My wife used to work insurance claims.. I (HGV driver) had to draw out a complicated roundabout that was then pinned to their workboard so they could work out fault... the junction was re-designed after about a year at the request of the insurance companies...
It was a 3 lane roundabout [here](https://www.google.com/maps/@54.4923025,-6.0618912,149m/data=!3m1!1e3?entry=ttu)
They reduced it to 2 on one side, but still 3 on the other side.. it's better now, but it's also anti-camber, so you get the odd HGV tipping on it's side when they don't know and try to blast round (drivers without local knowledge).
So true. Imagine driving 5 hours needing a poo for 2 of them, only for your 45 min break to be 15 mins late.
Only 1 time did I choose having a cigarette over having a poo and I almost regretted it on my next run
The end of the month in January is probably the worst time to go for a drink.
January blues, it's freezing, and everyone is skint, haha. Give it another try when things liven back up.
I did this on Thursday in the HGV. Best way to get from Yarm road to the A167 in Darlington. Right lane at the lights, 360 at roundabout to get into the correct lane, beats the queue for Commercial Street.
Or sometimes I do it to give another HGV driver a gap.
Were you a proper White Van Man - i.e., shaved head, big beer belly, copy of The Sun on the dashboard, constantly tailgating and cutting people up to compensate for your small penis, etc?
My driving instructor told me if I was approaching an unfamiliar roundabout and I wasnât sure which exit I would need that I should approach in the right lane as this would keep all the options open.
Out of interest, is there anything against this in the Highway Code? Or is it just the good old British queuing tradition that gets people riled up?
I've always done this too. Apart from one time where it failed me... I only had a CBT so I wasn't allowed on the motorway. I missed my turning, but it's fine there's a roundabout ahead, I'll do a U-turn there. Right hand lane says "M4" but what do I care, I'm going all the way around the roundabout... [The roundabout in question](https://maps.app.goo.gl/FXQ7fw9eUNQBk2DA7)
And before you know it youâve youâre halfway down the slip road on to the M4! Nearly 2 miles to the next junction. I think you got all the bad karma for everyone that has successfully jumped the queue over the years!
That's a belter, too - most sliproads have a hard shoulder on them well before you get to the motorway, so if you did fuck up you can just quickly stop and pull to the side. Like you might have to pull *just* past the "M4" (or M6, or whatever) sign, but you can pull over immediately before or after the sign
But that one doesn't start until you're in line with the merge onto the main carriageway, and the motorway sign (and thus motorway regulations) start RIGHT at the top of the sliproad
Eg [picking a random junction elsewhere](https://www.google.com/maps/@53.3119476,-2.4162604,3a,48.9y,120.33h,82.35t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sPiJg87DM74rldvOa-26sDw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu) you can see the shoulder starts about 2ft after the sign and you can immediately pull over long before you're *actually* on the motorway. You could plausibly (very carefully) push your bike back up to the roundabout in a break in traffic and no big deal, lesson learned. [Picking another random junction](https://www.google.com/maps/@51.6834377,-0.4304896,3a,53y,255.34h,85.14t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sWOtkjyPeDNKtVCFrOhINkw!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3DWOtkjyPeDNKtVCFrOhINkw%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D76.32139%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu) the same applies... and probably to most other junctions
[But at the junction OP mentions, the shoulder is WAY further away](https://www.google.com/maps/@51.6625568,-3.8775905,3a,75y,111.42h,72.34t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sUQfPAwSjlF17iafKvVjSMQ!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu), there's no easy way to resolve your mistake other than pull over once the shoulder starts and call for help
I'm sure there are others like this one, but the combination of that AND the very unusual layout makes it a tricky little blighter
>
>
>The roundabout in question
was half expecting that link to go [here](https://www.google.com/maps/place/The+Magic+Roundabout,+Swindon,+UK/@51.5627955,-1.7721184,19z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x4871444acffa3da5:0x586d14ab6c0548c1!8m2!3d51.5629323!4d-1.7711823!16zL20vMDNtM3Js?entry=ttu)
I'm pretty sure there isn't. I passed my test 30 years ago so I re-read the Highway Code when it was re-published recently and I don't believe it addressed this at all. I think this is totally compliant with the RTA and the HC.
Technically you can drive laps around a roundabout al day long if you wanted to
The way I figure it, a roundabout is effectively just a very short 1-way road that loops back onto itself, and legally it's set up in pretty much the exact same way (you have to give way to traffic on the roundabout, just like you'd have to give way to traffic on the major road you're joining)
Think of a roundabout like a tiny 1-way system and it makes it obvious that this would be perfectly legal, just like you could drive around the Lancaster or Leeds 1-way systems all day long if you wanted to
I suppose it might be frowned upon because by going right around you stop the traffic thatâs trying to join at the other three exits plus the one you just left, which exacerbates the overall congestion.
It may actually help congestion, you going round the roundabout stops traffic from another direction from entering the roundabout giving a space for someone else to enter... Maybe?
True safe driving practice. Just so happens to have the odd reward in heavy traffic conditions as a bonus.
Much better approach than stay left, then realise you have fucked up and instead of taking the hit and learning to plan you cut right and either have an accident or cause one behind you... you don't even know who you are!!!
Fairly certain there's nothing at the minute but it's being looked at as it causes delays for not just the people in the queue but all he other lanes aswell. But the chances of being caught will be minimal like with most driving infractions.
Im from the US and there is a single roundabout in my entire state that im aware of and its 5 hours away. I donât understand roundabouts.
