50 cases where i'm on the roundabout and i could slightly adjust my speed either way to allow someone onto the roundabout in front or leave them to go behind me, then confident looking cars with good road position get to go in front but i wont wait for anything that looks even slightly dithery, if you're not even hinting at pushing then you can wait as far as i'm concerned.
I want to know that if im going to the effort of making it really easy for you, that you wont faff about for the next 10 mins in front of me.
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Rattle might know this roundabout:
goo.gl/maps/HeSu
But the route for me to the big Tesco Extra off the M60 can mean a bit of a wait until it's safe to move onto the roundabout in the link.
And there's a business off it with HGVs delivering/taking (? not sure which) flour. If I can I stop to let them out when I am heading home.
Lanes are marked on my entry point to the roundabout....some ignore and it's annoying when it would have been safe to go had someone INDICATED! :-)
Last edited by: rtj70 on Fri 4 Feb 11 at 00:08
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The first time we (the future ex) and I went out for a Sunday drive, was about a fortnight after she`d passed her test. We ended up on the inside lane (centre) of that four-lane effigy at Stone (nr Stoke?)! We were headed originally for Preston (from Cumbria) but never made it. Anyway, I digress, the traffic was so heavy, not at all what us bumpkins are used to, we ended up going around it about four times! moving out one lane each circuit, till we found a way off, just to round it off, it wasn`t the one we wanted either! ;-)
p.s
should have mentioned - she was driving!
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>>we (the future ex) and I<<
So the scrabble and grapes worked then:)
Pat
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I'm probably the last person who should be offering driving advice here, but I would suggest that if you aren't confident about something, you should make yourself do it.
When I first started driving the situations that worried me were, driving in central London, driving at night, and multi-lane roundabouts.
Within the first two weeks of buying my car, I had done four trips into central London (three of them after dark), hours of night driving and countless multi-lane roundabouts. None of the trips had been necessary, it was just me making myself do it.
Now, I don't think about any of them. I reckon that if I hadn't done it early, I would still be fretting about them.
Last edited by: SteelSpark on Fri 4 Feb 11 at 07:16
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I tend to agree, SS... I remember going on a Police driving course back in the early 80s in Glasgow and when the instructor was finding out our backgrounds he found out that a couple of them hadn't ever driven on a motorway... The course was in the West End of Glasgow and they lived in the East End... to get there they drove right through the centre, as many of you know the easiest way (at least it was then with less cars around) was via the Motorway...
At the end of the course when they took us out he got them onto the motorway and showed them what to do.... One reason Pass Plus is such a good idea as it gets round those "blind spots" people have about some aspects of driving...
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>> I tend to agree, SS... I remember going on a Police driving course back in
>> the early 80s in Glasgow and when the instructor was finding out our backgrounds he
>> found out that a couple of them hadn't ever driven on a motorway... The course
>> was in the West End of Glasgow and they lived in the East End... to
>> get there they drove right through the centre, as many of you know the easiest
>> way (at least it was then with less cars around) was via the Motorway...
A friend of mine has been driving for 16-17 years, and has lived within two miles of the M25 all of that time (aside from 3 years at Uni). He freely admits that he is scared to go on motorways, has only driven on the M25 for about 30 minutes in total and has never been outside of the M25.
Mind you, I think he is generally a bit of a nervous driver.
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...Mind you, I think he is generally a bit of a nervous driver...
I drive regularly on the northern sections of the M1 and M6.
On the rare occasions I drive on the M25 I'm struck by the speed and close proximity of the vehicles.
It's enough to make even an experienced motorway driver nervous.
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>> My question if I want to join a multi lane roundabout do you
>> need to wait to all lanes are clear or if the nearside lane is clear
>> can you legally go?
To try and actually answer your question rather than waffle, if you give way to people on the roundabout, you're OK. If they're going around, you won't be in their way.
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AshT = that sounds awfuly like my morning drive - are you refering to Junction 19?
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Junction 21 in Weston Mikey - I do use 19 a fair bit as we've friends in Portishead.
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Ahhhh, but Clevedon seperates us then!
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In fact I work in Clevedon Mikey - very familiar with J20 too :)
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>> My question if I want to join a multi lane roundabout do you
>> need to wait to all lanes are clear or if the nearside lane is clear
>> can you legally go?
Legal, schmegal. Get in whichever lane you choose, and put your foot down. Let the devil take the hindmost is my motto.
Signed: L'escargot by name but not by nature.
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>> Legal, schmegal. Get in whichever lane you choose, and put your foot down. Let the
>> devil take the hindmost is my motto.
>>
>> Signed: L'escargot by name but not by nature.
>>
Didn't one of our contributors get a bus, (I think), in his right ear trying that one.
Last edited by: Old Navy on Sat 5 Feb 11 at 16:40
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Big multi lane roundabouts - silly question - Bromptonaut
