A basic guide to joining and leaving roundabouts safely

Roundabouts can cause fear and confusion for some drivers.

Lets look at some safe ways of dealing with roundabout junctions.

There are 3 main types of roundabouts:

• Mini Roundabouts
• Roundabouts without lanes
• Roundabouts with lanes

These are some key safety points:

When approaching roundabouts

When approaching a roundabout you always give way to traffic coming from your right.

Try to have quick brief glances to the right on approach to a roundabout to check whether it will be safe to enter the roundabout.

If you can’t see well in advance on approach to a roundabout that it will be safe to emerge or not, this is known as a closed visibility junction.

If you can see well in advance on approach to a roundabout that will be safe to emerge, this is known as an open visibility junction.

Until you know it is safe to enter a roundabout always be prepared to stop at the give way line and select 1st gear, so that you are ready to move off safely again as soon as it is safe to do so.

Roundabout road positioning

These are a few examples of the basic rules. We can’t explain every variable within the scope of this blog post so in trying to keep it simple this is the normal rule approach:

If you are taking the first exit left at a roundabout i.e. the first opportunity to leave the roundabout from where you enter the roundabout:

1. On approach to the roundabout check your centre mirror then left mirror, signal left and position in the left lane or to the left hand side.
2. Keep to the left on the roundabout.
3. Leave the roundabout to the left.

If you are taking the second exit straight ahead at the roundabout i.e. the second opportunity to leave the roundabout from where you enter the roundabout:

1. On approach to the roundabout check your centre mirror.
2. Keep to the left on the roundabout.
3. As soon as you have passed the first exit check your centre mirror then your left mirror, signal left and then leave the roundabout to the left.

If you are turning right at a roundabout i.e. your exit road is past the twelve o'clock position on the roundabout, or for our scenario lets say the third exit from where you enter the roundabout:

1. On approach to the roundabout check your centre mirror then right mirror, signal right and position in the right lane or to the right hand side.
2. You stay positioned towards the right of the roundabout.
3. As soon as you have passed the exit before yours check your centre mirror then your left mirror, signal left and then move over to the left to leave the roundabout.

If you want to keep yourself and other drivers around you safe never:

• Rush into a roundabout before you have assessed the speed of other drivers already on the roundabout.
• Move over to the left at the last minute to leave a roundabout, if you see your exit late go back around the roundabout again and leave safely.
• Use too much speed on the roundabout as you could end up driving into other drivers who are joining the roundabout from other entrances, or who are hidden around a blind bend on the roundabout.
• Drive all the way around a roundabout (360 degrees) in the left lane.
• Leave a roundabout without checking your centre and then left mirrors first.
• Signal right when you are taking a left or straight ahead exit, i.e. an exit which is before the twelve o'clock position.
• Stamp on your brake pedal on approach to a roundabout, reduce your speed safely in advance of the roundabout by coming off your gas pedal sooner.

Manchester Driver Training offers a roundabout course for those who wish to increase their confidence and skills negotiating roundabouts.

Our course looks at all aspects of the various types of roundabouts that you may come across in your day to day driving.