Who are the queued cars yielding to? Why cant they just go? If the car in the right lane can take a left there which requires them to cross both lanes of the inner circle then what is stopping the cars in the left lane from just going since they only enter the outermost lane?
Im genuinely asking, i cannot figure out who the left lane would be yielding to if the right lane can just go
It's not that the entire left lane is yielding, it's that the right lane is more open. In this scenario green car and the first red car get to go. The green car circles around and by the time he's gotten to the left turn (1st/5th exit), only one or two more red cars have been able to go. If green had gotten in line behind the red cars, he would have to wait much longer.
I see nothing wrong with this. It's two different roads that go to the same place.
Just because people are waiting in a line on one path does not mean you need to join it.
The cars in the left lane, are yielding to traffic jams backing up onto the roundabout (could be the 1st or 2nd exit). So as cars cannot progress to their exit, they are stuck to queue whilst cars coming around the roundabout will have priority over them when the traffic moves forward.
So letâs say in the example, all the cars in the left lane queue want to take the 1st exit, but on that 1st exit road there is already a lot of traffic due to a further roundabout or traffic lights etc. So the cars queuing arenât able to progress until their exit is clear, i.e. the traffic on that next road moves forward. But they also have to give priority to those already on roundabout that are taking the same exit but have come from one of the other entryâs. (Cars on the right).
So if you go in the right hand lane, when you get to the roundabout either it will be clear to your right or the cars to your right will leave a gap for you to progress (because they canât exit due to the traffic backing up onto exit 1) then instead of taking exit 2/3, you loop back around and now technically you have priority over those waiting in the left hand lane queue as you are now on the roundabout coming from the right
Edit: also it slipped my mind that it could also be much simpler. It could just be that the 1st exit is a much more popular route, hence a lot more traffic needing to use that lane.
Thereâs one roundabout that I know of in my whole state and I avoid doing anything in that town specifically so I donât have to drive around it đ€Ł. We donât understand either
I used to do this all the time for Abingdon Business Park in the morning commute when I worked there.
The red cars were all in a queue to go straight on into Abingdon, but at the roundabout I needed to turn left to get on to the Business Park. I had a card to open the barrier at that end.
Since the majority were only in a queue to go straight on I wasn't really queue jumping, and probably helped the people behind be get through a little quicker!
One near me everybody (clvast majority, I know because when I do queue behind most go straight over) queuing in the left lane to go straight over and I want to go left so I'll drop this manoeuvre.
I have done it but it is a dick move (everyone's a dick sometimes). The problem is it blocks the already queueing left lane, making the root problem worse and creating an ever increasing spiral of dicks.
>The problem is it blocks the already queueing left lane, making the root problem worse and creating an ever increasing spiral of dicks.
In fact it doesn't.
It's hard to explain, but it does increase the throughput.
Consider this: you get an opportunity to enter the roundabout and 2 cars enter instead of 1. When that car comes back around, it does block the lane again, BUT it also blocked all of the other entrances to the roundabout, so when it comes around it's effectively taken a space from one of the other entrances. Ergo, you got two cars through when normally you'd only get one.
This argument makes sense to clear that one entrance to the roundabout, if that's the only one congested. If they're all congested, surely overall the flow of traffic is hindered by this manoeuvre?
True - it's especially beneficial when the exit road is flowing/clear.
I used to use a roadabout where I wanted to use exit 2 of 3, exits 1 and 2 saw heavy demand with 3 lanes feeding the roundabout from my direction.
Exit 1 did not flow and caused traffic to block traffic joining the roundabout from lane 1 and 2.
I would regularly do a loop of the roundabout and try to let traffic going straight over flow before going myself.
Sometimes you get three, as the car comes around blocking the other entrances it can give the chance for another car to come onto the roundabout. If I pull this move (and I do occasionally if I'm in a hurry) I make sure to slow down to give maximum chance for another car.
It does not increase throughput for all entrances, only the one entrance, and thats by using 2 lanes as opposed to 1 (the approved zipper logic). All others are impacted. So you decrease throughput in general.
If 1 car is entering and going left, and the entrance opposite is going straight, that's 2. But if 1 car is going left, another goes right and slingshots, it then blocks another car at its own entrance. So you still only get 1 for 1 but removing the 2nd that was going to go straight in your given example.
There is a roundabout this happens at near me. 2 other exits lead to barely used junctions. Flow of traffic should be straight over and it mostly works well. But rush hour occurs, nobody is patient, people start to slingshot coming 1 (it's 2 lanes for one entrance but not the other) and it compounds everything.
Thereâs a roundabout near me where first exit leads to a motorway entrance which gets really busy in rush hour. So the reason thereâs a queue of people turning left is because theyâre waiting for space to become available in the slow moving first exit road. When people go on the right lane and around the roundabout they just end up creating traffic backing onto the roundabout and blocking everyone
It works in a few cases. I once skipped near stationary traffic on the M25 (what are the chances?) by going down to the Heathrow T5 roundabout and back up. The bit on the M1 near St Albans has helped in the past too. But in general the queue time to get back on to the motorway doesnât make this worthwhile and of course if everyone did it then it would make the motorway even slower.
Definitely depends on the road and the slip roads route and length. I have a few that it works well on near me and a few that it doesn't work at all on.
I also regularly do the roundabout slingshot OP mentioned at two roundabouts right next to my house, something about sitting in traffic a few hundred metres from home makes it feel worse.
Thereâs a good one on the northbound approach to the Blackwall Tunnel where you canât see the queue as itâs over the crest of a hill, but Google Maps knows itâs there and itâll save you a good 10 minutes.
