Getting there, in a roundabout way….
It is not uncommon to come across drivers who go out of their way to avoid certain roundabouts. Even experienced drivers consider them to be “high risk” locations, and feel uncomfortable with them, no matter what size the roundabout is.
The single most common mistake at a roundabout is only looking to your right as you approach, because that is where you expect traffic to come from. But what about the car ahead of you – can that driver see something that you can’t?
It is better to gather as much information as you can – start to check to your right, straight ahead, to your left, and all your mirrors as you approach the roundabout. By carrying out your observations in this sweeping/scanning motion, you are more likely to pick up if the car in front decides not to go for some reason.
The classic rear end shunt, caused by the driver ahead not going when you think he’s going, can thus be avoided. Help yourself further by keeping a good gap between you and the vehicle waiting to get on, so if he changes his mind half way you have room to stop without compromising yourself.
Drivers often approach the roundabout with the plan to continue unless they have to stop because of other traffic. The problem here is that you may notice another car just as you get close to the roundabout, but you are more likely to speed up, opting to “take a chance” because it is difficult to change your mind at the last moment.
A slightly different, but very much more effective mental outlook is to approach the roundabout thinking “plan to stop but look to go”.
As you scan, remember you are looking for gaps, as well as vehicles.
And once you are on the roundabout, remember not everybody will position themselves correctly to get off: you could find somebody sweeping across you to get to their exit. Remember that the lorry or bus needs lots of room, and try not to be actually alongside it. On a mini roundabout, if you are approach at the same time as an oncoming vehicle, clearly indicate you intention and then do a visual check – try to catch the driver’s eye and send a message to avoid the ambiguous situation when nobody is quite sure who should go first.
