Driving lessons with Bob. On your UK driving test you need to know how to deal with roundabouts correctly. Within the UK each driving test route will have different types of roundabouts on it. How many roundabouts you will encounter on your driving test will depend on where you take it. In Basildon for example a test route may have 15 or more different roundabouts on it. In Southend a typical route may have 10. In some test areas, on some driving test routes there may not be any roundabouts at all.
This video shows some 3 and 4 exit roundabouts in the south of Essex UK in the Southend-on-Sea and Rayleigh areas. It illustrates how to turn left at a roundabout, how to turn right at a roundabout, and how to go straight ahead at a roundabout with either a 2 lane, or 3 lane entrance.
A simple explanation of which lane to take:
Left turn usually means: left mirror, left indicator, and left lane.
Right turn usually means: right mirror, right indicator, and right lane. Straight ahead at a roundabout with a two lane entrance usually means: mirror, no indicator, left lane.
Straight ahead at a roundabout with a three lane entrance usually means: mirrors, no indicator, middle lane, and keep left in the roundabout.
Many roundabouts are now traffic light controlled at every entrance to the roundabout, or sometimes just at some entrances, or sometimes just at certain parts of the roundabout. The road markings ans lanes on these traffic light controlled roundabouts are often different to roundabouts of a conventional layout.
All of these techniques apply unless road markings approaching, or in the roundabout, indicate otherwise. It is permissible to overtake through a roundabout going straight ahead, or go through in the right hand lane straight ahead if you have a reason, such as a parked vehicle on the exit, or you want to turn right further on.
As always Mirror, Signal, Manoeuvre applies.
Disclaimer: The author is a Driving standards Agency Approved Driving Instructor and has been been teaching people to drive in the UK for over 30 years.
However these videos are NOT individual instruction, and hence the methods and explanations illustrated are often specific to the shown situation, and cannot always be generalised to other similar situations. Please use this information with caution as we cannot and will not be held responsible for any mishaps or incidents that may occur due to practising of the these techniques.
And most importantly Bob is not always right!
Only ever enter a roundabout if you are completely sure it is safe to do so, making sure that you assess traffic in front of you, as well as traffic coming from the right in the roundabout whatever lane it is in. Always expect the unexpected. remember that “it it can happen, one day it will.”
Cars or lorries in the right lane of a roundabout won’t necessarily stay in the right lane of the roundabout – at some point they will take an exit: this means that you should never pull out next to another vehicle in a roundabout, but either well in front, or behind it. This way it if goes somewhere that you haven’t anticipated in the roundabout you will still be safe.
We hope that you enjoy Bob’s contribution to this how to deal with roundabouts video.
Post time: May-07-2017