Jeez, this is just pure crap....

I was stopped at the lights in the left lane of a 3 lane roundabout with the intention of turning right. In the middle lane (next to me on the right) was a white van and there was a motorcyclist between us (not in a lane). The lights changed and we set off..I could see the bike in the mirror; he was now in front of the van at my 4 o'clock. As we passed the exit back onto the motorway (straight ahead from my initial start point), I was following the outside lane around the roundabout to take the first exit right. All of a sudden, this guy slammed into the side of my car!! :( He fell off his bike (luckily he was OK.) He said he thought I was going straight on to the motorway slip road...but even if I was, he wouldn't have seen the indication from the 4 o'clock position anyway as I would be indicating left..It's obvious he wanted to get into my lane for some reason and to hit me with the force he did, he obviously opened it up to get into my lane...hence the collision!

What a tw4t, now it's in the hands of the insurance companies...apparently he has contested it, but surely he doesn't have a mitigating case?? There must be some fellow brother/sister on the site that can offer some advice?

The thing that pi$$es me off is that I've had the car a month!!

Anyway, I'll let you know how things go...

Regards,

Rich

Am i reading this right?

You wanted to go RIGHT on the roundabout, but you were in the LEFT lane?

Surely you should have been taking the first or second exit if you were in the left lane, so the biker was probably expecting you to take the 2nd exit if he saw you pass the 1st one.

Or i've read it wrong...?

I wondered that...

If you were turning right you should have been in either the middle lane or the far right lane, not the left lane. The left lane is only used to turn left or go straight on, not for turning right.

So in a way, the crash is your fault not the motorcylist.

yep, i agree with davey, you should really have been in the right hand lane of the 3 lanes to turn right off the roundabout

Highway code - Roundabouts - highway code

Am i reading this right?

You wanted to go RIGHT on the roundabout, but you were in the LEFT lane?

Surely you should have been taking the first or second exit if you were in the left lane, so the biker was probably expecting you to take the 2nd exit if he saw you pass the 1st one.

Or i've read it wrong...?

yup, that's how I read it as well

We were stopped on the middle of the roundabout.. The right lane goes all the way round and back to the motorway where I just came from, the middle lane does the same but can filter to the right exit, and the lane I was in can go straight on.. back to the Mway or follow the 3rd lane around the roundabout (3 lane roundabout) to the exit to the right...there are bloody lines on the road to show this too!!

From my position, it WAS the second exit as we were stopped ON the roundabout.

i wondered that...

:+1:

We were stopped on the middle of the roundabout.. The right lane goes all the way round and back to the motorway where I just came from, the middle lane does the same but can filter to the right exit, and the lane I was in can go straight on.. back to the Mway or follow the 3rd lane around the roundabout (3 lane roundabout) to the exit to the right...there are bloody lines on the road to show this too!!

From my position, it WAS the second exit as we were stopped ON the roundabout.

Cool.

Maybe you should draw a diagram?

Noted, but how can the hashed lines that I followed painted on the road be wrong? I asked him to look at ALL of the cars in the lane that I had just come from, and they ALL followed the same line as me..This is a renowned roundabout for accidents,unfortunateley I was one of them this time!

Sorry to hear you've had a collision, but can you pop up some co-ordinates, or a link on Google Maps of the roundabout in question. I'm intrigued about this one.

Steve

Here?

portsmouth - Google Maps

EDIT - think it's this one http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=portsmouth&sll=52.317278,-0.617153&sspn=0.005339,0.01929&ie=UTF8&ll=50.805861,-1.087359&spn=0.00069,0.002411&t=h&z=19

It's this one...

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=portsmouth&sl%20l=52.317278,-0.617153&sspn=0.005339,0.01929&ie=UTF8&ll=50.83704%208,-1.073195&spn=0.002758,0.009645&t=h&z=17MAP...

But this out of date, there are 3 lanes at the 12 o'clock as you look at it now,,,

Edited 17 September, 200916 yr by auroan

Guys, you need to be on the Rb to understand it. Bear in mind I was stationary half way around it, from my position, there were only 2 exits available... straight onto the motorway or follow the line to the next exit to the right...which is where I (and ALL of the traffic behind me were going..

That pic is out of date, there are now 3 lanes and traffic lights at 3 positions..

Hi Simbo,

Thanks for the reply..

I exited eastbound..At the end of the slip is 2 lanes, the left only goes left to Farlington, I was in the right lane to go to all other destinations. I drove onto the Rb (3 lanes now) and stopped at the first set of TL in the left of 3 lanes which at this time was adjacent to the direction of the Mway above and dead centre of the Rb.

This lane is true to go straight back onto the Mway, OR follow the 3rd lane around to the very next exit which is the Eastern road junction (now 2 lanes) which I, and thousands of others do daily (I have done this exact route for over 2 years).

From my position, I could ONLY go straight or follow the 3rd lane to the next intended exit. I sincerely hope you know this Rb and know what I am talking about; as it's a strange one where 2 lanes move to 3 on the Rb. But surely the left lane cannot be solely to go straight? If so, nobody would ever get off this god-forsaken Rb!!!!

portsmouth - Google Maps

If it was the Farlington roundabout at the top of the eastern road then it is no surprise you had an accident. My friend had an accident there in similar circumstances apart from the dozy bint was in the left wanting to right and took the side of said friends punto out tried to claim it was 50/50 but the insurance company and witness luckly backed her up.

It's this one...

portsmouth - Google Maps...

But this out of date, there are 3 lanes at the 12 o'clock as you look at it now,,,

Looking at that google maps link, there are only 4 exits?

I don't understand why the left lane would guide you to the 3rd exit, that would mean the middle lane would guide you to the final exit (the one you entered) so the right lane would be redundant??

That roundabout only really needs 2 lanes IMO.

Anyway, debating the lane system won't undo the accident, so fingers crossed it all works out for you and the biker.

What a tw4t, now it's in the hands of the insurance companies...apparently he has contested it, but surely he doesn't have a mitigating case?? There must be some fellow brother/sister on the site that can offer some advice?

My betting is it will go 50/50 as there's some blame to be laid on both parties. If it's any consolation though I'm sure this sort of accident is becoming a more common occurrence now that most roundabouts seem to have paint of the road which tries to be helpful (but ultimately isn't to anyone unfamiliar with the area). This one is equally painful to use! :thumbdwn:

So bearing that in mind, do you think there's anything you did which led him to believe you were taking that exit? Or conversely, do you think there's anything that you could have done to positively tell him you weren't taking that exit? My guessing is sticking on the right indicator as you approached the first exit would have been enough to confirm you weren't going that way (or confuse the situation enough that the motorbike held position), and you could cancel it as you pass that exit. Alternatively, you could hang back pulling away from the lights so that the bike is always in front of you as he's unlikely to hold you up, especially if it's busy....

Chris

It sounds to me as if the OP was following the roundabout correctly and the biker thought he could get in front (as they always do in my experience...).

Don't settle for a 50/50, get the claim from the leather-clad nancy boy!

I drive this roundabout everyday and can confirm that the OP was absolutely in the right! This roundabout can be a bit of a nightmare and you REALLY have to keep your eyes open for people wandering across lanes as they please. They have recently changed the lanes around as the OP said, but all signs and lanes are clearly marked and the far left lane does indeed allow the driver to go straight on or continue around to the Eastern Road. However, I have been cut up MANY times by idiot drivers here!

Good luck with your insurance company mate.

THE BIKER WAS IN THE WRONG!

My betting is it will go 50/50 as there's some blame to be laid on both parties. If it's any consolation though I'm sure this sort of accident is becoming a more common occurrence now that most roundabouts seem to have paint of the road which tries to be helpful (but ultimately isn't to anyone unfamiliar with the area). This one is equally painful to use! :thumbdwn:

So bearing that in mind, do you think there's anything you did which led him to believe you were taking that exit? Or conversely, do you think there's anything that you could have done to positively tell him you weren't taking that exit? My guessing is sticking on the right indicator as you approached the first exit would have been enough to confirm you weren't going that way (or confuse the situation enough that the motorbike held position), and you could cancel it as you pass that exit. Alternatively, you could hang back pulling away from the lights so that the bike is always in front of you as he's unlikely to hold you up, especially if it's busy....

Chris

Chris

I'd agree with your view that there's lots of roundabouts with bizarre lane markings that only locals know where to go. I travel all over the country and sometimes find myself apologising to locals after using a "standard interpretation" of a sign before the roundabout & then discovering different painted instructions on the roundabout itself! Luckily Octavias are widely used as mini-cabs so most people give them a wide berth!

I might have mis-interpreted your comment about using the right indicator, as to my mind, that would mean the OP was intending to change lane (which he wasn't) . As the other locals who know that specific roundabout have confirmed that the OP was in the correct lane for his journey, (the general traffic flow backing this up), therefore I'd conclude the 2 wheeled road user was at fault. Perhaps the insurers should make a claim against the local council, if the signs & road markings don't agree?

regards ... Darren

Darren, I was under the impression that indicators are there for more than ajust indicating a lane change ?

Darren, I was under the impression that indicators are there for more than ajust indicating a lane change ?

Yep - you're giving information to all the people around you so it may also be useful for anyone trying to joining at the exit you're planning to not take ... if you see what I mean? A good example of this is here when joining at the top of the screen and taking the 3rd exit (bottom left). You can see that the 2nd exit will potentially cause us problems as people expect traffic in the left hand lane to be leaving.

The signal is only needed for a couple of seconds usually and can then be cancelled. For a lane change, I'd expect the signal to be held on for longer and probably be accompanied by slowing down and a change in position.

Chris

Yep - you're giving information to all the people around you so it may also be useful for anyone trying to joining at the exit you're planning to not take ... if you see what I mean? A good example of this is here when joining at the top of the screen and taking the 3rd exit (bottom left). You can see that the 2nd exit will potentially cause us problems as people expect traffic in the left hand lane to be leaving.

The signal is only needed for a couple of seconds usually and can then be cancelled. For a lane change, I'd expect the signal to be held on for longer and probably be accompanied by slowing down and a change in position.

Chris

That seems a little clearer in my mind now.

I've got to say one of my pet hates is people leaving roundabouts without indicating!

I'm sure we've all experienced that unnecessary wait due to someone else's lack of courtesy.

I was on this roundabout again today, this time I was in the middle of the 3 lanes stopped at the lights....

As the road follows round, another lane appears under the motorway to make 4 lanes now! There were a line of cars in the left lane (where I was last time) and they all followed the line I took, and this time I followed the lane from the lights which travelled next to them. At the right exit, it has 2 lanes onto the eastern road, the middle lane I am in exits to the right of these lanes and the left lane I was in last time exits to the left lane on the eastern road.

The more I think about it - and especially doing it again today in another lane - I can definitely see I was in the right.

Those who know this roundabout will understand more what I am trying to explain - it's always difficult when you've never experieinced it.

There was no need to indicate as I was following a marked lane which ONLY exits on the left lane of the eastern road.

The thing to remember is that I was on the roundabout at the lights, not waiting to join it.