No Lefts Turns from Right Lane
 

I really don't want to start another roundabout thread, but.......

Yesterday as I was exiting a roundabout in the left lane, a car turned left (practically in front of my car) from the right lane.

Same thing happened today.

We had three close calls last winter in the same situation.

No left turns from the right lane!

Kathy, I am trying to picture what happened, but this old timer is not too sharp sometimes.

So, you had gone past the first turn off while in the left lane and were then making your right turn to exit and staying in the left lane. Did this person move from the right lane into the left lane to go around instead of exiting? Or did they make the exit same time as you and pull straight into the left lane which was the lane you were already traveling in?
Either way, the got it all wrong.

I hit a lady Thursday on Moris near 466. I was in the left lane going stright through and she was in the right lane going stright then moved over in my lane.
What a mess she made of the left side of her car.

slow down let the right lane driver enter the roundabout first and leave that driver ahead of you. Then if they do something stupid you will not get whacked.

unless you have driven in new jersey you have no idea how to navigate a roundabout, or what we refer to as traffic circles. believe me, driving there is an education. do not slow down, change lanes as often as you can, and get out of there......all without using a turn signal even once.

I now always enter the roundabout in the right lane if I intend to go straight through. I have had to many close calls and the idiots who do this have the nerve to yell at me or give me the "salute". Just read the signs dummies.

All this confusion would be solved if round-a-bouts were just one lane. Down in S. Florida in Hollywood there is one which is about 3 lanes and you can imagine how much fun that is.

Then there are those who don't slow (and yield) on approaching the round abouts. We were in the right lane going for the 1st turn off through a gate when a woman came barreling from the north on Morse and nearly ran over us! Didn't slow down.....fortunate for us we just made it.

Please, EVERYONE, watch and drive defensively. There are many new to The Villages, and many just plain bad drivers have joined us for the winter. I want to count noses the end of March and not come up short. I already admitted to being a worrier.

Please drive as if everyone else is crazy.

https://www.talkofthevillages.com/fo...oundabout1.jpgI think that it might be less confusing for the newbies on the roundabouts to quit thinking in terms of right turn and left turns. Just learn which lane you are supposed to be in to go the direction you choose. Logically, all turns from the circle are "right" turns. The exits are one through four. Regardless of which direction you enter from, your first exit is YOUR number one, the two, etc. The signs posted at the approach to each roundabout are very clear.

Also, no lane changes should occur once you are in the roundabout. You are either inside our outside.

Never enter a roundabout beside another car. Stagger your entry so that you are not T-boned. Also the speed limit of 20 is absolutely necessary. It is not an arbitrary speed.

Indy, thanks for posting this, I hope it helps those who can't visualize how this works!

One question I have had from our visitors...let's say you are going to take the 3rd exit, but want to be in the right lane to enter the right hand gate, when do you cross to the right hand lane? Where the white center line is dashed...dotted - - - - -? or after you exit the roundabout, by crossing the solid white line ____________? Where we all learned to drive, you don't cross solid white lines.

Haha! I know what you mean. I lived in So. Jersey for years. Rte. 130 circles bad! I would just close my eyes and pray! The roundabouts here are easy. Just keep your eyes on all mirrors and pray!

I just gauge when/if I move to the right dependent upon who is coming from my right. If I can't safely make it within the broken white lines, then I just stay left. Residents can enter the left gate also, so it really does not matter. I always also use my turn signal for whatever that is worth. Some drivers are so anxious entering the circle that I wonder if they even notice the signal.

The only real close call I have had in the roundabout was when I encountered a car backing up because he had missed his turn.

Yea, I'm confused to. What do you mean they made a left turn? You can't make a left turn out of round a bout unless you're in England.

I think that problems occur when cars enter the round-a-bout at 6:00 go into the left lane, and intend to go straight through and exit at 12:00. A car enters the round-a-bot at 3:00 at approximately the same time stays in the right lane and intends to go straight through and exit at 9:00. The car in the right hand lane will be cutting across the bow of the car in the left hand lane. You have to watch out for this. Both drivers are following the rules, but there could be an issue if the car in the left hand lane isn't paying attention.

This little diagram is nice, but it doesn't address cars entering at close to the same time from different points. It only shows two cars entering from 6:00.

Bill it must be that time year..................again.
:popcorn::popcorn::popcorn::popcorn::popcorn:

That it is!

