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Honestly, even looking at a picture showing how a 2-lane roundabout works (https://www.epermittest.com/drivers-education/roundabouts https://www.epermittest.com

Honestly, even looking at a picture showing how a 2-lane roundabout works (https://www.epermittest.com/drivers-education/roundabouts https://www.epermittest.com/drivers-education/roundabouts), I still can't understand how it works. Assuming 0 is the bottom and 90 is the right, how is it that a person following the inside route from 0 (exiting the left lane at 180) isn't going to get hit by someone following the outside route from 90 (exiting the right lane at 270)? I would almost certainly use it wrong and/or expect to get hit.

verve_rat 3y ago
The "correct" answer is the 0->180 car has no indicator on as it enters the roundabout, and has its right indicator on as it exits the roundabout. The 90->270 car sees the right indicator and lets the other car passed. The real answer is somewhere between the above and the 90->270 car waiting to enter the roundabout because it is not sure if the other car is actually going 0->180 or 0->270 because they are a shit diver that doesn't indicate on roundabouts.
- fifticon 3y ago
  well, that breaks all schemes, as my experience in 52 years is, that most people don't or won't operate their indicator signals properly. They seem to believe they are for special holidays, or for a particular audience they have spotted (spoiler alert: they are for the opposite). Or, my favorite: Activating the indicator two thirds of the way through the already completed turn, presumably to celebrate the success.
sfn42 3y ago
The part you're missing is you have to yield when changing lanes, just like in any other road. If you are in the inner lane and you want to exit, you have to make sure the coast is clear. In other words, you are responsible for not getting hit. If you just blindly change lanes you might get crashed into and that would be your fault.
- peeters 3y ago
  > The part you're missing is you have to yield when changing lanes, just like in any other road. This is not true with most roundabouts in North America at least. If you look at the diagram GP posted, you do not change to the outer lane to exit. You exit directly from the inner lane. In fact, you NEVER change lanes in a roundabout. The reason this works (where the inside lane crosses the outside) is because the roundabout is small enough that the traffic in the outside lane has to let you exit as part of yielding to enter the roundabout in the first place. After that, as long as everyone respects which exits they're allowed to take from which lane, there is no more crossing traffic. In practice, if you are in an inside lane, you want to keep an eye on the outer lanes to make sure someone isn't trying to take a later exit than they are allowed. From GP link: > Do not change lanes in a roundabout > Do not travel in the outside lane further than allowed as it may create a hazard for the vehicle exiting the roundabout from the inside lane
  - sfn42 3y ago
    That doesn't work. If I enter a 4-way roundabout going left, I will start off in the left lane. I will pass two exits and leave through the third. When I exit, someone from the second exit could be in the lane next to me, going to the road I came from. I have to yield. When you exit from the inner lane you necessarily have to change lanes because the inner lane is completely inside the outer lane. You may not think of it as a lane change because you're going across the lane not merging into it, but it is a lane change and you have to pay attention.
    - peeters 3y ago
      > I will pass two exits and leave through the third. When I exit, someone from the second exit could be in the lane next to me, going to the road I came from. I have to yield. No, they have to yield to YOU because you're already in the roundabout. It's hard to believe, but trust me, this is just how it works and all of the links I've posted agree. The reason why it works is because when you're in the situation you describe, for the person entering at the second exit to be a factor, they would have to be entering as you're already alongside the second exit and in the process of exiting at the third. So they need to be yielding to you as they will be crossing your lane. Part of waiting for the gap is waiting for the exiting traffic to clear. Not for only YOUR lane to be empty.
peeters 3y ago
> Assuming 0 is the bottom and 90 is the right, how is it that a person following the inside route from 0 (exiting the left lane at 180) isn't going to get hit by someone following the outside route from 90 (exiting the right lane at 270)? The person following the outside route from 90 must yield before even entering. It's very confusing until you're actually in them, but they're small enough that what you're saying usually isn't really a problem (at least in well designed roundabouts). When the car at 90 enters the roundabout intending to take the 270 exit, they yield to traffic in ALL lanes that might be exiting. Not just traffic in the outer lane. If they were intending to take the 180 exit, they only need to worry about traffic in the outer lane (or people incorrectly changing lanes when exiting).

