Struggling with roundabouts Part 1

Tom from BIG TOM Driving School in Bourne (01778 309 773) offers the following advice to anyone find roundabouts difficult.


If you are struggling with roundabouts on your driving lessons then take 5 minutes out to read this blog - I have some advice to offer you that will make things clearer. It might help to print it out and use a highlighter to emphasise a key learning point for yourself.

Roundabouts need to be tackled in 2 halves - firstly, spotting that a roundabout is approaching and thinking where you actually want to go and secondly, actually driving on to and exiting.  If it helps think of it in terms of a bowler in cricket; the initial visualisation of where the batsman is and what you intend to bowl at him, and then the actual act of executing the bowl.  If a bowler were to rush into a bowl, having given it no thought on the approach, then the resulting bowl will be at best described as "unpredictable".

It is best to work on these 2 aspects seperately.  In this blog I will be concentrating on the first phase. The second phase will be covered in a "Part 2" blog.

An often overlooked consideration when out driving with family is planning the best place to practise.  Choose your areas carefully to maximise the learning without distractions.  Find yourself some quiet roundabouts - if they are in short supply near you, then I would suggest you change the time that you practise on them, so that there will be very little traffic around.  If that means an early start on a Sunday morning, that "pain" will be well worth it.  What you do not need when you are initially practising this, are the distractions from vehicles behind you, in front and on the roundabout.

Get into the habit of spotting roundabouts well ahead, and I do mean well ahead. You can practise this as a passenger when someone else is driving. 100 metres ahead is often very possible.  There are normally (but not always) warning signs (red triangle), you might be able to see the round blue sign (for a mini roundabout).  You may be able to spot the black and white arrows pointing leftwards ON the roundabout, you may even be able to see traffic travelling on it.  These are all important signs to identify early on that a roundabout is approaching.  Depending on the size of the roundabout, will determine if you see traffic signs with the layout of the roundabout.  These are worth paying attention to, they help you in a few important ways.  They help you to decide which exit you intend to take (larger destinations will be on the first sign, more local destinations will be shown on a secondary sign slightly nearer to the roundabout).  It is a skill in itself to read those signs, recognise which number exit is yours and begin the planning of where your car needs to be ON THE APPROACH, and whether you need a signal on the approach.  Here is one of my videos that will test your ability in this particular regard.  Don't underestimate the importance of this "planning" phase, because if you approach the roundabout and your mind is all fuzzy thinking about signals, lane positions and which exit you need, then that will have an instant impact on the next important phase.  If you are on a fast moving road (50/60/70 mph) then an early, firm but smooth slowing down by braking (right foot) to 30 mph and THEN selecting 3rd gear is a surprisingly effective move in helping you prepare because it instantly buys you time.  Time is something that you ARE able to control (more on this important point in a moment).

By looking at the signs on the approach you can begin to anticipate where your car should be positioned as you approach.  This is a massive skill because when done early, there are no sudden changes immediately before you get on the roundabout.  There is nothing quite like fast/severe changes in position on the road just before a roundabout (or even on the roundabout) to seriously spook other road users.  I accept that at 100 metres away you may not necessarily know if there are lanes on the approach, or white arrows on the road, but if you are already anticipating the importance of position then you are on the FRONT foot which is a distinct advantage to you.  If you are intending to take an exit on a roundabout that is past the 12 o/c marker on a clock face (look at the traffic sign on the approach to the roundabout to help assess this point), then conventionally, effort should be made to be positioned to the right as you approach.  If there are lanes on the approach, often (but not always) this will mean you taking a lane to the centre or right.  There will always be exceptions to this rule, but it is on the whole pretty reliable.  Look out for traffic signs showing you lane options on the approach to roundabouts, and also look out for our friends the white arrows on the lanes themselves.  This reinforces the amount of work the eyes need to do on the approach of the roundabout, even before they start looking for traffic on the roundabout.

To recap so far.  Early spotting of the roundabout is essential as they are "fluid", things can change in an instant on the roundabout, so therefore you need to start planning for them early on.  Think about where you intend to go.  Which exit will it be?  Will you need a signal?  Roughly what position in the road do you anticipate to be needing?

So far so good?  Having worked all that out, you now need to be drawing your attention to what will be a sensible speed and gear to approach in.  This is still Phase 1, you will still be a long way off the roundabout, not even near it, but you now need to start ASSESSING the actual roundabout itself.

There are 3 things in particular to try to assess which will determine what is the correct speed and gear to approach the roundabout:

1. BUSY - is it a busy roundabout, have you already spotted a lot of traffic on the roundabout?  If you have then it is increasingly looking like a slower approach is needed so that you can enter on the roundabout in a more controlled manner.  It stands to reason, that a roundabout with tons of traffic on it, will probably (not definitely) result in a pause - clutch down, first gear and look.
2. VISION - can you see vehicles approaching it to the right and vehicles already on it? If not, then it is best to approach it at a slower speed as you may need to give way to something that you cannot currently see.  This is very commonly forgotten but is essential to road safety.
3. STEERING - generally speaking, the more steering that you have to do on the roundabout the slower your speed should be.  Imagine your Gran is sat in the back seat - you wouldn't want her toppling over to the side because you are steering round a roundabout too quickly!

