The Roundabout with a Blocked Exit
You approach a large two-lane roundabout intending to take the third exit, straight ahead. Your lane guide shows the left lane for exits one and two, and the right lane for exits three and four. You enter in the right lane. Inside the roundabout, traffic is heavy. A bus is stopped just past your exit, partly blocking it, and a line of cars is queuing behind the bus. A car in the left lane beside you is indicating right, toward your lane. You are now level with the second exit.
1. Is entering in the right lane correct for the third exit, and what must you do about the car beside you?
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Yes. For a third exit that is effectively straight ahead, the right lane is the correct entry lane under the lane guide given. The left lane serves exits one and two only.
The car in the left lane indicating right is a conflict. It should not be moving into your lane at this point, but an indicator means you must allow for the possibility. Do not accelerate into the space beside it. Hold your lane position, keep your speed steady, and watch its wheels rather than its indicator. If it begins to drift across, give it room and let it go rather than contest the lane.
Lane discipline in a roundabout means committing to your lane early and not changing lanes inside it. If you find yourself in the wrong lane, the safe response is to take the exit your lane serves and reroute, not to cut across.
2. The bus is blocking your exit. What are your options and which is safest?
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You cannot exit cleanly, and stopping inside the roundabout is dangerous because traffic behind expects you to keep moving.
Options:
- Stop in the roundabout and wait for the bus to clear. This blocks circulating traffic and risks a rear-end collision. Poor choice unless there is no alternative.
- Continue around the roundabout and take the exit again on a later lap. This keeps traffic flowing and lets you re-approach the blocked exit with a clearer view. This is the safest option.
- Squeeze past the bus into the queue. This risks a collision with the bus or with cars pulling out of the queue, and may put you in a position you cannot see out of.
Go with option 2. Circulating again is lawful and predictable. Signal left to show you are staying in the roundabout, keep your speed low, and re-check the exit on the next pass. If the queue is still there, consider whether a different route home avoids the blockage entirely.