[downeaster]

Originally Posted by Bogie Shooter

I give up!

Me too! They are here. They are going to stay. They are not going to be redesigned. Learn the rules. Follow the rules.

[Pturner]

Originally Posted by downeaster

Me too! They are here. They are going to stay. They are not going to be redesigned. Learn the rules. Follow the rules.

They are what they are and what they are going to be. Follow the rules and assume the other guy won't and you'll be fine.

[NJblue]

Originally Posted by EdVinMass

Enjoy your dream.

There is no need for comments like that.

[pooh]

Not sure if this has come up before, but today, my friend related something that happened to her just yesterday. Someone got to the roundabout and instead of bearing to the right to go around, they turned left. She was sure they were new and didn't have a clue so she just stopped and so did the traffic behind her.

Please, in addition to watching for people using the wrong lane, make sure to watch for people going in the wrong direction.

[LivingLarge]

Originally Posted by NJblue

This is not correct. A person entering the roundabout in the outer lane must either take the first (a "right" turn) or second exit (go straight on the original road). To proceed beyond the second exit puts him in violation of the roundabout rules. People who do this have been the cause of every one of my near misses in roundabouts.

Exactly correct. There is no 'question' about the roundabouts. Only people who don't seem to understand. I just make sure the guy to my right isn't one of them.

[Schaumburger]

Originally Posted by OCsun

Since I will most likely be one of the idiot's! We have one lane roundabouts in my hometown and they seem to work just fine. So, just to give everyone a fair warning, I will be practicing on the roundabouts the last two weeks of September when we come to TV to contract for our new home. Look out for the women who will be in the left hand lane going round and round because she still is not sure when she is supposed to exit! Maybe I should just sign up for a roundabout 101 driving lesson.

Good luck OCsun while you navigate the roundabouts -- and good luck on your new home purchase On my visits to TV I watch myself in the roundabouts very carefully. I will be back in TV on Oct. 7, so fair warning to all.

[momesu]

Originally Posted by LivingLarge

Exactly correct. There is no 'question' about the roundabouts. Only people who don't seem to understand. I just make sure the guy to my right isn't one of them.

I love single lane roundabouts and hate double lane roundabouts. Double lane roundabouts only work if you only use the outer lane if you are getting on and immediately getting off at next exit. Any time someone crosses a exit in the outer lane they are putting those in the center at risk. JMHO

Suzanne

[EdV]

Exactly my point.

[Barefoot]

Originally Posted by Pturner

Follow the rules and assume the other guy won't and you'll be fine.

For the first three months I lived in TV, (high season), I wouldn't go near a roundabout. Mostly because I'd read scary threads on this site! A lot of posters here still have conflicting ideas on what is correct. Now I use Pturner logic, assume the other drivers won't follow the rules and you'll be fine.

[EdV]

Originally Posted by NJblue

There is no need for comments like that.

Why not, it's a noble dream.

And my solution is unlikely to become reality either. Defensive driving is the only alternative at this point.

[villagegolfer]

I try to approach the rotary with staggering in mind. I try to avoid having another vehicle on neither side of mine.

[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.

[EdV]

You see, even though you read the rule book and thought you understood it, you missed a very important point (and I did too when I first read the rules). You are not to enter the roundabout until both lanes are free of traffic.

It’s understandable why most drivers miss this point because it’s counterintuitive to what they’ve become accustomed to. When you are on an entry ramp to a two lane road with a yield sign, most drivers will enter as long as the right hand lane is free, not both lanes. But the roundabouts rules change that. Both lanes must be free.

[l2ridehd]

Just think of a roundabout as two four lane roads joining at a traffic light. If you wanted to turn right at that light you would always be in the right lane. If you wanted to turn left, you would always be in the left lane. If you wanted to go straight through, you could be in either lane.

And you would always yield to someone already in the intersection regardless of the light.

If you always remember the person already in the circle has the ROW and don't enter until both lanes are free and follow as if a four way traffic light, roundabouts work great at moving traffic much better then traffic lights.

[Gil Chapin]

Originally Posted by EdVinMass

You see, even though you read the rule book and thought you understood it, you missed a very important point (and I did too when I first read the rules). You are not to enter the roundabout until both lanes are free of traffic.

It’s understandable why most drivers miss this point because it’s counterintuitive to what they’ve become accustomed to. When you are on an entry ramp to a two lane road with a yield sign, most drivers will enter as long as the right hand lane is free, not both lanes. But the roundabouts rules change that. Both lanes must be free.

OK, that makes sense. It's perhaps a question of how many of us actually do that... Not that I wasn't cautious about entering anyway, but now that I know that, I'll wait even longer. Thanks for the tip.