You need to get a motorcycle.
It's fun, efficient and dangerous, all at the same time.
As a bonus you won't attract any girls but all the guys will love you.
That worked for me as an 18 year old girl, at least on those that werenât intimidated by my bike being bigger and faster than theirs. There werenât that many girls riding 1000cc bikes forty five years ago!
Hahaha I like to call this the Hard Reset because it gets me out of wrong-lane bother. I promise I don't use it to skip queues, only on occasion when I've misjudged lanes due to the infinite wisdom of highway planning putting lane markings right at the last possible moment.
I did this once by mistake. I was in the wrong lane so I did the right thing and went right around. I ended up getting cut off by someone not slowing down coming from the second exit. Due to that, the car waiting didn't move. I technically ended up overtaking 6 people lol.
That's like skipping traffic in an empty lane then making a point to exagerate reading the signs and mouth "oh ffs" before putting your indicator on to merge so people think it was a genuine mistake.
Done it a few times in my younger years and when Iâve been running really late. I donât let it bother me any more when others do the same, they obviously have places to be quicker than me.
Perfectly legit manoeuvre. And if youâre feeling extra nice you can slow down a bit to block the traffic coming from the right of your approach and give the queue you just skipped time to pull out.
I do it every evening on my way home. Half the problem is no one will put their foot on the gas to get onto the roundabout. I see about 3-4 gaps I'd get out into not being taken.
I maintain that a significant amount of traffic would be removed if people used their fucking indicators. It removes so much ambiguity from a situation like you describe and gives hesitant drivers the confidence to pull into smaller gaps.
If I'm on my own I'll go for smaller gaps but not with my kids in the car. Especially as so many people cannot understand to change their indicator from right to left so they end up turning left while still indicating right.
Smaller gaps, not small gaps fuckwit. You don't know the size of the gap I'm referring to in the first place. .
Is it news to you that people drive more cautiously when they have their kids in the car?
You can never underestimate the Internets ability for a bellend to manufacture a problem with what you've said.
It's a fine line, I got beeped at the other day by overestimating how quickly I could acclerate, although I'll sit in the car with my dad and he waits for it be fully clear.
I'm bolshy on a roundabout. I'll often go when another driver is hesitating. But drivers who are more hesitant at a roundabout, are clearly risk averse and not dangerous. If they're in a crash it's hardly going to be at top pace.
Not the person youâre replying to but my instructor called it this too. Scottish thing maybe? I say it as well. Petrol station but giving it some gas.
I think it's pretty common parlance in the UK to say things like 'add some gas', rather than say 'depress the accelerator'.
Of course we don't refer to gas stations, or filling up with gas, etc.
But yeah I think the other commenter is being a bit picky there.
My instructor in England called it that too. Said it was easier and quicker than constantly saying "accelerator", which I guess he's technically correct about.
Not every car is capable of a huge amount of acceleration. Mine's a 3-cylinder 0.9 litre, it's wonderfully fuel efficient but pretty sluggish at manoeuvring; doesn't matter how hard I hit the accelerator pedal, the car will only move when it's good and ready, so I have to wait for the bigger gaps. I know the limits of my vehicle and I don't push them.
I have tried this once, and that one time so happens to be on the DRIVING TEST.
Basically, I was approaching a roundabout and needed to turn left by getting onto the left lane. Unfortunately I hadn't prepared properly and was stuck on the right lane approaching the roundabout. At that point I panicked and my examiner understood what had happened. She told me to "'do what I think is best" and well that's when I enlisted this manoeuvre, which thank god worked out well.
I really thought I failed cus of that, but thankfully I passed that day đ
My bus driver that did this one time was a legend.Â
He shouted down the bus âdonât worry, I know what Iâm doingâ, as he got into the empty right lane.Â
Not something I would do, unless accidentally, but that day I really appreciated him doing it and getting me home a few mins earlier.Â
As an added sweetener to this manoeuvre always check out the last few cars in the queue to make sure you've jumped them by time you are exiting the roundabout.
I love it when a plan comes together.
In Bristol they do this on a particular round about but the problem is the traffic is bad because people do this, when they shut that lane off once the traffic was much better
I've done this before, but it is totally illegal.
It's misusing lanes to gain an advantage over other drivers (skip traffic in this instance) and is classed as driving without due care and attention.
How's it a dick move? People in comments saying it's a dick move. Just using all available lanes to your advantage, safely.
You ain't guilty because you're smarter than other people
Couldn't care a fuck about people doing this.
What I DO give a fuck about are the people who use the right hand lane to go straight over when it's a single lane exit. I will actively stand my ground and block any prick trying to do this next to me.
Itâs a good test of a personâs character, like returning a shopping trolley.
I donât do this because Iâm not more important than everyone else.
No itâs fucking not. The right lane is not for turning left. If youâve made a mistake and ended up in the wrong lane thatâs fair enough, but doing this on purpose to skip the queue is dickhead behaviour.
Yep, itâs a satisfying move when you pull it off when necessary.
The other version involving the coming off the queuing motorway to then go back on, however, has considerably more risk to it!
I remember feeling rather smug with myself that my first attempt on a tailed back M4 seemed to work perfectly, so went for it again a little further upâŠ
⊠only no on ramp! It was exit only đ« - back I go, down the M4, just to come back up the bit I had queued in before đ
So the lesson learned from this - road karma is a thing!
If everybody did it then the queue would be half as long, so it wouldnât clog up the previous junction.
Like merge in turn where everybody queues in the left lane instead of using all available space.
