Wet Roundabout, Third Exit, and an Ambulance Behind
At 07:50 on a wet November morning you approach a two-lane roundabout in Amman. You need the third exit, which is more than halfway around. The right lane is backed up with cars waiting to take the first and second exits; the left lane is moving more freely. A car ahead straddles the lane divider. As you reach the give-way line, an ambulance with siren and flashing lights appears about 30 metres behind you. Traffic already circulating is continuous, and a pedestrian is waiting at a crossing on the exit you want. The road surface is slick and your wipers are on intermittent. You have not yet entered the roundabout. Your passenger says to follow the ambulance through the gap.
1. Which lane should you use for the third exit, and when should you move to the exit lane?
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Use the left lane on approach because the third exit is more than halfway around; the right lane is for the first and second exits and is congested. Do not change lanes simply because the left lane is moving faster. Enter only after yielding to traffic already circulating, then stay left until you have passed the second exit. After that, check mirrors and blind spot, signal left? No - signal right for the exit, and move to the right lane when there is a safe gap. If traffic is too dense to move right in time, it is safer to go around again than to cut across a lane. The straddling car ahead is a hazard: do not squeeze past it inside the roundabout.
2. What should you do about the ambulance, both before entering and once you are inside the roundabout?
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Before entry, do not break the give-way rule. An ambulance behind you does not give you priority over circulating traffic, and following it through a gap is dangerous. If you can safely move left or right to open a path, do so without mounting the kerb or stopping on the give-way line in a way that blocks the ambulance. Once circulating, keep moving to the nearest safe exit or wide point and let it pass; do not stop dead in the circle. The pedestrian at your exit still has priority once you leave, so do not accelerate across the crossing to clear the ambulance's path.
3. The pedestrian is already waiting at the crossing on your exit. How does this change your exit plan?
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Signal right early, reduce speed before the exit, and be prepared to stop fully before the crossing. A waiting pedestrian at a marked crossing has priority; the ambulance behind does not cancel that. Check your mirrors before braking so the vehicle behind is not surprised, and avoid stopping on the circulating carriageway if you can stop after the exit. If you cannot stop safely, go around the roundabout again rather than brake sharply in the circle. The wet surface increases stopping distance, so begin braking earlier than you would in dry weather.