Are you going right?

You indicate as you are leaving the roundabout Ingeegoodbee; no matter what direction you are turning. This doesn’t mean you enter with your left blinker on if you are going straight, it means you use it as you exit so any cars entering can see that you are leaving the roundabout. It saves time for everybody who is trying to get onto the roundabout and it is plain courtesy to do so.

err rocket science or brain surgery ?

Given that the basic principle of roundabout use is “Give way to the right and anyone already on the roundabout” I don’t get the point of the always indicate left dipsticks – it’s pretty simple people, if you’re going straight ahead dont indicate, if you’re turning left or right indicate – it’s not rocket surgery – although it could be a big ask for some NSW, Qld or Victorian drivers who – as a rule are already struggling with road basics.

I agree 100% with BigDave.

I couldn’t give a flying proverbial what the Road Rulers say. They’re obviously written by idiots. You should ALWAYS indicate left to leave a roundabout, going straight on or wherever. Unless you want that big semi to flatten you.
What’s so hard about it anyway? Just a flick of the wrist. Most Canberra drivers are probably used to that! Haha!
Bascially, it’s just plain laziness. If you can’t do it, then get off the road.

It’s true. I’ve seen it multiple times in the last few days, and most recently this evening. All were younger drivers. Not on P plates though. So I guess the habit must have been around for a while.

“because they cant judge the speed of the nanna you have been following”

Excellent call : )

Yeah.. coming from Melbourne i’ve noticed the merging lanes here are outrageously short in most cases!

I agree with Sepi as well, I think giving way to the right makes more sense and they shouldn’t have confused it. The same thing happened in Vic when they adopted the national road rules there.

No, I was actually talking about Perth where there are very short form ones lanes seconds after traffic lights. Very similar to the ones we get after roundabouts. They just formed one lane without having to indicate (I think they’re supposed to though). It was truly amazing

howdy – these ‘some aussie cities’ you speak of generally have a longer merging area and are well signposted, some examples I have driven are anything up to 2.5km long merging lanes.

In the Canberra example, where you have to merge immediately after exiting the roundabout, it is a very different kettle of fish.

Ultimately, lane merging should look a little like a zipper doing up with the teeth being individual vehicles. Try to do that in Canberra will get your line of traffic filled by some dickhead who thinks it’s acceptable to speed up from behind you and slam on the brakes because they cant judge the speed of the nanna you have been following.

I just had a really horrid sinking feeling. Someone not giving way to the right on a small suburban roundabout could lead to (in a matter of seconds), some very very nasty accidents.

Road rules plus Common Sense is a healthy attitude to have.

In some aussie cities people are actually quite good at forming one lane without a second thought or ‘need’ for indication. If someone in that city decided to change the national road rules so that you no longer had to indicate to form one lane would you do so in Canberra? – not if you had any sense in your head… maybe if you were after a new car…

I think roundabouts work/worked well when everyone gave way to the right.

Now they have changed the rules in line with the national rules and 90% of people give way to the right, while 10% take the ‘whoever can get there first’ approach. My uncle does this and it is petrifying, and people beep him all the time.

Giving way to the right works for me.

And indicating left out of a roundabout makes sense on the bigger ones, where people can’t tell where you actually came into the roundabout.

I’d post 6 times in a row but I really couldn’t be bothered…

“on topic now” was in reference to the ‘indicating left when going straight issue’ – sorry, oops

hahahahaha

Drunken Howdy will also allow you to turn left from the left lane – surely that’s a given : )

pfffttttttttt

Roundabouts clearly aren’t working. Replace them all with traffic lights.

oh, yeah and I was trying to help out ant by suggesting other people follow the speed limit thing, if people did as ”suggested the he/she would be happier and stuff…

idea_authority – “usually no need” would cover such a situation where going straight was more so to the left, but thank you for helping make it clear, I’ve had a few drinks tonight : )

Sadly, that’s the default that most of us use roundabouts under. If we all knew the actual rule, roundabouts would work better, they’d flow in all directions.

Kings Ave/Russell roundabout in particular would flow if they stopped people doing 60 around it. One flow dominates and long lines of traffic build up on the other approaches.

technically you would have priority if you were on the roundabout first

Good luck with that one – I’ll think I’ll stick with my earlier advice about not trusting anyone in one and half tonnes of metal on a collision course with me.

umm, howdy,

“Ok, on topic now, the the left lane is only and will ever be only for going straight, so there’s usually no need to indicate left off a roundabout in this situation.”

Left lane is for going [Straight only], [straight and left] or sometimes [left only]. Not just straight only.