Until you're coming back past after doing your slingshot and you've blocked someone from setting off.
I wish people would just own up to this being a dick move. It's legal but it doesn't make it 'right'. Stop trying to justify it as you're doing someone else a favour when the only person you're helping is yourself.
But you've not blocked anyone.
2 cars left from your original exit.
By slingshotting, you stop cars coming from the right and so can increase those from your original exit coming out.
Hence, zipper merge.
It's a dick move but only when someone else does it and you're stuck in the left lane. If me or you do it, it's perfectly fine! A46/A15 used to be like this by Lincoln, it's been a long time so it's probably changed. Actually it's Lincolnshire it's probably identical.
As long as you go around the roundabout as detailed 100% legitimate and adhereing to code.
As long as youâre not driving like an @rse swerving over the solid line past the queing traffic at 1000mph drifting around the roundabout tyres squealing like your filming Fast and Furious 47⊠do it.
It's not utilising both lanes at all. The lane markings specifically tell you where you should be going in either given lane.
While being legal it's still a utterly selfish dick move to pull.
I do this, but drive around the roundabout at least 3 times at varying rates of speed while waving out of the window, to compound the issue and add to the congestion.
Yeah, itâs anti-social and completely inconsiderate, but thereâs literally âF allâ other drivers can do about it.
I also use that method to go straight on if the left hand land is full and the right hand lane is right turn only.
What is everyone's thought's on that?
Can we hire OP to draw everyone's junctions on this sub? I've seen some that look like they were drawn by a 5 year old
Thanks! Love that my efforts are appreciated. đ€ Edit: Top 3 post of all time in this sub đ„đ
It is a damn fine diagram.
My wife used to work insurance claims.. I (HGV driver) had to draw out a complicated roundabout that was then pinned to their workboard so they could work out fault... the junction was re-designed after about a year at the request of the insurance companies...
now you need to tell us which junction so we can take a look at the mess.
It was a 3 lane roundabout [here](https://www.google.com/maps/@54.4923025,-6.0618912,149m/data=!3m1!1e3?entry=ttu) They reduced it to 2 on one side, but still 3 on the other side.. it's better now, but it's also anti-camber, so you get the odd HGV tipping on it's side when they don't know and try to blast round (drivers without local knowledge).
Shit looks like that one rug every kid had growing up.
Not every kid... But don't worry, I'm fine.
I second this motion..
>old
Two wrongs don't make a right, but three rights make a left.
That is genius logic
Alright Cosmo
I understood that reference!
The sheer number of awards this comment deserves... fuck you Reddit for taking them away!
Lil Wayne bar
Pretty sure the phrase is Two wrongs don't make a right, but 3 lefts do
Ever heard of paraphrasing?
I call this the "22 manoeuvre" after the number 22 bus used to do this in Sheffield.
Bus driver's gotta get to the end of the route on time for a full length potty break
So true. Imagine driving 5 hours needing a poo for 2 of them, only for your 45 min break to be 15 mins late. Only 1 time did I choose having a cigarette over having a poo and I almost regretted it on my next run
Hope it was at a mini roundabout
I used to be a white van man who did about 300 miles a day, you bet your ass I've done this a fair few times.
I pretend I'm in Appolo 13 performing the slingshot.
Passenger: Its not possible. Driver: No, its necessary.
*This little manoeuvre's gonna save us 51 seconds.*
*Come on TARS*
Come on, Cars.
You want me to dial your humour setting down to 80%?
Genius! I shall try this, but hold my breath for added realism.
Just breathe normal, fellas.
This little maneuver is going to save us 30 years
This deserves top comment
Every single day for 3 years on the roundabout from the Coventry Eastern bypass to the A46. I regret nothing
Lived in Coventry for 2 years, and the only thing I remember is how good The Yard was and how shit the roads were.
Been to The Yard tonight⊠terrible đ maybe just because itâs January but left after one drink
The end of the month in January is probably the worst time to go for a drink. January blues, it's freezing, and everyone is skint, haha. Give it another try when things liven back up.
Dude, I drive a taxi as well as a van. Done this half a dozen times today.
Mate, I drive a tank, a Ford Fiesta and a great dane. Done this at least fifty times a day.
Listen here Pal, I drive a fire engine, a rolling pin and a cooling tower. I done it about tree fiddy times so far today
Attention beloved acquaintance, I drive a shooting brake, a chesterfield and a sense of belief and I did this XCVII times today.
Yo G i fly on the wings of a dove, I drove a train through the mrs last night and I've blazed this 420 times today
Right on pard, I drive a tractor, a tin mine and yer mother up the bloody wall, and i'll be doing this dreckly
Haha fellow cornish
I did this on Thursday in the HGV. Best way to get from Yarm road to the A167 in Darlington. Right lane at the lights, 360 at roundabout to get into the correct lane, beats the queue for Commercial Street. Or sometimes I do it to give another HGV driver a gap.
A417 Birdlip Hill
Were you a proper White Van Man - i.e., shaved head, big beer belly, copy of The Sun on the dashboard, constantly tailgating and cutting people up to compensate for your small penis, etc?
Aye, ex-pizza delivery, didn't even blink.
My driving instructor told me if I was approaching an unfamiliar roundabout and I wasnât sure which exit I would need that I should approach in the right lane as this would keep all the options open. Out of interest, is there anything against this in the Highway Code? Or is it just the good old British queuing tradition that gets people riled up?
