I came across a particularly crap road layout the other day (roundabout) where the left lane became the middle lane on the entrance, and then depending on which junction you enter from, you either have two or three lanes on the roundabout itself to deal with.
I wanted the 3rd exit, which means I have to join the RH lane of a three-lane entrance, then join the new magical third lane on the right on the roundabout itself in order to be in the left lane (of the two-lane part) for exit 3!
Had I been in a truck I would have squashed someone for sure (no, not really, but it seems like it), but thankfully I was in my relatively small car (it’s small as cars go).
As I’m currently learning to become a HGV driver, this otherwise screwed-up situation made me ask: how the hell would I handle this in a truck?
Thankfully the road was fairly quiet so my lane change wasn’t a problem, but if I was in a truck I realized I’d otherwise end up stuck in the middle lane trying to turn right into the magical 3rd lane and blocking the road.
How do you deal with this in a truck without hitting anything? My road positioning wasn’t dangerous; just the wrong lane suddenly. I had a look on Google maps and it is indeed one screwed up layout that is inconsistent across all three entrances to the roundabout as well as lane count around the roundabout itself. It should really be a two-lane roundabout but opposing sides are three-lane, with the 3rd lane magically appearing out of the two-lane sides. All entrances are three-lane with the exception of one which is two-lane. All exits are two-lane.
I consider myself a relatively good driver, but these roundabouts sometimes give me a total headache as to what the designers were thinking. The worst part is any standardization of layout seems to have been lost decades ago.
I’m no doubt going to encounter more of this, so how to deal with it?
Do what the majority of LHD foreign trucks seem to do.left hand lane always and go round the roundabout as far as like til your exit and cause carnage cutting everyone up. [emoji1787]
Maybe stereo typical view but it is what I experience most nights with LHD trucks on roundabouts most of the time. They do however have that all important right indicator which provides a force field around the truck. [emoji848]
You have options. IF it’s not going to cause carnage and mayhem, stick your signal on and ask for a space. But keep moving in your current lane - don’t just stop. If that doesn’t work, you still have options. Either go round the roundabout again (probably favourite) or leave the roundabout at the exit designated for the lane in which you find yourself. You may have a trusty sat nav that will then sort you out.
The secret is to persuade folks to help you without bullying them.
Sometimes (but not always) the problem comes because the driver hasn’t read the advance lane marking sign correctly. So take care to look out for them and read it well.
And yes, the advice above applies to a driving test as well.
I will check it again, but I’m paranoid about checking the advanced lane marking sign. I was already in the RH lane on approach to the roundabout, but it was when I was actually ON the roundabout it went awry.
simcor:
Do what the majority of LHD foreign trucks seem to do.left hand lane always and go round the roundabout as far as like til your exit and cause carnage cutting everyone up. [emoji1787]
Maybe stereo typical view but it is what I experience most nights with LHD trucks on roundabouts most of the time. They do however have that all important right indicator which provides a force field around the truck. [emoji848]
Sometimes I can see why they do it!! No consistency (as in this case)!
I will check it again, but I’m paranoid about checking the advanced lane marking sign. I was already in the RH lane on approach to the roundabout, but it was when I was actually ON the roundabout it went awry.
I see no problem if you stick to the lane lines which guide you through
Start in right lane to turn right - guides you onto it then takes you to middle lane then takes you to nearside lane to exit … all done without actually changing lanes
It is what is often called the snail system
I think I might be able to see where you went wrong. Entering the roundabout, it would be easy to get into the middle lane. But that is marked straight on whereas the lane you want is marked to the right. As your exit is to the right, that’s the lane you want. Then, as ROG said.
Easy mistake to make. I would have tried to move over safely. If no hope, go straight ahead.
I think the layout will cause problems, then again, UK roundabout design, despite being quite “progressive” as far as roundabouts go, can really be lacking in consistency, on the continent you tend to find they’re only one lane wide sometimes with bypass lanes and just avoid all confusion right from the get go.
And consistency really is the lacking factor in this roundabout, why, if I enter from the south do I get lane markings merging me into the roundabout, which is fine, but then in the NE corner the lane markings aren’t symmetrical with the south so there’s no markings merging me OFF the roundabout, the lane system is different on each corner, but the problem is the lack of consistency, this roundabout isn’t like anything I’ve seen before because its a mix of like, 3 different types of big junction roundabouts that you can get here in UK.
They’ve tried to add useable lanes so people can join the roundabout whilst traffic is still on it [and I don’t mean, on the opposite side…] it’s a sketchy system at best. The simplest and safest solution is to have nearside bypass routes at every corner and then anyone who wants to go straight on or to their right has to use the roundabout as normal.
But yea… consistency and UK roundabouts don’t exist.
Sometimes you stay on the left to go ahead and left, sometimes left lane is left only, sometimes right lane is right only… no wonder UK dashcam videos are absolutely full of roundabout tomfoolery.
then join the new magical third lane on the right on the roundabout itself in order to be in the left lane (of the two-lane part) for exit 3!
Had I been in a truck I would have squashed someone for sure (no, not really, but it seems like it), but thankfully I was in my relatively small car (it’s small as cars go).
?
If you join the “magical third lane” as soon as it appears, then there couldn’t possibly be anyone in it for you to squash! job done!
There’s even an arrow on the floor telling you you have to do that as opposed to two straight ahead arrows telling you to leave the roundabout at the straight ahead option.
I will check it again, but I’m paranoid about checking the advanced lane marking sign. I was already in the RH lane on approach to the roundabout, but it was when I was actually ON the roundabout it went awry.