I've had the o.p.'s scenario happen several times while going north on Buena Vista, in the area of Rainey Trail and Belvedere circles and it is dangerous. What differs from Dr. Winston O Boogie's scenario quoted is this:

While I entered at 6:00 into the inner (left) lane intending to go straight and exit at 12:00, another car entered at 6:00 (not 3:00) and slightly behind me, then sped around in the right lane... and as I was exiting at 12:00, they got slightly ahead of me and cut across to the left to exit at 9:00, nearly swiping my front passenger side bumper or t-boning my passenger side. Fortunately I was on the lookout and held back as they zoomed to the left in front of me.

That is what the o.p. is talking about: turning left from the right lane....translating to: they should not have entered the circle in the right lane at 6:00 with intentions of exiting the circle on the left at 9:00. (Should have entered in the left lane at 6:00.

Mike in Post #6 understood it that way, too, I'm pretty sure.

entering & exiting ALWAYS stagger & please ALWAYS use BLINKERS

I am from the Boston area and we are probably the only ones in the US who refer to roundabouts as Rotaries. However, Massachusetts has slowly been doing away with all roundabouts. There are of course some still around but they have been changing them and putting traffic lights in. Much better.

The problem is, the car already in the roundabout has the right of way. The car entering the roundabout from 3:00 technically is supposed to wait until the cars already in the roundabout have gone by. If they followed this rule, then they would be able to go straight as you describe, with no conflict. If they actually did enter at exactly the same time, the car at 3:00 would be ahead of the car entering at 6:00 and there would be no problem.

Indymaker, that was a great diagram by the way.

This bears repeating
 

Copy this and study it. I didn't walk on you intentionally Mickey...This is important for all new people to SEE.

I live in jersey and travel state route 34 there are round about on this road and I have to tell you most drivers here also do not know how to dive in a roundabout .I think they should be removed but oh well coming to the villages I guess I have to live with them:swear:

they sure beat 4 way stop intersections!!

It would be so simple if everyone in the right lane, HAS to exit at the first exit!

The great thing about roundabouts is that they keep traffic moving. If there were four way stops at all the intersections, traffic would be so bogged down it would be unbelievable. The roadway system in The Villages would just not be able to handle the volume of cars in the high season. The bad thing about roundabouts is that if one person disobeys the rules, it mucks it up for the other drivers in the roundabouts.

Turn Signals
 

Turn signals people....always use your turn signals...PLEASE!!!!!!:swear:

For those who enjoy reading about how to drive roundabouts, there are over 100 posts. If this doesn't give you the answer...do a search on "roundabouts". Or continue reading the posts on this thread; which eventually will be duplication of the posts on these earlier threads.
There just so many different ways to say the same thing.


https://www.talkofthevillages.com/fo...illages-93123/

https://www.talkofthevillages.com/fo...dabouts-92021/

https://www.talkofthevillages.com/fo...p-signs-90733/

Exactly! You said it so much better than I did.

Agree. Even though they are wrong, they don't know it, so why be bothered with an accident.

Residents can enter through either lane.

So what happens if I enter at 9:45 am do I have to wait till 12 noon to exit or and if so where should I park ( I hate these circles )

I know! People just cant figure out that roundabouts are just like a 4 way stop in that you can't turn left from the right lane....it never ends!

I'm sorry, but I don't understand...do you mean if you think of a roundabout like a clock face? Or what?:confused:

I SO agree with you! I love the roundabouts!

Indy - It would be wonderful if The Sun would print your diagram on the front page of the paper several times, like every Sunday or at least once or twice a month. The signs installed prior to entering the circles are great, but I have a feeling that many people are so anxious about entering the circles that they just ignore them.

I am so sorry, but if you were going straight, you had the right of way, not her, she technically hit you!

Yea, I realized that I had said that and tried to revise my post but somehow they got deleted. Here is a better explanation.As you can see it can happen whether you are in the right or left hand lane.

try driving in a big city in England where one roundabout leads into another roundabout...called a double donut, cars coming in and exiting all over the place, and then try to read the name of the city you want to go to at the same time, then you would think that The Villages are easy!

Doug is making a joke. I was the one who brought up the clock face analogy because that is the easiest wand clearest way to understand what we are talking about. I hear people talking about making left hand turns out of the round-a-bouts and I and I think many of us are confused.

So yes, think of a round-a-bout as a clock face. Where you enter is 6:00 the first exist is 3:00 the second exit is 12:00 and the third exit is 9:00.

Problems can arise when cars are entering the round-a-bout from different point even when everyone is obeying the rules.