C+E Failed second time - roundabout tips?

Okay, the first time I went-for a record quick fail and drove forward at the start of the reversing procedure.
This put me in a not great frame of mind and picked up a couple more ‘serious’ faults. One for being a bit too ‘confident’ on a roundabout and going when it ended up there was a car coming around.

This time I stuck to caution and failed for that (only serious - was waiting a good while.)
I was turning right here. There was cars waiting to go straight on to the right as you can see in the goolge maps image.
There was also cars coming around - I had trouble seeing the direction they were going and how many. If it was 5 in a row going down the road I was trying to leave, I could pull out easily.
But it could also be just two cars, or some of the cars could be continuing around the roundabout.

Are there any good rules to judge this? I had previously asked my instructor and basically just got a ‘it depends’ answer.

You can only go by the manner of each vehicle and if unable to determine where each is going then wait

ROG:
You can only go by the manner of each vehicle and if unable to determine where each is going then wait

Cheers - this was how I believed I was working it.

And got my serious for undue hesitation. I was waiting a good long while.

The tester said that he could see they were probably going off from their road position.
For me though, some were sticking to the outside lane and coming around the roundabout, making it hard to be sure.

But more - visibility was limited by the tress, so I could only see cars for a fairly short period - if the car coming from behind the trees was the last car of a stream, then if I went at that point, I would end up blocking the traffic that would start coming from the traffic you can see waiting in the picture.
Of course, if five more cars continued coming, I’d be fine to go.

Which seems to put it all down to luck - and I’m hesitant to have to spend the best part of £400 and a good bit of a day off work to leave it down to luck so much.

I live just down the road from this roundabout and must agree that it is terrible, you can’t tell till the last second if a car is coming around or not, so it isn’t just you. Not a very constructive answer but I hope it helps reassure you that the issue isn’t you.

Not all of the test routes use that roundabout so you may be lucky if you book up again, When I did my class 2 I went down the dip into Hempstead which is a much easier way out, as is going the other way through the business park.

Good Luck.

2gates

If trees are the problem, I suggest you speak to beaver, it would seem he is on a bush trimming mission.

But seriously, roundabouts are a pita. I’ve passed now, so I can do as I please. You will too, you’ve already invested the cash and time, no turning back now.

Roundabouts are not such a dark art provided you stick to simple rules. 100% ignore the examiner’s comment about probably leaving the roundabout. Probably is just not good enough. Just assume that everyone is going to drive across you unless they have a left signal indicating they are going to join the road you’re on.

And if you have to wait, so be it. But pull out and slow folks down and you’ll be booking another test.

The only possible exception is pulling out when the road is clear and then another road user appearing out of “nowhere”. No examiner expects the candidate to be psychic.

Hope this helps, Pete :laughing: :laughing:

Unfortunately all tests require an element of luck so you’re either going to bite the bullet, book again and cross your fingers or not bother and wonder what might have been

Peter Smythe:
And if you have to wait, so be it. But pull out and slow folks down and you’ll be booking another test.

The only possible exception is pulling out when the road is clear and then another road user appearing out of “nowhere”. No examiner expects the candidate to be psychic.

Hope this helps, Pete :laughing: :laughing:

That split second when you´ve just pulled out and a car comes screaming around the blind approach…is a candidates worst nightmare tbh. And there´s literally a SPLIT second to judge whether to stop or carry on. IMHO to carry on is a no no. Stop and wait for a clear road again.
What do you think, Trainer/Examiner dudes?

Cheers for the thoughts all.

Peter Smythe:
Roundabouts are not such a dark art provided you stick to simple rules. 100% ignore the examiner’s comment about probably leaving the roundabout. Probably is just not good enough. Just assume that everyone is going to drive across you unless they have a left signal indicating they are going to join the road you’re on.

And if you have to wait, so be it. But pull out and slow folks down and you’ll be booking another test.

Problem is that as I understood it, this is exactly what I did - waited until I was 100% sure, then went. And that got me the ‘serious’ and booking another test.
It was a pretty long wait for that piece of 100% clear road.

I think I’ll at least pop up there at a lunch time maybe and just stand by the junction watching to try and get a better feel for the traffic and what it’s doing/how long I have etc (and a couple of other nasty ones too maybe.)

geebus:
Cheers for the thoughts all.

