Mini roundabout Question

[MutiMuti]

There is a mini roundabout on my commute. It's situated where the main single carriageway road goes straight ahead with minor unclassified road off. It is totally flat, not raised and is basically a white spot painted on the road

As I approach with the junction to my left, to go ahead, the roundabout is not situated centrally to the two main carriageways, it is not even situated ahead of me, it situated to my left, so far to the left that to drive straight ahead would place my nearside wheels on the centre of the spot and the offside wheels on the wrong side of it. This roundabout is also very tight, and in fact to negotiate it correctly you have to perform really quite hard, almost exagerated turning of the steering to maintain lane discipline.

What I see is that 100% of drivers do not observe it correctly, instead they cut it to a greater or lesser degree. If I negotiate it correctly I'm so far to the left that following vehicles who are cutting it often have to brake on my offside to avoid me because I'm forced to go so slowly.

As I see it there are therefore three options at this roundabout when the junction is to the left.

1. Observe it correctly which if not difficult is silly in terms of the steering required.
2. Pay lip service to it and cut it like everyone else, which is an offence if your vehicle is not a HGV.
3. With no other traffic at the junction, ignore it completely and drive straight across which is an offence.

In Machynlleth on the A487 Aberystwyth road there are two very small mini roundabouts, one immediately after the other which are just spots on the road, and, in similar fashion to the one above are most easily negotiated by driving straight across, which the majority of drivers appear to do. The police have been heavily criticised for sitting on the junctions off the main road and issuing penalties to those drivers who contravene the not so central white spot. Traffic plod in desperate need of the neccessary number of fixed penalties to hit their monthly quota in order to demonstrate they're doing their job 'propely'.

I'm also aware of two other mini roundabouts in my area where exagerated steering is required to negotiate them. This does of course achive the aim of 'traffic calming' but in the places of which I'm aware of it, in 30 mph restriction areas, the traffic is already moving very slowly.

So, do we all drive our lane around similar white spots on the road or are we guily of cutting across to a greater or lesser degree?

[R0G]

Got one near me - a raised one - about half go completely the wrong side of it as it is so far left because it used to be a T junction and the planners would not cut into the opposite side to place it correctly as it saved money

[LukeBrown66]

How many of us have tried to properly circumnavigate a mini roundabout only for traffic to think that because you are NOT straight lining it you are turning left!!

[Mave]

I always try to go around rather than over - presumably the reason for offsetting is to avoid straightlining and give everyone chance to actually get on the roundabout.

Very aware though of the risk that someone mistakes my intention, especially as my car didn't come with straight ahead indicators.

[donkmeister]

The bad alignment is pretty much a design feature of mini roundabouts - the intention is to force traffic to slow, otherwise on a busy road it works like a T-junction. It's often implemented badly though.

In practice that will only work if they make it very uncomfortable to cross the circle or go the wrong way - there is a strong correlation between "people with a perverse approach to the 'give way to traffic from the right' rule" and "people who straight-line mini roundabouts".

[RazerSauber]

There's one of these offset mini roundabouts on the route where I did my CBT. It's not so bad for a car but it's on a fairly frequent bus route. There's no way even the Ken Block of my local bus service can get round it without cutting a significant chunk of the roundabout. Given the state of it, it would appear many a motorist takes liberties when driving around it. Link

[PF62]

And similarly the drivers who cut across or to the right of the spot, when when turning right on a ‘white spot’ mini roundabout into the minor road (across the main road) - and then get huffy with someone coming out of the side road turning left that they almost drove head on into.

[GasEngineer]

MutiMuti said:

2. Pay lip service to it and cut it like everyone else, which is an offence if your vehicle is not a HGV.
3. With no other traffic at the junction, ignore it completely and drive straight across which is an offence.
?

Is this correct OP?

I ask as I usually drive straight across, I was taught to do so 40 years ago by my driving instructor (on the driving test route) and did same on my driving test and passed with no mention of mini roundabout offence.

[7mike]

GasEngineer said:

Is this correct OP?

I ask as I usually drive straight across, I was taught to do so 40 years ago by my driving instructor (on the driving test route) and did same on my driving test and passed with no mention of mini roundabout offence.

Oh, go on then, I'll Google it...

188
Mini-roundabouts. Approach these in the same way as normal roundabouts. All vehicles MUST pass round the central markings except large vehicles which are physically incapable of doing so. Remember, there is less space to manoeuvre and less time to signal. Avoid making U-turns at mini-roundabouts. Beware of others doing this.
Laws RTA 1988 sect 36 & TSRGD regs 10(1) & 16(1)

[waremark]

I have long wondered if the Highway Code is correct in using MUST about this (when giving commentary I always say 'going round the xxxxx since it is a Highway Code MUST'). I think the idea of 'go round it if you can' would be difficult to express in precise legal terms, as would the description of what it is that you have to go round.