verve_rat 3y ago

The "correct" answer is the 0->180 car has no indicator on as it enters the roundabout, and has its right indicator on as it exits the roundabout. The 90->270 car sees the right indicator and lets the other car passed. The real answer is somewhere between the above and the 90->270 car waiting to enter the roundabout because it is not sure if the other car is actually going 0->180 or 0->270 because they are a shit diver that doesn't indicate on roundabouts.

fifticon 3y ago
well, that breaks all schemes, as my experience in 52 years is, that most people don't or won't operate their indicator signals properly. They seem to believe they are for special holidays, or for a particular audience they have spotted (spoiler alert: they are for the opposite). Or, my favorite: Activating the indicator two thirds of the way through the already completed turn, presumably to celebrate the success.

sfn42 3y ago

The part you're missing is you have to yield when changing lanes, just like in any other road. If you are in the inner lane and you want to exit, you have to make sure the coast is clear. In other words, you are responsible for not getting hit. If you just blindly change lanes you might get crashed into and that would be your fault.

peeters 3y ago
> The part you're missing is you have to yield when changing lanes, just like in any other road. This is not true with most roundabouts in North America at least. If you look at the diagram GP posted, you do not change to the outer lane to exit. You exit directly from the inner lane. In fact, you NEVER change lanes in a roundabout. The reason this works (where the inside lane crosses the outside) is because the roundabout is small enough that the traffic in the outside lane has to let you exit as part of yielding to enter the roundabout in the first place. After that, as long as everyone respects which exits they're allowed to take from which lane, there is no more crossing traffic. In practice, if you are in an inside lane, you want to keep an eye on the outer lanes to make sure someone isn't trying to take a later exit than they are allowed. From GP link: > Do not change lanes in a roundabout > Do not travel in the outside lane further than allowed as it may create a hazard for the vehicle exiting the roundabout from the inside lane
- sfn42 3y ago
  That doesn't work. If I enter a 4-way roundabout going left, I will start off in the left lane. I will pass two exits and leave through the third. When I exit, someone from the second exit could be in the lane next to me, going to the road I came from. I have to yield. When you exit from the inner lane you necessarily have to change lanes because the inner lane is completely inside the outer lane. You may not think of it as a lane change because you're going across the lane not merging into it, but it is a lane change and you have to pay attention.
  - peeters 3y ago
    > I will pass two exits and leave through the third. When I exit, someone from the second exit could be in the lane next to me, going to the road I came from. I have to yield. No, they have to yield to YOU because you're already in the roundabout. It's hard to believe, but trust me, this is just how it works and all of the links I've posted agree. The reason why it works is because when you're in the situation you describe, for the person entering at the second exit to be a factor, they would have to be entering as you're already alongside the second exit and in the process of exiting at the third. So they need to be yielding to you as they will be crossing your lane. Part of waiting for the gap is waiting for the exiting traffic to clear. Not for only YOUR lane to be empty.

peeters 3y ago

> Assuming 0 is the bottom and 90 is the right, how is it that a person following the inside route from 0 (exiting the left lane at 180) isn't going to get hit by someone following the outside route from 90 (exiting the right lane at 270)? The person following the outside route from 90 must yield before even entering. It's very confusing until you're actually in them, but they're small enough that what you're saying usually isn't really a problem (at least in well designed roundabouts). When the car at 90 enters the roundabout intending to take the 270 exit, they yield to traffic in ALL lanes that might be exiting. Not just traffic in the outer lane. If they were intending to take the 180 exit, they only need to worry about traffic in the outer lane (or people incorrectly changing lanes when exiting).