I see no problem if you stick to the lane lines which guide you through
Start in right lane to turn right - guides you onto it then takes you to middle lane then takes you to nearside lane to exit … all done without actually changing lanes
It is what is often called the snail system
I don’t agree, you have to change lanes after you enter the roundabout, once to the right. But it’s a brand new lane, therefore, empty.
flammen:
on the continent you tend to find they’re only one lane wide sometimes with bypass lanes and just avoid all confusion right from the get go.
The Arc de Triumph is on the continent!
And consistency really is the lacking factor in this roundabout, why, if I enter from the south do I get lane markings merging me into the roundabout, which is fine, but then in the NE corner the lane markings aren’t symmetrical with the south so there’s no markings merging me OFF the roundabout, the lane system is different on each corner, but the problem is the lack of consistency, this roundabout isn’t like anything I’ve seen before because its a mix of like, 3 different types of big junction roundabouts that you can get here in UK.
They’ve tried to add useable lanes so people can join the roundabout whilst traffic is still on it [and I don’t mean, on the opposite side…] it’s a sketchy system at best. The simplest and safest solution is to have nearside bypass routes at every corner and then anyone who wants to go straight on or to their right has to use the roundabout as normal.
But yea… consistency and UK roundabouts don’t exist.
Sometimes you stay on the left to go ahead and left, sometimes left lane is left only, sometimes right lane is right only… no wonder UK dashcam videos are absolutely full of roundabout tomfoolery.
I think this roundabout has perfect lane markings and does not have a single problem if you follow the markings.
Problem is, we’re too used to “making do” with asinine road networks. You only have to look at UK dashcam vids to see how much the general road user struggles on a roundabout. If you follow the rules, you should be okay, but then you get Mr. GIVE WAY TO THE RIGHT who just blasts onto the roundabout even though you were already on the roundabout before he emerged just to prove a false point [who’s usually the one that uploads the videos, it has to be said… ].
I’m not really a Europhile but people from Europe really do despair at our roundabouts and as I said, if they were consistent, it would make sense to everyone once they’d seen the 2 or 3 type of roundabout layouts that we have.
I’ve driven in Romania and despite the monumentally dodgy driving there, [you know the usual, night-time driving in Romania equals high beam or no lights at all, even in heavy traffic etc], but even there roundabouts aren’t half as perilous as they can be the UK because for the most part there’s only one lane and you’re FORCED to give way to traffic circulating just like you’re forced to stop at a red light, unless you have a death wish of course.
The driving standards in the UK are wayyy better than people want to give them credit for but yet roundabouts are a bit of a hotspot when it comes to fender benders and less than fatal incidents.
Most roundabouts I’m fine with, but particularly the larger interchange roundabouts at motorways give me nightmares. I don’t know why, but while I can JOIN a roundabout in the correct lane, there is something about the layout ON the roundabout that creates massive problems.
Some roundabouts are a case of get-in-lane, and it will spiral you out to the exit. These are cool. The PITA layouts are the ones where you need to change lanes to get to the exit.
I was on the M25 a couple of weeks ago (first time I have ever driven anywhere near London) and had I not researched the roads on Google I would have freaked out (at this point you’re probably asking why the hell I want to become a truck driver, LOL). I ignored the signage for the exit I wanted and took the “wrong” lane (middle instead of right lane). This put me in the correct lane for the exit (it was still the 3rd lane on the roundabout at this point, but the way the junctions exited it worked out as the left-hand lane immediately prior to my exit which was perfect). Now, the question is, if the middle lane actually eliminated a lane-change at the traffic lights ON the roundabout, why the hell does all the signage put you in the right-hand lane forcing a lane-change?
This is what absolutely drives me crazy, and I think the reason I don’t get on with them.
stu675:
I don’t agree, you have to change lanes after you enter the roundabout, once to the right. But it’s a brand new lane, therefore, empty.
Would you be good enough to point out where that happens please because I cannot see where it happens if you follow the guide lines on the road which keep you in the lane you started in
It reminds me of this roundabout in Llantrisant, South Wales - Coming from top right again, the only difference is that the magical 3rd lane is opened by dotted lines - that would solve the issue I think?
stu675:
I don’t agree, you have to change lanes after you enter the roundabout, once to the right. But it’s a brand new lane, therefore, empty.
Would you be good enough to point out where that happens please because I cannot see where it happens if you follow the guide lines on the road which keep you in the lane you started in
I think we’re arguing the same thing, just semantics?
Red line is route - hopefully I can drive a truck straighter than a curser! Yellow circle = change lane into new magic 3rd lane.
stu675:
I don’t agree, you have to change lanes after you enter the roundabout, once to the right. But it’s a brand new lane, therefore, empty.
Would you be good enough to point out where that happens please because I cannot see where it happens if you follow the guide lines on the road which keep you in the lane you started in
BAD LINK
I think we’re arguing the same thing, just semantics?
Red line is route - hopefully I can drive a truck straighter than a curser! Yellow circle = change lane into new magic 3rd lane.
A tip that sometimes helps: follow the dotted line on your left. On a gyroscopic roundabout (which many of the big ones are) that will feed you into the road you’re aiming for. That assumes, of course, that you’ve picked the correct lane on the approach.
My experience with trainee drivers is that it all starts going wrong because the advance signs (both directional and lane marking) have not been observed and understood correctly. In some cases, just not seen at all.
It’s a really good idea to be aware that there is a big junction coming and that you’ll only succeed if you see, read and understand all the advance signs. Road markings can be covered by other vehicles and should be treated only as a back up.