No, I don’t have it around wrong. If you are approaching a roundabout, and almost on it, but on your right you can see a car roaring up to the roundabout, technically you would have priority if you were on the roundabout first, but the guy on the right is assuming he has “right of way” and is speeding onto the roundabout. So you stop. You are on his left, he is on your right. But he does not have right of way until he is ON the roundabout.

Until your wheels are ON the roundabout, you must yield to cars that are ON the roundabout. Not about to be on the roundabout. Sadly, a small minority of users understand this, and the cops don’t care (and I suspect most of them also don’t know it).

Howdy, to the best of my knowledge, only speed limits on signs in a red circle are legally enforceable. Such speed signs are legal maximum limits. On roundabouts, the speed signs are yellow and black. Signs in yellow and black are advisory. So it may say you SHOULD go around at 35kp/h but it is not the same as the regulatory speed signs which say you MUST go at a certain speed.

And I must say the regulatory speed signs are often ridiculous compared to the suggested speed limits. Drakeford Driver, a three and then two land dual carriage way is 80 yet Paddys River Road is mostly 100 and it is a thin, windy two lane country road. Golly know how they got that yet the suggested speed signs on bends along Paddys River mostly give a good suggested limit or 60-75.

So people who come blasting up to a roundabout assuming they have right of way over the car on their left, are wrong. If the car on the left gets ON the roundabout before them, it has right of way.

ant, I think you are going around roundabouts the wrong way round. Cars on your left should be travelling away from you and those on right should be coming towards you.

I noticed that larger roundabouts have specified 35km etc speed limits. So if someone is speeding who cares if they ‘shouldn’t think you aren’t going to give way to the right’ (as ‘according to the road rules’) – they are speeding -look out!

Do you tell serial killers to “stop it please” – No, so give way to serial speeders and look out!!

(Geez most Canberran’s speed as the norm…what about that ROAD RULE. That’s ok, we all fix that by tailgating anyone doing the speed LIMIT….)

Ok, on topic now, the the left lane is only and will ever be only for going straight, so there’s usually no need to indicate left off a roundabout in this situation. The right lane is for going right OR going straight so you might like to avoid a collision by indicating left to exit, making clear up your intentions for other roundabout patrons.

I love these ‘revised’ road rules. Seeing as you are supposed to take them literally and legally down to every word rather than also assuming some sort of common sense I’m quite happy to do burn outs on roundabouts and and not give way to kangaroos! yeeeharrrr, thank’ you road rule book!

Let’s get really controversial here. People assume that on roundabouts, the rule is “give way to the right”. That is not so. The actual (national) rule is: the car that is ON the roundabout has right of way. So people who come blasting up to a roundabout assuming they have right of way over the car on their left, are wrong. If the car on the left gets ON the roundabout before them, it has right of way.

If people knew this rule, roundabouts would work, as everyone could enter them simultaneously, rather than everyone having to stop and wait for “I’m on the right” bullies who assume it’s theirs.

Smokey, yes the rules apply in NSW, VIC and everywehere in Aus. The road rules got changed from state based to National about 5 maybe more years ago.

Are the rules the same in NSW? PS I come from Vic and have no idea what the rules currently are. I just drive and avoid hitting Kangaroos, Peds and other cars – generally in that order.

Indicating on roundabouts is obviously unrelated to road safety because it:
a) Does not involve speeding, and
b) The Police never seem to care, or book people failing to indicate anyway.

I have had to take evasive action a couple of times because people did not see my nissan patrol!

Mate, I used to drive a truck – people managed to not see it on a regular basis. It doesn’t matter, you could have a fleet of ambulances/fire trucks/cop cars barreling down on some of these guys and they wouldn’t have the faintest fking idea.

I don’t know how people drive four wheel drives when their heads are so firmly up their ass. Usually its the soccer mums that you have to watch out for. Full of rage from watching soapies on TV all day.

I drive an old four wheel drive with a big bullbar, I follow the road rules and brain dead drivers loose if they want to argue with me. Bullbars must have been invented with some canberra drivers in mind, I have had to take evasive action a couple of times because people did not see my nissan patrol!

Not withstanding my previous advice, I always thought the logical way to deal with roundabouts was to treat them as infinitely long one way streets – if you were exiting at the next ‘intersection’ you signaled left otherwise you gave no signal to continue one. This way there are no false signals even if someone exits without signalling. However this doesn’t work so well for the average suburban overgrown ‘silent cop’ which masquerades as a roundabout these days.

I think the answer is for everyone to engage their hazard flashers while travelling through a roundabout. Split the difference.

The amount of confusion in this thread goes some way to explaining the confusion on roundabouts.

So, to make it simple, if you are EXITING a roundabout, you should NOT be indicating right! Right means you are continuing around the roundabout, and you’re not. You’re leaving it. You’re turning the wheel left. So don’t indicate right. Indicate left, tell people you’re exiting. But don’t indicate right.

My current pet peeve, not related to roundabouts but related to giving way:

Exiting the Tuggeranong Parkway (northbound) to turn onto Lady Denman Drive. You exit from the left lane down a hill, then come to a small T-section where you need to hang a right and drive under the parkway for 100 yards or so to get to Lady Denman Dr. Cars exiting the parkway have right of way at this intersection. Cars trying to enter the northbound lanes of the parkway from Lady Denman at this intersection have a large give way sign to indicate this.

Twice in the space of a couple of months I have seen near misses for HUGE pileups, simply because someone exiting the parkway feels the need to actively disobey a traffic sign and give way (Stopping COMPLETELY and ‘waving through’) to the traffic trying to turn. Seemingly oblivious to the potential catastrophe unfolding behind them, until they hear the screeching brakes, swearing and horn beeping. I’m sure they get warm fuzzies which makes it all worthwhile for them, but they’re still breaking the law. I feel sorry for anyone who slams into the back of one of these idiots, as they’ll likely be deemed ‘at fault’ regardless.

Indicating right to indicate that you are going straight actually makes a lot of sense on that big dual lane roundabout in Woden – because you often have to cross over in front of a driver in the right lane who may not be aware that you are in fact going to do so.

(But again, don’t get me started on how stupid that intersection is.)

+ I saw a cop doing it the other day so I’m happy to follow their lead.

I just pulled out a wad of cotton from my anus. I am no longer anally retentive.

A large semi trailer was travelling from Gungahlin along Gundaroo Drive and wanted to turn right (from left lane) at the roundabout on the Barton Hwy. Several cars that were going straight ahead in the right lane were nearly squashed by the turning semi. Luckily for the car drivers the truckie was looking out for idiots like this and managed to avoid a collision. Pity. Might wake some of the retard drivers up.

When entering a roundabout, just stand on the horn to let people know you’ll be exiting the roundabout at some point … 🙂

Not quite on-topic, but I was nearly cleaned up by a 4WD about a month ago when they tried turning left from the right lane entering the roundabout while I was going straight in the left lane. Sorry, they didn’t try … they actual did. I stomped on the brakes and swerved; they pulled up in front of me, on the roundabout before proceeding to continue turning left in front of me … grh

Something else that is cropping up more and more recently is the habit of police turning on lights and sirens to get them through a red light and then switching them off out the other side. Late for donuts and coffee again ??

The nonsense of indicating when lanes merge for instance. Where the bloody hell else is the car in front going to go but in front of you in the merged lane. Just don’t hit it if it is front of you – it has right of way.

Don’t get me started on this! Every day at every Form One Lane I get idiots that speed up and try and overtake or undertake when the lane has ended, regardless if I am in front or have my indicator on. Flemington Rd in Mitchell and the roundabouts near the Brand Depot on Majura Rd are major problem areas IMO.

Deano,

I’m with you. Bugger the indicators, just use your eyes and brains to work out who’s going where.

The nonsense of indicating when lanes merge for instance. Where the bloody hell else is the car in front going to go but in front of you in the merged lane. Just don’t hit it if it is front of you – it has right of way.

OK – There are idiots who hang a right at roundabouts from the left lane. They should feel the full force of the law – total incompetence.

ant- sounds like they made a right turn but the blinker has remained on. Another good reason to then indicate left to exit, your right indicator comes off too!

Therefore indicating left also helps cars approaching from the other direction know it’s safe for them to go and you aren’t doing a big U turn.

See, it’s useful : )

Wasn’t there a tv ad a few years ago saying we all had to indicate on entering and leaving roundabouts.

Back when they standardised the various state road rules?

If practicle would tend to mean that on a larger roundabout you indicate left to exit. On the smaller ones that happen so quick then it might not be practicle. In any case it is a matter of politeness, lets everyone know what you are up to.

This blinker thing is my PET HATE at the moment!!!!!! Roundabouts are so busy and crowded, and yet you can’t get on because the car coming has its right blinker on…. and then he exits, with the blinker still going.

Why on earth would someone be indicating right while turning their wheel left? It’s either stupidity or bastardry, but it’s pathetic and ignorant. It doesn’t signal what they are intending to do, I wonder what’s going through their minds?

Naturally, the police completely ignore it.

Deano – It may sound crazy but your idea may actually work.

Can I just throw in another doosy.
A car two cars in front of me today was doing 70 in an 80 zone (it was raining so I wasn’t really upset). They were being mildly tailgated by the car in front of me. Only when they got to a roundabout they would speed up and travel straight through in the right lane, preventing the car from passing.

Then we got to another roundabout, the car traveled in both lanes, blocking the car behind them, swerved over to the right, the car behind then went to the left, THEN, they indicated left, cutting the other car off and they turned.

I wish really the car had beeped them.
If you want to go slow why would you also want someone licking your but? Or even ramming your but. Roundabouts are great opportunities to LET THEM PAST.

If you are traveling straight in the right lane (and middle lane for three lane messes like the Kings ave Bridge ‘what the’) it is very WISE to indicate left off the roundabout when exiting (obviously not when entering). It helps stops confused people from running into you.

If you really insist on not indicating, do so at your own risk and feel free to get annoyed at all the ‘near misses’ you seem to be having.

(Oh not forgetting jokes aside please don’t kill anyone)

Maeliar – Nice theory : ) It all makes sense now.

We would actually be better off if no one signalled on a roundabout – as it is I don’t trust any signals given by anyone in one and half tonnes of metal on a collision course with me.

“They are indicating right cause they saw the form one lane up ahead!”
Quite possible, though one should not turn the blinker on as they enter the roundabout if they are doing so for an upcomming merging lane.

“Given that in the ACT the lanes merge sometimes within 10 meters of the roundabout exit – they are actually within their 3 second indicator time to merge right.”
Correct, there may sometimes be overlaps. However this cannot explain people at the Drakeford-Athlon Roundabout and roundabouts of similar sizes actually entering the roundabout with the right blinker activated while in the left lane.

But it’s not so much the act as the frequency and whose doing it. You always got people indicating strangely on roundabouts, but to me it seems to be occurring much more often, more often involving the right indicator for people going straight from either land (yes people in the left land indicating right but going straight) and even involving buses who have set routes and so should not indicate mistakenly as I have seen on 5 occasions.

Vic,
You are correct though I must say the wording in the Guide is quite dangerous, suggesting that someone go around a roundabout with their left blinker activated on entering the roundabout, it could lead other drivers to believe they are turning left after all.
However, I draw to your attention to pg48 of the guide which says “If practicable, a driver driving in a roundabout must give a left change of direction signal when leaving the roundabout”
“If practicable” is open to interpretation. Given that very few people indicate left anymore when going straight and relatively few do so when exiting more then half way round the roundabout, I contacted TAMS to find out the latest some time ago. They essential said the presence of “if practical” as good as means optional because it leaves it up to the driver to judge if it is safe for them to operate the turn signal when exiting. I take the view that coming of a round about and diverting one hand to operating the turn signal is often not practicable (and is annoying). I might add I have not indicated as stated in the guide twice now with a Police car behind and not had issue.
But if one follows the letter of the law exactly, it is required. Apologies for not stating that my previous post provided an interpretation of the law rather than an exact provision of the conditions.

Troiness, listen to your wife because she is correct. You have to indicate left to exit a roundabout.

Not true according to the road rules guide on the ACT Govt website – http://www.tams.act.gov.au/move/driver_licence/Road_Rules_Handbook

(download part C2 for the roundabout info)

“In simple terms: When approaching a
multi-lane roundabout with the intention
of continuing straight ahead, approach in
either the left or right hand lane (Example
2 refers) and operate the left hand
indicator after entering the roundabout
and continue to indicate throughout the
turn.”

Doesn’t seem to say anything about non-multi lane roundabouts.

Given that in the ACT the lanes merge sometimes within 10 meters of the roundabout exit – they are actually within their 3 second indicator time to merge right.

I agree, indicating right when going straight is silly. I think that toriness misses the point though (I.E. their partner is correct), aindicating left to exit is within the law (if possibly optional).

I’m glad to hear other people get annoyed by those indicating right and going straight at roundabouts. I just don’t get it.

I have a little saying for round-a-abouts
‘Going straight no indicate’

Feel free to pass it on 😉

my partner drives me MAD with indicating left to leave the roundabout when going straight through – and has always insisted that it is the law to do so hence i ama bad driver for not doing it. it is exceptionally pleasing to find out that the law is on my side! i am convinced that blinker use in roundabouts should be exactly the same as in any other road situation – ie indicate in the direction you are going, if you are going anything other than straight ahead. to do anything other than this is just confusing for those drivers waiting to enter the roundabout safely.

ah ha! They are indicating right cause they saw the form one lane up ahead!

Yay roundabouts again : P

They may have thought they could turn right from the left lane, realised this was actually a silly idea and gone straight?

I know of someone who thought they were allowed to do that. They crashed : P

Seems odd, but the idea of someone intentionally indicating right to go straight on a roundabout is just odd. Just plain odd.

I think there’s just been a screw up at a Canberra optical store..

Or a driving instructor never learnt his right from his left and is confusing young students…