Two-Lane Roundabout: Lane Choice, a Drifting Sedan, and a Dog
You are approaching a two-lane roundabout on a Maryland arterial and want the second exit, which is effectively straight ahead. You enter in the right lane beside a sedan in the left lane. Inside the circle, the sedan drifts toward your lane with its right turn signal on. A box truck is waiting to enter from the next entry on your right. At your exit, a man with a dog on a leash is stepping into the marked crosswalk. Traffic is moderate, nobody is close behind you, and the pavement markings show a solid line separating the two circulating lanes.
1. Which lane should you be in for the second exit, and can you change lanes once you are inside the circle?
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For the second exit (straight through), the right lane is the correct entry lane in a two-lane roundabout; the left lane is generally for exits past the halfway point, but a driver who takes the left lane for a later exit must not cut across the right lane at the exit. Here, staying right keeps your exit simple.
The solid line separating the circulating lanes answers the second question: do not change lanes inside the circle. Pick your lane before the yield line and stay in it until you exit. Lane changes mid-circle are where roundabout sideswipes happen, because drivers are steering, checking for pedestrians, and watching entering traffic all at once.
2. The sedan beside you is drifting into your lane with its right signal on. How do you handle it?
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Assume the sedan's driver intends to exit and has realized - late - that the exit must be taken from the right lane. That driver is now likely to move right whether or not there is room.
- Do not accelerate to close the gap, and do not swerve left into the inner lane; a lane change in the circle is the move you already ruled out.
- Ease off the accelerator to drop back and let the sedan complete its drift in front of you. Losing two seconds costs nothing here.
- Do not stop dead inside the circle unless you must; stopping in the circulating roadway is how rear-end and entering-traffic crashes happen.
- Watch the box truck at the next entry: it will be looking for a gap, and a slowdown on your part may tempt it in.
Space is the answer; asserting the lane is not.
3. What do you do about the man and dog in the crosswalk at your exit?
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Yield. A pedestrian in a marked crosswalk at a roundabout exit has the right of way, and the crosswalk sits immediately after the circulating lane, so your stopping distance is short and your attention is split.
Practically:
- Begin slowing as soon as you see them step off the curb - the dog makes the crossing slower and less predictable than a person alone.
- Stop before the crosswalk line, not on it, and not in a position that blocks the exit for the vehicle behind you any more than necessary.
- Check your right mirror before braking, since a driver behind may be watching the circle rather than the crosswalk.
- Do not wave them across if another lane or the circulating traffic has not also stopped; a courtesy wave that sends someone into moving traffic is worse than waiting.
Once they clear your lane, exit normally.