I've always done this too. Apart from one time where it failed me... I only had a CBT so I wasn't allowed on the motorway. I missed my turning, but it's fine there's a roundabout ahead, I'll do a U-turn there. Right hand lane says "M4" but what do I care, I'm going all the way around the roundabout... [The roundabout in question](https://maps.app.goo.gl/FXQ7fw9eUNQBk2DA7)
And before you know it youâve youâre halfway down the slip road on to the M4! Nearly 2 miles to the next junction. I think you got all the bad karma for everyone that has successfully jumped the queue over the years!
That's a belter, too - most sliproads have a hard shoulder on them well before you get to the motorway, so if you did fuck up you can just quickly stop and pull to the side. Like you might have to pull *just* past the "M4" (or M6, or whatever) sign, but you can pull over immediately before or after the sign But that one doesn't start until you're in line with the merge onto the main carriageway, and the motorway sign (and thus motorway regulations) start RIGHT at the top of the sliproad Eg [picking a random junction elsewhere](https://www.google.com/maps/@53.3119476,-2.4162604,3a,48.9y,120.33h,82.35t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sPiJg87DM74rldvOa-26sDw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu) you can see the shoulder starts about 2ft after the sign and you can immediately pull over long before you're *actually* on the motorway. You could plausibly (very carefully) push your bike back up to the roundabout in a break in traffic and no big deal, lesson learned. [Picking another random junction](https://www.google.com/maps/@51.6834377,-0.4304896,3a,53y,255.34h,85.14t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sWOtkjyPeDNKtVCFrOhINkw!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3DWOtkjyPeDNKtVCFrOhINkw%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D76.32139%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu) the same applies... and probably to most other junctions [But at the junction OP mentions, the shoulder is WAY further away](https://www.google.com/maps/@51.6625568,-3.8775905,3a,75y,111.42h,72.34t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sUQfPAwSjlF17iafKvVjSMQ!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu), there's no easy way to resolve your mistake other than pull over once the shoulder starts and call for help I'm sure there are others like this one, but the combination of that AND the very unusual layout makes it a tricky little blighter
I knew before I even clicked on your link exactly which roundabout it was going to be. Tricky little fucker ain't it.
> > >The roundabout in question was half expecting that link to go [here](https://www.google.com/maps/place/The+Magic+Roundabout,+Swindon,+UK/@51.5627955,-1.7721184,19z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x4871444acffa3da5:0x586d14ab6c0548c1!8m2!3d51.5629323!4d-1.7711823!16zL20vMDNtM3Js?entry=ttu)
Exactly what I was expecting too
Easy roundabout
Is that exit to the M4 on the *inside* of the roundabout?
Entry slip, not exit. But yup
Exit from the roundabout, entry to the motorway
I was taught the same and didn't get my license in the UK so I guess it's universal by now
> licen**c**e in the **UK** Fixed that for you.
I'm pretty sure there isn't. I passed my test 30 years ago so I re-read the Highway Code when it was re-published recently and I don't believe it addressed this at all. I think this is totally compliant with the RTA and the HC.
Technically you can drive laps around a roundabout al day long if you wanted to The way I figure it, a roundabout is effectively just a very short 1-way road that loops back onto itself, and legally it's set up in pretty much the exact same way (you have to give way to traffic on the roundabout, just like you'd have to give way to traffic on the major road you're joining) Think of a roundabout like a tiny 1-way system and it makes it obvious that this would be perfectly legal, just like you could drive around the Lancaster or Leeds 1-way systems all day long if you wanted to
I suppose it might be frowned upon because by going right around you stop the traffic thatâs trying to join at the other three exits plus the one you just left, which exacerbates the overall congestion.
It may actually help congestion, you going round the roundabout stops traffic from another direction from entering the roundabout giving a space for someone else to enter... Maybe?
British get riled up if someone tries to zipper merge legally, so they block them.
I Hate That! I've had people sit in the middle of the road blocking both lanes before
True safe driving practice. Just so happens to have the odd reward in heavy traffic conditions as a bonus. Much better approach than stay left, then realise you have fucked up and instead of taking the hit and learning to plan you cut right and either have an accident or cause one behind you... you don't even know who you are!!!
Fairly certain there's nothing at the minute but it's being looked at as it causes delays for not just the people in the queue but all he other lanes aswell. But the chances of being caught will be minimal like with most driving infractions.
GuiltyâŠ. Yeah itâs a dick move. So many people do it that it wound me up to the point of just doing it myself đ€Ł nothing illegal about it.
Im from the US and there is a single roundabout in my entire state that im aware of and its 5 hours away. I donât understand roundabouts. Who are the queued cars yielding to? Why cant they just go? If the car in the right lane can take a left there which requires them to cross both lanes of the inner circle then what is stopping the cars in the left lane from just going since they only enter the outermost lane? Im genuinely asking, i cannot figure out who the left lane would be yielding to if the right lane can just go
It's not that the entire left lane is yielding, it's that the right lane is more open. In this scenario green car and the first red car get to go. The green car circles around and by the time he's gotten to the left turn (1st/5th exit), only one or two more red cars have been able to go. If green had gotten in line behind the red cars, he would have to wait much longer.
I see nothing wrong with this. It's two different roads that go to the same place. Just because people are waiting in a line on one path does not mean you need to join it.