Peter Smythe:
Roundabouts are not such a dark art provided you stick to simple rules. 100% ignore the examiner’s comment about probably leaving the roundabout. Probably is just not good enough. Just assume that everyone is going to drive across you unless they have a left signal indicating they are going to join the road you’re on.

And if you have to wait, so be it. But pull out and slow folks down and you’ll be booking another test.

Problem is that as I understood it, this is exactly what I did - waited until I was 100% sure, then went. And that got me the ‘serious’ and booking another test.
It was a pretty long wait for that piece of 100% clear road.

Yeaahhh, not really clear, in your first post, why you got a serious, tbh, If you waited until it was clear, no matter how long, then pulled away, all is good, no?
If, however, you were hesitating while the road was clear, NOT pulling out, and then, just at the last minute, a car came along, that´s…well, hesitation.
LONG time since I did this, can we call a Doctor, my pulse rate is well high :slight_smile:

The situation was - there was continuously traffic queuing from the road you can see to the right. There was never a really long queue back.
(I pretty much waited until it was clear to go.)

At some points traffic would come around the roundabout and block that traffic.
However some of that traffic was turning left onto the road I was leaving.

The A pillar and right hand mirror were also impeding my view, making it harder to see.
I couldn’t too easily see left indicators to get an idea of which vehicles were going off.
Nor could I easily tell where they came from (as they would be unlikely to be passing me if coming from the unction to my left, though still possible)

The examiner specifically said that I could get a good idea from their road position where they were going. He obviously believed there were times I should have gone. He did not mention any times it was clear - and I do believe I went the first time it was clear and I was sure I could go.

To me it still seemed that it wouldn’t give me enough time to not block someone if I based it on a vehicle coming around the roundabout going off blocking the traffic waiting.
If there had been two artics waiting at the junction to the right; sure. But if any particular vehicle was the last vehicle, I wouldn’t have time to pull out without blocking a waiting car.
If instead (as it often was), it was the first of a stream of five vehicles, I would be fine. But each of those vehicles COULD be the last one and traffic could then be entering the roundabout from the right before I cleared it.

It sounds to me, but I´m not a trainer/examiner, that you just had a ■■■■■■ roundabout experience. You obviously know what you´re talking about, know what you are supposed to be doing, and THAT is a bendy wagon nightmare of a place.
I mean, how long is TOO long to be waiting before you bully your way out to make progress?
You´ll nail it next time .

That split second when you´ve just pulled out and a car comes screaming around the blind approach…is a candidates worst nightmare tbh. And there´s literally a SPLIT second to judge whether to stop or carry on. IMHO to carry on is a no no. Stop and wait for a clear road again.
What do you think, Trainer/Examiner dudes?

I don’t understand why this is a nightmare. Just stop. You don’t have to carry on just because you started.

Pete :laughing: :laughing:

I say nightmare because, to a candidate on a test it´s a nervous time. You can, as we see, pass or fail in that spit second. That´s why I say it´s a stop. Safety first, and all that.

steviespain:
how long is TOO long to be waiting before you bully your way out to make progress?

Forever if need be - examiner can direct the candidate to ‘inconvenience’ those on the roundabout but not cause them to ‘slam on’ if they wish to in the case of ‘no completely safe opportunities’

Understood. Thanks.

The examiner did say in a bit of an exasperated manner ‘you can go now’ or something to that effect when we’d been waiting a good while and had someone blocking the oncoming traffic at that moment - but again, at that second I didn’t feel I could be 100% sure to clear it safely. And by the time I had sorted it out in my mind, there was more traffic coming my way, so I waited a bit longer.

Perhaps if I’d gone exactly when he said, it might have been okay - but I suspect it was too late already, by the tone of his voice.

I’m fairly confident that if I had gone, other traffic would only be inconvenienced, not having to slam on etc.

starting off on a good footing and having a good rapport or craic with the examiner is always a good move.
you may just get the benefit of the doubt sometimes.
youtube.com/watch?v=nYHWb1r41Iw

Try using commentary such as - “I have been waiting quite some time and from the look of this situation I may have to safely inconvenience a driver or two to proceed”

followed 15 mins later with…ffs mate,thats the third time ive failed now. :slight_smile: