Two-Lane Roundabout: Cyclist, Trailer Truck, and a Missed Exit
You are approaching a two-lane roundabout on a four-lane arterial in a New Brunswick city at 8:30 a.m. on a weekday. You want the second exit, which is straight ahead. After yielding as required, you enter and take the right-hand circulating lane. Ahead, a cyclist in a bright jacket is riding in the right-hand circulating lane, hugging the outer edge but drifting noticeably toward the centre line. In the left-hand circulating lane, slightly ahead of you and level with the cyclist's rear wheel, is a tractor-trailer with its right turn signal flashing. Traffic is heavy and the driver behind you is following closely. Your exit is about 60 metres ahead, past both the cyclist and the truck.
1. How do you handle the cyclist, and where does a cyclist belong in a roundabout?
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Treat the cyclist as a vehicle entitled to the lane. Many cyclists deliberately ride near the centre of the lane in a roundabout, because hugging the curb invites drivers to squeeze past in a space that is not there and puts the cyclist out of everyone's sight line at the exit points.
So the practical answer is: hang back and let them take the lane. Do not overtake inside the roundabout, and specifically do not try to slip between the cyclist and the curb, or between the cyclist and the truck. That gap is where a cyclist gets squeezed and where a driver loses sight of them.
The drift toward the centre line is worth reading rather than resenting - it may be a drain grate, broken pavement, or debris near the edge. Assume it is deliberate.
Keep a real gap, not a polite one. If the cyclist's speed means you cannot make your exit without crossing their path, you go around again rather than forcing the issue. Sixty metres at roundabout speeds is only a few seconds.
2. The tractor-trailer is in the left lane with its right signal flashing. What does that tell you, and what do you do?
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It tells you the driver intends to go right at some point - but not reliably when, or along what path.
Large vehicles need room. A truck may swing left before turning right, may be signalling an exit two exits away, may have a signal that has been on since before the roundabout, or may need both lanes to get around the circle. In a roundabout, the trailer also cuts the corner, so the rear wheels track well inside the path of the cab. A signal is an intention, not a promise about geometry.
What you do: do not pass on the right. The right-hand lane beside a turning truck is the crush zone, and it is precisely where the driver cannot see you. If the truck does exit, it will cross your lane to do so.
Hang back behind it, give it the full width it needs, and be prepared either to stop or to continue circulating if it commits. The driver behind you being close is not a reason to move up alongside a truck that is about to turn across you.
3. You reach your exit, but the cyclist is now beside you and you cannot leave without crossing their path. What do you do?
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Continue around the roundabout and take the exit on the next lap. Signal right to show your intention, stay in the right-hand lane, and exit when you are genuinely clear of the cyclist.
Why this is the right call rather than a compromise: exiting requires that you be in the right lane and that your path not cut across another road user. If the cyclist is alongside, any exit you attempt is a lane change across their line, and the driver most likely to be overlooked in a roundabout is the one at your right shoulder. Braking hard or swerving to make the exit is worse still - it surprises everyone behind you and can put you into the truck.
An extra lap costs perhaps fifteen seconds. It also removes the pressure from the driver following closely: you keep a predictable, steady path instead of an abrupt correction.
Once out, treat it as a lesson about entry position. If you are taking the second exit and the circulating lane is occupied by a slower cyclist, entering further back and staying behind them from the start avoids the dilemma entirely.