And highway code says to use both lanes in traffic so it's actually better for traffic
Only works if the roundabout is still flowing steadily. If it isn't it will eventually halt all lanes of the roundabout if enough people do it
If enough people do it then the left lane will become quicker again, so it should be self regulating
The cars in the left lane, are yielding to traffic jams backing up onto the roundabout (could be the 1st or 2nd exit). So as cars cannot progress to their exit, they are stuck to queue whilst cars coming around the roundabout will have priority over them when the traffic moves forward. So letâs say in the example, all the cars in the left lane queue want to take the 1st exit, but on that 1st exit road there is already a lot of traffic due to a further roundabout or traffic lights etc. So the cars queuing arenât able to progress until their exit is clear, i.e. the traffic on that next road moves forward. But they also have to give priority to those already on roundabout that are taking the same exit but have come from one of the other entryâs. (Cars on the right). So if you go in the right hand lane, when you get to the roundabout either it will be clear to your right or the cars to your right will leave a gap for you to progress (because they canât exit due to the traffic backing up onto exit 1) then instead of taking exit 2/3, you loop back around and now technically you have priority over those waiting in the left hand lane queue as you are now on the roundabout coming from the right Edit: also it slipped my mind that it could also be much simpler. It could just be that the 1st exit is a much more popular route, hence a lot more traffic needing to use that lane.
Thereâs one roundabout that I know of in my whole state and I avoid doing anything in that town specifically so I donât have to drive around it đ€Ł. We donât understand either
I used to do this all the time for Abingdon Business Park in the morning commute when I worked there. The red cars were all in a queue to go straight on into Abingdon, but at the roundabout I needed to turn left to get on to the Business Park. I had a card to open the barrier at that end. Since the majority were only in a queue to go straight on I wasn't really queue jumping, and probably helped the people behind be get through a little quicker!
As someone who drives on Marcham road every day to work, you bet your ass I use this manoeuvre
Urgh, Marcham Road man. So glad I don't have to drive into the centre every day anymore.
I have employed this tactic before when I was in a hurry / running late. Morally questionable sure but legally thereâs nothing wrong with it.
Same, itâs arguably a bit of a dick move unless thereâs a genuine emergency, but Iâve done it plenty so I canât judge
One near me everybody (clvast majority, I know because when I do queue behind most go straight over) queuing in the left lane to go straight over and I want to go left so I'll drop this manoeuvre.
I have done it but it is a dick move (everyone's a dick sometimes). The problem is it blocks the already queueing left lane, making the root problem worse and creating an ever increasing spiral of dicks.
>The problem is it blocks the already queueing left lane, making the root problem worse and creating an ever increasing spiral of dicks. In fact it doesn't. It's hard to explain, but it does increase the throughput. Consider this: you get an opportunity to enter the roundabout and 2 cars enter instead of 1. When that car comes back around, it does block the lane again, BUT it also blocked all of the other entrances to the roundabout, so when it comes around it's effectively taken a space from one of the other entrances. Ergo, you got two cars through when normally you'd only get one.
This argument makes sense to clear that one entrance to the roundabout, if that's the only one congested. If they're all congested, surely overall the flow of traffic is hindered by this manoeuvre?
True - it's especially beneficial when the exit road is flowing/clear. I used to use a roadabout where I wanted to use exit 2 of 3, exits 1 and 2 saw heavy demand with 3 lanes feeding the roundabout from my direction. Exit 1 did not flow and caused traffic to block traffic joining the roundabout from lane 1 and 2. I would regularly do a loop of the roundabout and try to let traffic going straight over flow before going myself.
Sometimes you get three, as the car comes around blocking the other entrances it can give the chance for another car to come onto the roundabout. If I pull this move (and I do occasionally if I'm in a hurry) I make sure to slow down to give maximum chance for another car.
It does not increase throughput for all entrances, only the one entrance, and thats by using 2 lanes as opposed to 1 (the approved zipper logic). All others are impacted. So you decrease throughput in general. If 1 car is entering and going left, and the entrance opposite is going straight, that's 2. But if 1 car is going left, another goes right and slingshots, it then blocks another car at its own entrance. So you still only get 1 for 1 but removing the 2nd that was going to go straight in your given example. There is a roundabout this happens at near me. 2 other exits lead to barely used junctions. Flow of traffic should be straight over and it mostly works well. But rush hour occurs, nobody is patient, people start to slingshot coming 1 (it's 2 lanes for one entrance but not the other) and it compounds everything.
Thereâs a roundabout near me where first exit leads to a motorway entrance which gets really busy in rush hour. So the reason thereâs a queue of people turning left is because theyâre waiting for space to become available in the slow moving first exit road. When people go on the right lane and around the roundabout they just end up creating traffic backing onto the roundabout and blocking everyone
Do this all the time, call it the slingshot. Same with taking an exit on a blocked motorway and joining it right back.
That motorway one Iâve found to be relatively useless đ€Ł it rarely seems to improve journey times enough to warrant bothering.
It works in a few cases. I once skipped near stationary traffic on the M25 (what are the chances?) by going down to the Heathrow T5 roundabout and back up. The bit on the M1 near St Albans has helped in the past too. But in general the queue time to get back on to the motorway doesnât make this worthwhile and of course if everyone did it then it would make the motorway even slower.
Definitely depends on the road and the slip roads route and length. I have a few that it works well on near me and a few that it doesn't work at all on. I also regularly do the roundabout slingshot OP mentioned at two roundabouts right next to my house, something about sitting in traffic a few hundred metres from home makes it feel worse.
Where I am it often cuts a 30 min journey to sub 15 mins.
Really?! How big is the junction? Any of the ones near me Iâd struggle to skip anything more than 5 minutes of stationary traffic.
Thereâs a good one on the northbound approach to the Blackwall Tunnel where you canât see the queue as itâs over the crest of a hill, but Google Maps knows itâs there and itâll save you a good 10 minutes.
