Roundabout lanes

[Shaun]

Its pretty simple, read the road signs when approaching a junction and get in the appropriate lane.

There was a roundabout in Derry that was left lane for left only even though the roundabout looked like you should go straight on and right lane for straight on or right turn.

Different from the norm and there was always idiots thinking they were correct going up the left lane and causing accidents.

 

[Lyons]

I literally cannot believe the police went to such lengths as to have a spotter then other officers further down the road JUST to pull people in for using the wrong lane at a roundabout which isn't even fully operational.

Have there been accidents at it before?

I would have thought people speeding on the dual carriageway, and cars crossing over on Gibsons Lane and Castle Place would have been 3 better places to catch examples of poor driving?

 

[davecoupe]

They wernt booking people, just informing people they were wrong from what I read into it....educating people on lane disipline is far more worthwhile than booking people for doing 50 in a 40.

 

[Broomy]

I literally cannot believe the police went to such lengths as to have a spotter then other officers further down the road JUST to pull people in for using the wrong lane at a roundabout which isn't even fully operational.

Have there been accidents at it before?

I would have thought people speeding on the dual carriageway, and cars crossing over on Gibsons Lane and Castle Place would have been 3 better places to catch examples of poor driving?

They're receiving A LOT of complaints about that one in particular, suppose they have to be seen to be doing something.

 

[Karlos Da Jackle]

I don't think it matters what road is where, or if there are dead exits or not imho. 12 o'clock is 12 o'clock.

I'm the same. 12 o'clock, is 12 o'clock.

But I can definately see how continuing along the same named road could be deemed as straight ahead. Like that was probabl;y just a corner in that road, before Tesco landed,lol. Now there is a roundabout.

 

[stevieturbo]

They wernt booking people, just informing people they were wrong from what I read into it....educating people on lane disipline is far more worthwhile than booking people for doing 50 in a 40.

Perhaps, but when there are no lanes correctly marked on the roundabout, and the road system is incomplete....their time would be better spent pressing the DRD to remove the incorrect partial markings in the first place.

 

[pablo]

I cant understand why they didnt just let both lanes go across to the A20. On the ballymena offramp of M2 you can stay in the left lane and go all the way round to 3 oclock for ballymena line for example.

Funnelling the traffic down to one lane, to open back up to 2 lanes on the far side seems a bit odd.

 

[Karlos Da Jackle]

I cant understand why they didnt just let both lanes go across to the A20. On the ballymena offramp of M2 you can stay in the left lane and go all the way round to 3 oclock for ballymena line for example.

Funnelling the traffic down to one lane, to open back up to 2 lanes on the far side seems a bit odd.

C'mon man, it's the road service.

Nothing is silly or odd to them.

 

[Coog]

About time I say. Some of the lane discipline at that roundabout is hectic, even coming the other way with overtakers trying to push in on the actual roundabout to head left towards hughes

 

[endofreak]

I cant understand why they didnt just let both lanes go across to the A20. On the ballymena offramp of M2 you can stay in the left lane and go all the way round to 3 oclock for ballymena line for example.

Funnelling the traffic down to one lane, to open back up to 2 lanes on the far side seems a bit odd.

i imagine it opens up into 2 lanes because there is another roundabout just after it allowing you to get into the appropriate lane early.

 

[pablo]

I mean 2 lanes, then down to 1 around the roundabout, then back to 2 again

 

[Paddy_R]

I literally cannot believe the police went to such lengths as to have a spotter then other officers further down the road JUST to pull people in for using the wrong lane at a roundabout which isn't even fully operational.

Have there been accidents at it before?

That roundabout is possibly the busiest one in Ards. It is stupidly busy at basically all times and the standard of driving at it is rubbish. People always using the wrong lane (the left lane) to go basically right round the roundabout. The signage is pretty clear the Portaferry exit is not straight on (more like 2 o'clock). I've lost count the amount of times I've nearly been hit on that roundabout.

There are incidents daily, you just need to look at the car parts on the road to see that. And from my experience its nearly always because somebody has tried to go round that roundabout on the inside lane.

 

[Michael M]

Moral of the story, avoid Ards

 

[Mark_C]

Something I always wondered was - if there are two lanes going on to and off a roundabout on all exits, is it ACTUALLY right to go straight ahead in either lane?

if you look at the highway code diagram, it suggests NO, you can only use either lane if you are turning off AFTER 12 oclock?

 

[stevieturbo]

Depends, some roundabouts will have the 2 lanes clearly marked as well, in which case absolutely it is correct.

There is nothing right about that one in Ards

 

[pablo]

if there are 2 lanes in, and 2 lanes out straight ahead, and no markings Id use either. Diagram above suggests left lane only though.

 

[stevieturbo]

Although it does beggar belief that the police have the time and resources to sit watching cars go around a roundabout.

I guess Ards must be the crime free capital of the UK !

 

[Kerzo]

Unfortunately there is the right way and the de facto right way for many roundabouts that are relatively recently built. I'm glad they did something with the Holywood Exchange roundabout where I had my ding a couple of years ago, about 90% of people going in the Belfast direction took the right hand lane on approach to the roundabout which is wrong as far as the highway code states.

 

[pablo]

yeah it was a disaster, accident waiting to happen

 

[Kerzo]

Once the proper markings have been put in place it has been a much better junction, can't recall seeing any accidents there since that time whereas you would have stumbled upon one every couple of months.

 

[stevieturbo]

Unfortunately there is the right way and the de facto right way for many roundabouts that are relatively recently built. I'm glad they did something with the Holywood Exchange roundabout where I had my ding a couple of years ago, about 90% of people going in the Belfast direction took the right hand lane on approach to the roundabout which is wrong as far as the highway code states.

That's the point though. Both the entrance, roundabout and exit have markings there now.

The DRD have a habit of putting pointless markings up where it doesnt matter, and then putting no proper markings up where it does.

 

[DaddyCC]

I'm glad they did something with the Holywood Exchange roundabout where I had my ding a couple of years ago, about 90% of people going in the Belfast direction took the right hand lane on approach to the roundabout which is wrong as far as the highway code states.

Im a bit lost by this, do you mean if you've come out by Sainsburys, go left at that roundabout then up the hill to the mini roundabout at the top of the flyover? Was there never any markings there?!

If ive picked that up right sure you only have 2 options of going left to Bangor or straight on to go down onto the A2 to Belfast, so no point everyone just using the left/inside lane? I sort of know what you're saying however.

 

[stevieturbo]

Im a bit lost by this, do you mean if you've come out by Sainsburys, go left at that roundabout then up the hill to the mini roundabout at the top of the flyover? Was there never any markings there?!

If ive picked that up right sure you only have 2 options of going left to Bangor or straight on to go down onto the A2 to Belfast, so no point everyone just using the left/inside lane? I sort of know what you're saying however.

He left Sainsburys to turn left. However there are 2 lanes there, and 2 lanes to the left. Although no specific road markings to suggest you were allowed to use the right lane to turn left, which would not be a normal manoeuvre.
Although at the same time given traffic flow it wouldnt be an impossible manoeuvre either.

He turned left, in the right lane and hit the car in the left lane.

The road now has distinct markings to say both lanes can now turn left.

 

[pablo]

if going from sainsburys to ikea you could get into bother given you would assume the left lane was correct. however someone could be in the right lane turning left!!! It was crazy in the first place but everyone done it so it became normal,

 

[stevieturbo]

It was just a badly designed and marked road layout given the volume of traffic using it, and the actual route most of that traffic would be taking.