Using indicators has gone out of fashion. Those with incorrect signals on are finding it difficult to cope cos itâs been that long since theyâve used them, they have forgotten how.
If in doubt
JUST PULL OUT!!!
This is one of my pet hates; people who fail to give correct signals on round-a-bouts or who give confusing ones. (Tallyman, take note, more later).
Steveo999 i agree to a point with your view of just keep going if they canât be bothered to signal. An old mate of mine who was an o/d used to crack me up: he would often get horned & give cars cause to brake whilst the trailer got out of their way. He used to say 2 things: âIf the office will fit, the factory will followâ and âtheyâll either stop or run under itâ. Whilst I canât be seen to condone this practiseâŚif they fail to signal their intention, what do they expect?
The idea of mounding round-a-bouts up & planting bushes in them is supposed to make them safer, apparently. It causes car drivers to slow down on approach as their view of approaching traffic is restricted.
Donât agree with it myself, I think the more vision the better.
Regular over speed on approach was the reason they planned into most new r-a-b approach layouts, & then changed many existing ones, to put in that kink on final approach. This makes the approach to almost every r-a-b hard work for artic driversâŚlook how many times you see the grass rutted & muddy to the left of the kink where trailers have run on the grass.
But you still see skid marks going straight onto the r-a-b & a demolished sign or two.
I have long believed that there should be short public information films on TV (advert length) on some of the common driving faults. i.e. Signalling at r-a-bâs, parking against traffic flow direction at night, etc.
Ollie, the sooner they bring complulsory taxi driver testing in the better, It is coming. Iâve used taxis for many years to get home from town on a w/end night (9 mile run) & the standard of driving is often nothing less than frightening & atrocuious. No regard for speed limits, tail gating, â â â in one hand, phone in the other.
Nobody has mentioned watching the front wheels of vehicles negotiation the r-a-b if they arenât signalling to get a clue if they are leaving at the exit before the one you are waiting to enter from. Not fool proof, but can be helpful.
tallyman:
As Teddy_0781 says, the highway code only says âsignalling as necessaryâ when going straight on & signalling on exit - bit vague there, but I always figure I must make it plain Iâm going to be crossing the path of someone in front of me - ie, if Iâm entering the roundabout to go straight on, then I shall be crossing the potential path of a joiner at the 1st entrance/exit so I signal right on entering the roundabout, cancel at the first exit & signal left before the second (straight-on) exit. It means that at least Iâm warning anyone ahead of me that I shall be crossing their potential path rather than leaving them guessing (possibly incorrectly).Itâs part of whatâs taught on advanced driving courses - the difference between defensive & offensive driving.
Close to where I live thereâs a notorious 6 exit roundabout which makes for very interesting experiences!
Tallyman, this is just plain wrong. Not to mention confusing. You were certainly not taught to do this by either your car or LGV instructor. You are giving the impression, especially to following traffic, that it is your intention to turn right at the island. It is a misleading signal & would most certainly go against you on any driving test.
I often witness this at the m/way r-a-b under a mile from home. The car i am following will signal right on approach & move into the right lane. This clearly telling me they intend to go down the m/way towards Blackpool, or do full circle & return from whence they came. They continue to signal right but then change to left & expect to be able to go straight on. With me they rarely get the chance as I have gone along their near side & will now be in a position to block their attempt to do a sudden lane change. They often end up missing the exit they wantâŚbecause they initially told me they were not going my way.
Think of a simple r-a-b with only 4 exits as a cross roads. Signal & position on approach exactly as you would for a x roads, except, always indicate your intention to leave, as soon as it is too late to take the previous exit.
As for the more complicated layouts such as near your home: as a general rule of thumb, 1st exit would (obviously) be a left turn & you would signal on approach & throughout the island accordingly. Any intermediaries before & upto 12 Oâclock would be construed as s/o. Anything after 12 Oâclock treated as right, signal right on approach, change to left as soon as too late to take exit before.
However lane markings should always also be considered and the direction sign on approach always shows the layout of the exits. It may be that the main road which you are following exits at 2 Oâclock, but as this is the main route it can be treated as straight on. Hence approach in left lane & only signal to leave.
Another thing i often witness is LGV drivers turning right at r-a-bâs having entered on approach from the left lane & remaining in it all around the island. Again, this is just plain wrong, its also dangerous as you effectively cut off exits for cars already on the r-a-b. They could easily nip immediately accross your bow. If unsure which exit you want, approach & signal as if for a right turn, if necessary go all the way around to have a look, then pick the correct exit on the 2nd round.
Hope my rant is helpful to some.
Jonathan. DSA ADI. RoSPA Gold. Ex LGV Instructor.
Driveroneuk:
The idea of mounding round-a-bouts up & planting bushes in them is supposed to make them safer, apparently. It causes car drivers to slow down on approach as their view of approaching traffic is restricted.
Donât agree with it myself, I think the more vision the better.
what difference does it make when they stop at an empty roundabout anyway? whenever i approach roundabouts/junctions, i am watching the flow of traffic from at least 100 yards away (whenever possible) and all the way in to save me stopping. if its clear, im not hanging around waiting for something to come, im offski
they would of course have to keep in the correct lane too, roundabouts are named so because you go round about them - not straight across all the white lines shaped like circles that go around the roundabout.
yes thats right iâm sick to death of all those nutters that canât turn their steering wheel.