180° on roundabout

[661-Pete]

I'm talking about motorists doing this of course, not cyclists. I don't expect many cyclists to have need of this manoeuvre, except perhaps at the turning-point of a TT!

Does this behaviour disorientate you as it does me sometimes? Never yet had a collision in such a situation, but consider this: if a motorist enters a 4-exit RAB from your left, signalling right, you might expect him to take the road you're just coming out from, not cut across your path and duck into the road on the left which he's just come out from.

I know it happens often enough: there's one RAB on my commute where cabbies routinely have to do a U-turn so they can enter the taxi rank facing the right way. I've got used to it, but others, especially non-locals, may not.

The best strategy is of course as always: 'expect the unexpected'.

Question: does this incur extra responsibilities on the motorist? Should they be prepared to waive the normal rules of priority and give way to someone (e.g. me) entering on the RAB?

 

[jimboalee]

I'm talking about motorists doing this of course, not cyclists. I don't expect many cyclists to have need of this manoeuvre, except perhaps at the turning-point of a TT!

Does this behaviour disorientate you as it does me sometimes? Never yet had a collision in such a situation, but consider this: if a motorist enters a 4-exit RAB from your left, signalling right, you might expect him to take the road you're just coming out from, not cut across your path and duck into the road on the left which he's just come out from.

I know it happens often enough: there's one RAB on my commute where cabbies routinely have to do a U-turn so they can enter the taxi rank facing the right way. I've got used to it, but others, especially non-locals, may not.

The best strategy is of course as always: 'expect the unexpected'.

Question: does this incur extra responsibilities on the motorist? Should they be prepared to waive the normal rules of priority and give way to someone (e.g. me) entering on the RAB?

No.

 

[BentMikey]

I don't understand the problem - just wait your turn as usual on the RAB. It doesn't matter where the car is coming from, apart from impatience on your part perhaps.

 

[ianrauk]

Nope,
if the car has already entered the roundabout before you then he can take whatever exit he pleases.

 

[Twenty Inch]

What the above have said. Anything else is impatience, as I pointed out the the coach driver who nearly killed all three of us when he made the same wrong assumption you outline above.

 

[Norm]

I think the OP might be specific to a mini-roundabout, many of the larger ones you would struggle to see where the car has come from.

On a mini-roundabout, yes, I do think that the motorist needs to be a bit more careful, especially if their turning circle doesn't allow them to easily get round.

However, the legal obligations are on those entering the roundabout. It's courtesy and common sense for someone doing a 180 on a mini-roundabout to be a bit more aware that it's an unexpected manoeuvre and being right doesn't make the accident any less painful.

 

[mr_cellophane]

I do that every time I go to the dentist and his car park is full. Drive past and then do a U-turn at a 3 way mini-roundabout . I also do it at a slightly larger mini-roundabout when I pop round my father's.
I suppose doing it myself makes me more wary around others.

 

[Norm]

No, principle still stands imo, give way to traffic coming from the right.

As I said, the legal obligations are on those entering but, when using a mini-roundabout to do a u-turn, I am more careful to ensure other road users understand my intentions.

 

[marooncat]

Nothing really to comment on the question but surely if you enter a roundabout at place, go all the way around and off at the same entry/exit you came on at is that not 360 deg round it, if you go 180 deg round one you go straight over it .

Or have I missed out on something and just made a fool of myself

 

[MGBLemonrider]

+1 with Norm.

Best practice would be for the reciprocating motorist just need to be a bit slower past the last "normal" exit and indicating right, before changing to a left indicator.

Mini round abouts are great for keeping the traffic flowing, but one has to look at all the traffic, not just whats on your immediate right. It's amazing the number of people who stop and wait, especially before turning left when a car from their left is turning right. By the time that car has cleared the roundabout the traffic from the right has entered the roundabout and they've still not moved. Yes they won't get caught out by the reciprocating motorist, but they'll be there for a long time.

 

[CopperBrompton]

This:

if the car has already entered the roundabout before you then he can take whatever exit he pleases.

And this:

It's courtesy and common sense for someone doing a 180 on a mini-roundabout to be a bit more aware that it's an unexpected manoeuvre

 

[MGBLemonrider]

Nothing really to comment on the question but surely if you enter a roundabout at place, go all the way around and off at the same entry/exit you came on at is that not 360 deg round it, if you go 180 deg round one you go straight over it .

Or have I missed out on something and just made a fool of myself

Viewed from the centre of the round about the angle swept by the line of sight of the observer as the car goes around the roundabout = 360
Viewed from the point of the vehicles motion = 180

Any way if its a mini roundabout (esp painted ones) you don't necessarily have to go around it (traffic permitting), you can run over it, some round here large vehicles have to wrong side them.

 

[661-Pete]

When I said "180°" I was thinking of the angle through which the vehicle turns about a vertical axis: if it ends up facing exactly the opposite direction to when it was approaching, it's turned 180°. But no matter.

I wouldn't say I'm particularly impatient on a roundabout (I've seen others who are) but a lot of the art of making smart progress on our roads entails reading the other road user's intentions: of predicting what they plan to do and making snap decisions. But I agree: one should never assume anything about someone on a roundabout. Another example: often motorists signal left too early: before they reach the exit prior to the one they intend to come out on. That can catch you out too if you're unwary.

No: I'm just wondering whether some warning ought to be written in the H/C about this sort of unusual manoeuvre. After all, there are already warnings about HGVs wanting to turn left, having to swing out to the right first...

 

[BentMikey]

Alright, I'm sorry if impatience wasn't a fair representation. OTOH I don't think it's an uncommon/unusual manouvre, and don't see a problem with it.

 

[siadwell]

Any way if its a mini roundabout (esp painted ones) you don't necessarily have to go around it (traffic permitting), you can run over it, some round here large vehicles have to wrong side them.

Drivers of most vehicles should not be driving over mini roundabouts. The Highway Code says:

188

Mini-roundabouts. Approach these in the same way as normal roundabouts. All vehicles MUST pass round the central markings except large vehicles which are physically incapable of doing so. Remember, there is less space to manoeuvre and less time to signal. Avoid making U-turns at mini-roundabouts. Beware of others doing this.

[Laws RTA 1988 sect 36 & TSRGD regs 10(1) & 16(1)]