Hello, I’m new here and it seems a great place for help and advice, which is what I need. I have one training day left and around an hour’s driving before my class 2 test the following day. I feel fairly confident with most aspects of my driving, but I’m still having trouble with roundabouts, particularly the smaller ones, and as my test is from the Featherstone/Wolverhampton centre, the chances are I’ll be tackling a fair few on my test. My instructor told me that if I am turning right at a roundabout with two lanes on approach, I should position myself in the right hand lane on my approach and stay in that position as I go round until I have to exit. I did this on a roundabout with two very narrow approach lanes and a fairly narrow road and put the rear offside wheels over the kerb on my way round. What I needed to do was straddle the lanes on approach which would have given me room to negotiate the roundabout without touching the kerb. So my question is, is it ok to straddle lanes on approach and take up however much room you need to negotiate the roundabout on the way round whether there’s lane markings painted around the roundabout or not? Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated as I’m told even brushing a kerb means a I’ve failed.
sck:
What I needed to do was straddle the lanes on approach which would have given me room to negotiate the roundabout without touching the kerb. So my question is, is it ok to straddle lanes on approach and take up however much room you need to negotiate the roundabout on the way round whether there’s lane markings painted around the roundabout or not? Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated as I’m told even brushing a kerb means a I’ve failed.
Firstly. Welcome to TrucknetUK sck 
You have answered your own question correctly - well done
“borrow” as much as you think you need on the approach - job sorted.
As the highway code says - large vehicles may take a different approach and take a different course to allow them to negotiate a situation safely.
I was told in my Artic training that you could brush the edge of kerbs and not fail, it’s when the tyres actually mount them you will fail. Althought kerbs have never been a problem for me there is a very tight left turn off the A460 back towards Featherstone at some lights and unless you’re spot on you can clip the kerbstones there.
Straddling lanes is something I was never 100% sure if I should do or not on certain roundabouts / junctions. When I failed my first artic test one of my failing points was for straddling a lane slightly (still let cars through) at a junction I hadn’t done before when I apparently didn’t need to, however from an inexperienced drivers point of view, surely it’s better to be safe than sorry, examiner didn’t see it that way though.
If I come to a roundabout now and it’s got 2 lanes in, but the roundabout itself doesn’t look wide enough to accomodate me and a car I’ll straddle the lanes to stop them coming up either side of me, as it’s apparent most car drivers don’t have the foresight to see that coming up the inside of you on a tight roundabout may result in them getting clobbered.
So my question is, is it ok to straddle lanes on approach and take up however much room you need to negotiate the roundabout on the way round whether there’s lane markings painted around the roundabout or not? Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated as I’m told even brushing a kerb means a I’ve failed.
It always depends on thast one particular piece of road. Some you have to straddle - others you dont.
You say that your instructor told you to stay to the right hand lane? If so it is probably that this one is possible to take from the right hand lane without taking the kerb on the way.
Did you go round it in training and did you take the kerb then?
As Rog says, there are pklenty of places where you have to borrow a piece of road but this may or may not be one of them. Try to remember what happened in training.
Posted: Sat Oct 13, 2007 8:24 pm Post subject:
I was told in my Artic training that you could brush the edge of kerbs and not fail, it’s when the tyres actually mount them you will fail
!! It is all down to the descretion of the examiner. I know one examiner who failed a guy who did not even touch the kerb. The examiner told him he was ‘uncomfortably close’ to the kerb - so failed him. 
Never give the examiner any reason - even the tiniest - to fail you so keep away from kerbs.
Let us know more about that particular roundabout - for example did you go there on training and if so whast did your instructor tell you about it and maybe we can be of more help.
Thanks for the help fellas. Yesterday was the first time I’d tackled this particular roundabout during my training. My instructor didn’t actually say anything as I approached or as I was going round until I’d got the wheels on the kerb, but he had told me on the first training day to approach roundabouts in the manner I would in the car, ie left lane-left turn/straight ahead etc. I did return to the same roundabout in the car today for a look and I still think I’d need to straddle the lanes when in the wagon, unless I’m just not very good at this driving thing. I’ll make sure I go there again before my test. I have hit the kerb more than once on every training day so far so I clearly need to use more road and to take up a better position. Funny thing is I’ve done the tight turn from the A460 lights to Featherstone more than once and was nowhere near the kerb.
Sorry, I was referring to a Class 1 on that corner. Never took it in a RIgid so I guess it’s ok for them.
straddling lanes is ok but straddle them 50/50 to make sure some idiot in a car doesn’t try to squeeze through and cause you problems 
Denis F:
straddling lanes is ok but straddle them 50/50 to make sure some idiot in a car doesn’t try to squeeze through and cause you problems
BUT - a lot of the examiners only want you to “borrow” as much as you need and MAY consider using 50/50 as innapropriate - find out from your instructor what they want - they dont all want the same!!!
ROG:
Denis F:
straddling lanes is ok but straddle them 50/50 to make sure some idiot in a car doesn’t try to squeeze through and cause you problemsBUT - a lot of the examiners only want you to “borrow” as much as you need and MAY consider using 50/50 as innapropriate - find out from your instructor what they want - they dont all want the same!!!
definitely ask your instructor, looks like it varies from area to area ! I remember getting a bollocking for not splitting 50/50 and letting a car slip round the outside
Hi am new to LGv too. i was told by my instructor that if a roundabout has a lamp post in the middle of it the straddle the lanes. but the lamp post thing isnt always the case its a good guideline i found tho