I tried to Google the references and was not successful. Can someone point me more accurately to the basis in law?

[vonhosen]

TSGD 2016 Schedule 9 Part 7 said:

5.—(1) The requirements conveyed to vehicular traffic on roads by a sign provided for at item 6 of the sign table in Part 2 of this Schedule are that—

(a)a vehicle entering the junction must give priority to vehicles coming from the right—

(i)at the transverse road marking provided for at item 6 of the sign table in Part 6 of this Schedule;

(ii)at the transverse road marking provided for at item 3 of the sign table in Part 6 of this Schedule; or

(iii)if a marking is not for the time being visible, at the junction;

(b)a vehicle proceeding through the junction must keep to the left of the white circle at the centre of the marking provided for at item 5 of the sign table in Part 6 of this Schedule (“the diagram 1003.4 marking”), unless the size of the vehicle or the layout of the junction makes it impracticable to do so; and

(c)no vehicle is to proceed past the diagram 1003.4 marking in a manner, or at a time, likely to endanger any person, or to cause the driver of another vehicle to change its speed or course in order to avoid an accident.

[waremark]

vonhosen said:

(b)a vehicle proceeding through the junction must keep to the left of the white circle at the centre of the marking provided for at item 5 of the sign table in Part 6 of this Schedule (“the diagram 1003.4 marking”), unless the size of the vehicle or the layout of the junction makes it impracticable to do so; and

Thanks VH, that is very specific. Does it have the force of law such that an offence is committed if a driver fails to comply?

[vonhosen]

waremark said:

vonhosen said:

(b)a vehicle proceeding through the junction must keep to the left of the white circle at the centre of the marking provided for at item 5 of the sign table in Part 6 of this Schedule (“the diagram 1003.4 marking”), unless the size of the vehicle or the layout of the junction makes it impracticable to do so; and

Thanks VH, that is very specific. Does it have the force of law such that an offence is committed if a driver fails to comply?

s36 RTA 1988 applies to the sign.

s36 RTA 1988 said:

36 Drivers to comply with traffic signs.

(1)Where a traffic sign, being a sign—

(a)of the prescribed size, colour and type, or

(b)of another character authorised by the [F1relevant authority] under the provisions in that behalf of the M1Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984,

has been lawfully placed on or near a road, a person driving or propelling a vehicle who fails to comply with the indication given by the sign is guilty of an offence.

[PistonRings]

Fwiw, I crossed a painted, albeit mostly rubbed off mini roundabout akin the above during my motorbike test and received a minor.

The examiner told me off afterwards and was very blunt that it was a motoring offence if your vehicle is able to go around it, you must do so.

[LeoSayer]

I try to demonstrate that I acknowledge the presence of the mini roundabout but I would certainly not be making exaggerated maneuvers that may cause a following driver to think I'm turning left.

By acknowledgment I mean slowing and doing some steering preferably to get all wheels in contact with the white circle.

[Chromegrill]

So if you follow the road instead of driving over the roundabout, and the car behind you sees you apparently turning left without indicating, drives straight over and T bones you as you straighten up again, are they 100% at fault? As above, how do you indicate "going straight ahead"? Do you need to signal anything? Left as soon as you have passed the roundabout perhaps?

[LeoSayer]

Chromegrill said:

So if you follow the road instead of driving over the roundabout, and the car behind you sees you apparently turning left without indicating, drives straight over and T bones you as you straighten up again, are they 100% at fault? As above, how do you indicate "going straight ahead"? Do you need to signal anything? Left as soon as you have passed the roundabout perhaps?

Apparently some countries have an unwritten rule of using your hazard lights to indicate going straight on.

[ash056]

Chromegrill said:

So if you follow the road instead of driving over the roundabout, and the car behind you sees you apparently turning left without indicating, drives straight over and T bones you as you straighten up again, are they 100% at fault? As above, how do you indicate "going straight ahead"? Do you need to signal anything? Left as soon as you have passed the roundabout perhaps?

If you have not indicated Left, then if the car behind t-bones you they are at fault.

[Chromegrill]

ash056 said:

Chromegrill said:

So if you follow the road instead of driving over the roundabout, and the car behind you sees you apparently turning left without indicating, drives straight over and T bones you as you straighten up again, are they 100% at fault? As above, how do you indicate "going straight ahead"? Do you need to signal anything? Left as soon as you have passed the roundabout perhaps?

If you have not indicated Left, then if the car behind t-bones you they are at fault.

Trouble is, what do you do if you live in a city where (a) everyone tailgates and (b) noone uses indicators?

[nismo48]

+1

LukeBrown66 said:

How many of us have tried to properly circumnavigate a mini roundabout only for traffic to think that because you are NOT straight lining it you are turning left!!