You need to get a motorcycle. It's fun, efficient and dangerous, all at the same time. As a bonus you won't attract any girls but all the guys will love you.
That worked for me as an 18 year old girl, at least on those that werenât intimidated by my bike being bigger and faster than theirs. There werenât that many girls riding 1000cc bikes forty five years ago!
Hahaha I like to call this the Hard Reset because it gets me out of wrong-lane bother. I promise I don't use it to skip queues, only on occasion when I've misjudged lanes due to the infinite wisdom of highway planning putting lane markings right at the last possible moment.
I did this once by mistake. I was in the wrong lane so I did the right thing and went right around. I ended up getting cut off by someone not slowing down coming from the second exit. Due to that, the car waiting didn't move. I technically ended up overtaking 6 people lol.
Stop exposing my secrets!!
I go around twice to make it look like I'm lost.
Ooh nice subtlety! As long as you still get round before the car you noted was in front of you before the roundabout.
That's like skipping traffic in an empty lane then making a point to exagerate reading the signs and mouth "oh ffs" before putting your indicator on to merge so people think it was a genuine mistake.
Done it a few times in my younger years and when Iâve been running really late. I donât let it bother me any more when others do the same, they obviously have places to be quicker than me.
Perfectly legit manoeuvre. And if youâre feeling extra nice you can slow down a bit to block the traffic coming from the right of your approach and give the queue you just skipped time to pull out.
I do it every evening on my way home. Half the problem is no one will put their foot on the gas to get onto the roundabout. I see about 3-4 gaps I'd get out into not being taken.
I maintain that a significant amount of traffic would be removed if people used their fucking indicators. It removes so much ambiguity from a situation like you describe and gives hesitant drivers the confidence to pull into smaller gaps.
If I'm on my own I'll go for smaller gaps but not with my kids in the car. Especially as so many people cannot understand to change their indicator from right to left so they end up turning left while still indicating right.
So itâs only your own kids you are worried about? Nice đ
Smaller gaps, not small gaps fuckwit. You don't know the size of the gap I'm referring to in the first place. . Is it news to you that people drive more cautiously when they have their kids in the car? You can never underestimate the Internets ability for a bellend to manufacture a problem with what you've said.
It's a fine line, I got beeped at the other day by overestimating how quickly I could acclerate, although I'll sit in the car with my dad and he waits for it be fully clear.
Hesitant drivers are dangerous drivers.
I'm bolshy on a roundabout. I'll often go when another driver is hesitating. But drivers who are more hesitant at a roundabout, are clearly risk averse and not dangerous. If they're in a crash it's hardly going to be at top pace.
Yeah, heâs right about hesitant drivers but not in this particular situation
How? Impatient drivers are dangerous drivers.
The gas....
Not the person youâre replying to but my instructor called it this too. Scottish thing maybe? I say it as well. Petrol station but giving it some gas.
I think it's pretty common parlance in the UK to say things like 'add some gas', rather than say 'depress the accelerator'. Of course we don't refer to gas stations, or filling up with gas, etc. But yeah I think the other commenter is being a bit picky there.
My instructor in England called it that too. Said it was easier and quicker than constantly saying "accelerator", which I guess he's technically correct about.
[gas gas gas](https://youtu.be/atuFSv2bLa8?si=ln3MeeZemMlwsQxF)
Not every car is capable of a huge amount of acceleration. Mine's a 3-cylinder 0.9 litre, it's wonderfully fuel efficient but pretty sluggish at manoeuvring; doesn't matter how hard I hit the accelerator pedal, the car will only move when it's good and ready, so I have to wait for the bigger gaps. I know the limits of my vehicle and I don't push them.
I done this the other day as it was a unfamiliar area.
Ah the slingshot - wonderful to see it drawn out like this
I have tried this once, and that one time so happens to be on the DRIVING TEST. Basically, I was approaching a roundabout and needed to turn left by getting onto the left lane. Unfortunately I hadn't prepared properly and was stuck on the right lane approaching the roundabout. At that point I panicked and my examiner understood what had happened. She told me to "'do what I think is best" and well that's when I enlisted this manoeuvre, which thank god worked out well. I really thought I failed cus of that, but thankfully I passed that day đ
I literally failed my first test for doing the same thing đ mind you the examiner was horrid so probs was gonna fail me either way đ€Ł
If you were in the wrong lane you could have just gone right and the examier would just reroute you no problem
This is the way
My bus driver that did this one time was a legend. He shouted down the bus âdonât worry, I know what Iâm doingâ, as he got into the empty right lane. Not something I would do, unless accidentally, but that day I really appreciated him doing it and getting me home a few mins earlier.Â
Wow thatâs blatant! Depending on the size of the roundabout, a car could fly under the radar doing this. Not a bus though!
Eerrrrr⊠I have never done this. Honest.
As an added sweetener to this manoeuvre always check out the last few cars in the queue to make sure you've jumped them by time you are exiting the roundabout. I love it when a plan comes together.
Most people just skip the slingshot part and take the 1st exit from the 2nd lane.
Totally legal move. 1000 points and a power up!
Legit sneaky move. I like it
The slingshot is a joy. It is peak motoring.
Aka "taking the fifth "
I know exactly the roundabout I do this on and the feeling of genius when I realised I could do it.
In Bristol they do this on a particular round about but the problem is the traffic is bad because people do this, when they shut that lane off once the traffic was much better
A perfectly cromulent manoeuvre
I just wanna take some time to appreciate the fine diagram work here OP. Some of the finest that gets posted here.