Going back to this theme of time.  The situation on roundabouts can often change with the blink of an eye, such is the nature of them being a meeting point for traffic. You can't control that other traffic but you CAN control the time you have to observe it.  Buying yourself time to make effective observations is a key component to safety on roundabouts.  Approach too quickly and you wont have time to do good observations and that normally leads to 1 of 2 consequences: you either eventually recognise that you are approaching too quickly, and brake very sharply just before the roundabout (even if a pause is not actually needed) - this is one reason why there are so many "rear end shunts" on the approach to roundabouts, or, you literally don't have time to check it's safe to go before you are already on the roundabout - and this often leads to cutting in too close to vehicles already on the roundabout.  Either way, this kind of experience really ebbs away at your confidence.  There are plenty of drivers who passed their driving test many moons ago who still feel uneasy about roundabouts due to their inability to properly assess the roundabouts on the approach and get the correct speed and gear to enable effective observations.

I recommend that having set up a sensible speed on the approach, you get into the habit of taking 2-3 quick glances to your right before your vehicle goes on to the roundabout.  Depending on the circumstances, it can be perfectly possible that those observations are undertaken on the approach, with your car still moving.  If you find that you don't have time to do that, then you are either not starting to look SOON enough, or your approaching speed is too fast.  Remember that roundabouts are junctions, and just as with T junctions, if your vision is "closed" on the approach you need to slow down to get more time to do more observations.... that MAY mean a pause, it may even mean a slight "peep and creep" forwards to improve your vision without actually committing to emerging.  The number 1 reason for people failing driving tests is "observations at junctions".  When I say "quick glances", it is for good reason because if your eyes look right, and end up staring at vehicles either on the roundabout or just about to come on to it, one of the possible effects is that you lose position on the approach to the roundabout as you are literally not looking where you are going.  There is often (but not always) the need to do some slight steering alteration before you get on the roundabout and your position is important.  Apart from seriously spooking other road users when a vehicle starts "drifting" in a road, the other problem with a change in the position is that it can be very misleading as to where you are intending to go.  Lane discipline is something that will be expanded on in the next blog, but for now, it is a very good habit to pay attention to your position as you approach a roundabout.  Imagine a large bubble around your vehicle, you don't want to get close enough to any vehicle in ANY direction (including the front), that would burst that bubble.

To summarise.  Unless we are thinking of the very large roundabouts with traffic lights on them, generally speaking, roundabouts are designed to encourage free moving traffic.  The idea is to plan in advance where you intend to go, so that on the approach, your hands and feet are really not doing very much at all.  The work then shifts to your eyes to check if it is safe to go.  That inevitably takes some time to properly "read".  It is all about judging speed and distance of other road users - something that is harder to do at night time or in rain.  People who are struggling with roundabouts often find themselves either stopping abruptly just before the roundabout or cutting into vehicles already on the roundabout.  These are symptoms that you are not engaging your brain (and the forward thinking skills) on the approach to the roundabout.  It will come with practise, but it will be much less stressful if you pay attention to your speed and gears and make sure they reflect the conditions that you are seeing on the roundabout.  As unfortunate as it is, we can't apply the same approach conditions to each and every roundabout as they are so different.  If you did, if you were to say err on the side of caution and automatically bring your speed down to 10mph and select 2nd gear on every single approach, then you will likely upset many other road users behind you; because often that will create unnecessary delay.  The skill that needs to be developed is the ASSESSMENT of the roundabout.  Get into the habit of looking at the characteristics of a roundabout before you get to it, make a decision about the speed and gear you want on the approach.  Momentarily glance at your speedometer as your right foot applies the brakes to actually get that speed.  Even if that turns out to be a wrong call (on that occasion), the fact is that you are making conscious decisions, you are developing the skill and it will come with practise.  Contrast this with NOT thinking in advance, not paying attention to the road signs, the white paint or even realising that a roundabout is ahead, and yes, the results will be at best, inconsistent.  

I will close this blog with one last thought.  There is a phrase that talks of making sure that you can actually stop your car in a distance that you can see to be clear.  That phrase can be applied in many different aspects to do with safe driving, and very much relates to roundabouts too.  If you approach a roundabout at too high a speed that means you would not be able to physically stop in time should a vehicle come across you on the roundabout, you are NOT applying that rule, and the consequences could be serious.  It is a little bit like driving round with the "blinkers" on, completely unaware of what MIGHT be developing up ahead.  In Part 2, I will give some advice on the next phase of deciding if you can safely go on the roundabout and how you negotiate your way round effectively.

If you have any questions at all, feel free to email me on info@BIGTOM.org.uk or comment down below!   Thank you.

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