How do people deal with exiting these roundbaouts in Europe?
Nobody in america uses them (edit in: turn signals) when exiting and im stuck there waiting for a spot to clear, or until someone decides to let me know theyre exiting. It doesnt help theyre the smallest roundabouts they could possibly make. Everyone behind me gets mad, but just entering is like playing a game of chicken.
Do people in europe have the same issue, and they’ve just learned to time it better / have more space between entrances and exits, or are people more courteous, and use their damn turn signals.?
BMW and Audi drivers on this side of the pond. Hell, I almost walked in front of some sort of massive SUV last night because the fucker turned left, while blowing a stop sign, with no turn signal.
when driving on the left (eg UK), if you’re making an exit on the left side of the roundabout, you signal left and get in the left lane, if you’re going straight you don’t signal and can get in either lane, if you’re going right you signal right and get in the right lane, then signal left to exit
Do roundabouts flow both clockwise and counter clockwise in the UK? They only flow counter clockwise here, so you’d always exit to the right. The left lane is the inner most lane, and hence there’s nowhere to exit to. Unless you are one of the frequent rednecks that just go straight across in your massive truck/SUV.
perhaps I should have specified, my example was for left-driving traffic which travels clockwise in the UK. in the US its right driving traffic traveling widdershins on roundabouts.
assuming you approach the roundabout from the south, heading north, and you’re driving on the left, traffic travelling clockwise on the roundabout. the first exit (west) would be “left”, the second exit (north) would be straight on, the third exit (east) would be right, and the fourth exit (south) would be essentially a u-turn
as you approach, intending to turn east (left) you signal left, if youre intending to turn west (right) you’d signal right. Once you’re on the roundabout, if turning east (left) you’re already signaling left so you exit left, but turning west (which was right as you approached the roundabout but is now left from your POV) as you approach your exit you signal left to exit.
Think of it as just the same as exiting and entering like you would on the highway. When nobody’s coming you’re good to enter and when your exit comes up you leave. Not sure I would necessarily signal entering but signaling the exit helps other people know what you’re about to do.
You should always signal to exit a roundabout after you pass the exit before the one you want to take. If you want to take the first exit, signal before you enter the roundabout. If you want to take the second exit, signal after you pass the first exit etc.
If you’re taking an exit more than 180 degrees around the circle from the entrance, you should signal the other direction to show that you are staying on the roundabout and then signal to leave after you pass the exit before the one you want. E.g. if you’re in a country where you drive on the right and the roundabout is on a traditional crossroad ‘+’ and you want to take the third (left) or fourth (u turn) exit then you should indicate left to start with and then indicate right to exit.
Note that this is what you should do. You will see drivers not signalling correctly in any country with roundabouts. The most common error is probably not indicating at all when going straight.
I’ll give you a better tip for all traffic interactions; look at the driver not the car. You can see where they are looking and what they plan to do in almost all situations. You can even see if they aren’t looking and have no plan.
![[meme] Just one more lane bro](https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/4fac5215-fb03-4efc-9b63-f9bd551fd007.png){kind=link}
“We’ll just put roundabouts instead of stop lights, it’s how Europe does it.”
At least roundabouts are significantly safer than stop lights!
Roundabouts are actually safer and generally better for traffic flow.
Serious question though.
How do people deal with exiting these roundbaouts in Europe?
Nobody in america uses them (edit in: turn signals) when exiting and im stuck there waiting for a spot to clear, or until someone decides to let me know theyre exiting. It doesnt help theyre the smallest roundabouts they could possibly make. Everyone behind me gets mad, but just entering is like playing a game of chicken.
Do people in europe have the same issue, and they’ve just learned to time it better / have more space between entrances and exits, or are people more courteous, and use their damn turn signals.?
We use our god damn turn signals.
What kinda neanderthal wouldn’t???
Thank you! I knew there was something we were missing here.
BMW and Audi drivers on this side of the pond. Hell, I almost walked in front of some sort of massive SUV last night because the fucker turned left, while blowing a stop sign, with no turn signal.
You just exit them? It’s the people getting onto a roundabout that have to wait.
Right, but do you use your turn signal to exit, or do you just exit?
Sry just realized it sounded like no one exits. Haha opps.
You should start indicating as you pass the exit before your exit.
Keldoran, I wish! If they even use signals over here, it’s as they are making the maneuver.
when driving on the left (eg UK), if you’re making an exit on the left side of the roundabout, you signal left and get in the left lane, if you’re going straight you don’t signal and can get in either lane, if you’re going right you signal right and get in the right lane, then signal left to exit
reverse for driving on the right (eg USA)
Do roundabouts flow both clockwise and counter clockwise in the UK? They only flow counter clockwise here, so you’d always exit to the right. The left lane is the inner most lane, and hence there’s nowhere to exit to. Unless you are one of the frequent rednecks that just go straight across in your massive truck/SUV.
perhaps I should have specified, my example was for left-driving traffic which travels clockwise in the UK. in the US its right driving traffic traveling widdershins on roundabouts.
assuming you approach the roundabout from the south, heading north, and you’re driving on the left, traffic travelling clockwise on the roundabout. the first exit (west) would be “left”, the second exit (north) would be straight on, the third exit (east) would be right, and the fourth exit (south) would be essentially a u-turn
as you approach, intending to turn east (left) you signal left, if youre intending to turn west (right) you’d signal right. Once you’re on the roundabout, if turning east (left) you’re already signaling left so you exit left, but turning west (which was right as you approached the roundabout but is now left from your POV) as you approach your exit you signal left to exit.
Ahh, I see what you mean now. I was thinking relative to the car as the absolute point, not relative to the interchange. Gotcha.
Think of it as just the same as exiting and entering like you would on the highway. When nobody’s coming you’re good to enter and when your exit comes up you leave. Not sure I would necessarily signal entering but signaling the exit helps other people know what you’re about to do.
You should always signal to exit a roundabout after you pass the exit before the one you want to take. If you want to take the first exit, signal before you enter the roundabout. If you want to take the second exit, signal after you pass the first exit etc.
If you’re taking an exit more than 180 degrees around the circle from the entrance, you should signal the other direction to show that you are staying on the roundabout and then signal to leave after you pass the exit before the one you want. E.g. if you’re in a country where you drive on the right and the roundabout is on a traditional crossroad ‘+’ and you want to take the third (left) or fourth (u turn) exit then you should indicate left to start with and then indicate right to exit.
Note that this is what you should do. You will see drivers not signalling correctly in any country with roundabouts. The most common error is probably not indicating at all when going straight.
People should be signalling before they leave, but I’ll give you a tip from a country that uses roundabouts.
Look at the front wheels. Where are the front wheels pointing?
The front wheels will tell you where they are going quicker and more often than people’s turn signals (which are unreliable).
Awesome! Thank you! What a great idea. I will try this next time.
I’ll give you a better tip for all traffic interactions; look at the driver not the car. You can see where they are looking and what they plan to do in almost all situations. You can even see if they aren’t looking and have no plan.