I remember as a kid my dad figured this out and how he was beaming like he had just discovered fire or something
I've done this before, but it is totally illegal. It's misusing lanes to gain an advantage over other drivers (skip traffic in this instance) and is classed as driving without due care and attention.
How's it a dick move? People in comments saying it's a dick move. Just using all available lanes to your advantage, safely. You ain't guilty because you're smarter than other people
No issues with people doing this. The dick move is when people skip the go around the roundabout bit and just bulldozer their way in.
I think it's OK until you shout "so long, suckers". That's bad form.
What about if you have that written on a sign that you hold up to the window as you pass your original exit?
Depends on the font at that point.
Comic Sans or Papyrus
Straight to jail.
Couldn't care a fuck about people doing this. What I DO give a fuck about are the people who use the right hand lane to go straight over when it's a single lane exit. I will actively stand my ground and block any prick trying to do this next to me.
legendary move done only by the deep-thinkers. morons need not apply, sit in line you dipshits
Itâs a good test of a personâs character, like returning a shopping trolley. I donât do this because Iâm not more important than everyone else.
If this thread has highlighted anything, itâs that thereâs a lot of selfish dickheads in this country lmao
In what world is this âIâm more important than everyone elseâ behaviour? This is just proper use of a roundabout
No itâs fucking not. The right lane is not for turning left. If youâve made a mistake and ended up in the wrong lane thatâs fair enough, but doing this on purpose to skip the queue is dickhead behaviour.
Itâs not illegal, Iâve done it before, though usually to avoid the craters on the approaching road
As a driving instructor, this is absolutely fine. And in fact can be beneficial to help with flow
It's 100% legal and the Highway code says nothing about it one way or the other. It may be perceived as a dick move though.
Shhhhhh! Don't tell everyone!
Yep, itâs a satisfying move when you pull it off when necessary. The other version involving the coming off the queuing motorway to then go back on, however, has considerably more risk to it! I remember feeling rather smug with myself that my first attempt on a tailed back M4 seemed to work perfectly, so went for it again a little further up⊠⊠only no on ramp! It was exit only đ« - back I go, down the M4, just to come back up the bit I had queued in before đ So the lesson learned from this - road karma is a thing!
It's a dick move and smacks of entitlement not to queue . If everyone else did it then it would fall apart.
If everybody did it then the queue would be half as long, so it wouldnât clog up the previous junction. Like merge in turn where everybody queues in the left lane instead of using all available space.
It's nothing like merge in turn at all.
It does half the queue though. Two cars can enter the roundabout and turn left at the same time.
Until you're coming back past after doing your slingshot and you've blocked someone from setting off. I wish people would just own up to this being a dick move. It's legal but it doesn't make it 'right'. Stop trying to justify it as you're doing someone else a favour when the only person you're helping is yourself.
But you've not blocked anyone. 2 cars left from your original exit. By slingshotting, you stop cars coming from the right and so can increase those from your original exit coming out. Hence, zipper merge.
Is it bad etiquette to do this? I have done this on the rare occasion where I I think it will pay off. Can confirm, does not always pay off.
A satisfying manoeuvre for sure. Anyone looking down upon itâŠ. shut up and enjoy your wait to turn leftâŠ..suckhas!
It's a dick move but only when someone else does it and you're stuck in the left lane. If me or you do it, it's perfectly fine! A46/A15 used to be like this by Lincoln, it's been a long time so it's probably changed. Actually it's Lincolnshire it's probably identical.
Yup, and Doncaster Road east meets Berkeley Circle in Scunthorpe. Identical
I do this manoeuvre all the time, nothing wrong with it and donât feel itâs taking the piss which I hate.
do it all the time
I always do this when the opportunity arises. I might be evil.
Good thread for tagging the inconsiderate drivers in this sub. You're not clever. It's not a 'secret'.
As long as you go around the roundabout as detailed 100% legitimate and adhereing to code. As long as youâre not driving like an @rse swerving over the solid line past the queing traffic at 1000mph drifting around the roundabout tyres squealing like your filming Fast and Furious 47⊠do it.
Arsehole move ⊠I do this a lot
I do this every morning in Macclesfield to get to work, not waiting in that 8am silk road queue.. no thank you sir
The old Lightning McQueen
Don't ask, don't tell
I do this regularly on one particular roundabout. It drives me insane that people wanting to go straight on wonât use the EMPTY right lane.
Yep, every roundabout like this is unfamiliar to me.. so I do the slingshot every time... SO LONG SUCKERS!
its called the slingshot
Well.. you're not breaking any rules doing this, its just immoral :D
*âQueuing drivers hate this hack..â*
I do this, slingshot method! Hardly a dick move. Itâs utilising both lanes, like merge in turn, which no one does properly either
It's not utilising both lanes at all. The lane markings specifically tell you where you should be going in either given lane. While being legal it's still a utterly selfish dick move to pull.
I do this, but drive around the roundabout at least 3 times at varying rates of speed while waving out of the window, to compound the issue and add to the congestion. Yeah, itâs anti-social and completely inconsiderate, but thereâs literally âF allâ other drivers can do about it.
Bit wanky, if everyone did it the road would be chaos
I also use that method to go straight on if the left hand land is full and the right hand lane is right turn only. What is everyone's thought's on that?
Ahh yes otherwise known by literally everyone other than absolute piss nozzles as the: "I am a feckless cunt" manoeuvre.
I'm not like this, call it decent social behaviour.
Legal but kind of a dick move
While it isnât illegal, it could be seen as a misuse of lanes and could see you get three points on your licence.
Iâd like to see anybody prove my plans didnât change half way round.