[momesu]

Originally Posted by Gil Chapin

There were a few questions about my posting from the other day which I will try to address.

By "inside" and "outside" lanes, I meant the "left" and "right" lanes respectively, making reference to the circle and which lane was closer to the center of the circle.

I do have the brochure and have read it and I thought I understood it. But my concern persists for the case in which, even with everyone following the rules, there is still considerable risk of a collision. Please do correct me If I've not realized something that would make this not so.

I'll try to clarify the case I'm concerned about. I'm entering a two lane roundabout in the right/outer lane with the intention of going to the 2nd/180 degree exit (I don't have my brochure at hand, but I'm pretty sure that's permitted). Another vehicle has already entered the inner/left lane one entrance before me with the intention of taking his second/180 degree exit - one exit before mine. He and I are now next to each other. I intend to continue past his exit (that's why there are dotted lane lines across my path at his exit and that's why there are straight arrows just past his exit in my lane...). I probably can't see his turn signal (which, of course, as required by law, he is using to indicate his intentions to exit the roundabout) and he can't see that I'm not signalling for an exit. He may presume, because he read the brochure and it says he can do this, that he can exit at will because the brochure showed both lanes exiting together when you both go "straight through". Except he didn't realize that I'm not taking the same "straight through" path he's expecting. My second exit is the next one. So either he turns into me when he crosses into my lane or I hit him when he gets a little ahead of me and crosses my lane - even though we both followed "the rules". My point is that whenever you're in a roundabout, you probably don't know the other driver's situation and you have to presume the worst, even if it means yielding in a situation where you thought you had the right of way.

Too frequently, I see vehicles in the inside/left lane in the roundabout take an exit without looking to see what the vehicle near them in the outer/right lane is going to do. It's very scary.

I know... I know... I'll go away now.

This is why two lane roundabouts only work when the people entering and staying in the right most lane immediately exit at the next exit. If they can go to the second exit then there is always a potential problem with people in the left most lane trying to get out of the roundabout.
Suzanne