What are they for?

The aim of a roundabout is to keep traffic flowing whilst arriving and departing in different directions, within a restricted area.

Basic principles of dealing with roundabouts:
Wveryone will always drive clockwise round the roundabout.
Start preparing for the roundabout as soon as you are aware that it is getting close. The earlier you start preparing, the earlier you will be ready for it. The earlier you start looking at the traffic flow on the roundabout, the easier you will find it to merge into the flow of traffic.

Give priority to traffic approaching from your right, unless directed otherwise by signs, road markings or traffic lights

Normally, "Left & Ahead is the Left hand lane, Right and right round, use the right hand lane" If this rule does not apply, there will be signs warning you how to choose your lane, as you approach the roundabout.

If there are not multiple lanes on the approach road, try to show your intentions by moving towards the left or right edge of the one lane that is available to you.

When your junction is the next one on the left, check your mirrors, signal left, and start "unwinding" towards and into the left lane (or part of the single lane).

If there are two lanes approaching the roundabout, there will be two lanes on the roundabout itself, but there may not be two lanes in the exit you are leaving on.

Mini ones, normal ones, large ones, multiple ones:

Mini roundabouts are normally in very restricted, normally slow-speed areas, such as housing estates. They are normally just a circle of paint on the road, rather than a "structure". This means that, if needed, vehicles can drive onto the paint without damaging anything. It is important to remember that you should always aim to drive round the roundabout, not over it. Larger vehicles may not be physically able to turn the vehicle in such a small area, and this way, they are able to turn without damaging road or vehicle.

Normal Roundabouts are normally a 4-way junction, with a (typically) grass "hub" in the centre. There may be one or two lanes on each approach route. They can be found at the edges of towns, or through roads, taking traffic round towns, where there is more room available.

Large Roundabouts are normally found on the outer ring-roads of a town, on dual carriageways, at motorway junctions, or other major road junctions They will normally have four or more junctions, and at least two lanes on the approaches. The flow of traffic may be controlled by traffic lights onto and on the roundabout. More and more roundabouts are being changed to "spiral lanes" where you get into the lane you need as you approach the roundabout, and then that lane will spiral off at the exit you want, if you have chosen the correct lane to start with. The Golden Rule here is that once you are in a lane, you need to stay in that lane, even if it takes you the wrong way. If you start changing lanes on these roundabouts, you are likely to be putting yourself and others in danger.

Multiple roundabouts are just that... multiple roundabouts. They are not "double roundabouts"; they are two different roundabouts that happen to be close, or next to, each other. Each roundabout should be treated as a separate roundabout. To my knowledge, there will always be a Give Way line between the two roundabouts. You deal with the first roundabout, and then approach, and give way, at the next one.

Advance warning signs, and lane warnings.

Mini roundabouts often do not have any signs showing destinations. There should always be a blue circular sign with three white arrows pointing in a clockwise circle. It will be at the entrance to the mini-roundabout. It can be used to judge the location of the roundabout, as you may not be able to see the roundabout as you approach, maybe due to traffic or parked cars.

Normal and larger sized roundabouts will have destination signs as you approach: green ones are for distant destinations on major routes, white ones show local destinations, and minor roads.

If the lane design is NOT normal, then there should also be a white sign showing the lanes needed to get to the different exits. There should also be white information painted on the roads. If you choose and get into the wrong lane, go where that lane takes you, you can always find somewhere safe to turn round after the roundabout, and try approaching it again.

Approach speeds

Generally, you can approach the entrance to a roundabout at a running speed, and in the correct gear for that speed. Most of the traffic on a roundabout will be travelling at some sort of running speed, it may be a jog, or it may be a sprint speed. All of these speeds can normally be achieved in second gear. At this speed, you can continue onto the roundabout, mixing with the other traffic, which will be doing a similar speed. If you need to stop and wait for a break in the traffic, it is very easy to stop quickly from a running speed, in a short distance.

Look into the future for a gap that you will be able to use.

By this I mean that you should try to look ahead of yourself, so that you may be able to predict when there will be a gap in the traffic flowing on the roundabout, that you may be able merge into.

You may be able to notice that a vehicle is joining the roundabout at junction 1, with its right indicator showing, signalling that it will be turning to his right, or junction 4. That means that it will be blocking junctions 2 and 3. That, in turn, means that the traffic in junction 3 will have to give way to the vehicle coming from their right. There might well be a gap in the traffic flow that you may be able to use to your advantage.

Lane discipline.

Generally, if you are going to exit at either junction 1 or 2, you will be approaching in lane one, and staying in that lane.

If you are turning right, or right round, back the way you have come from, you will approach in the right hand lane, and stay in that lane until you pass the junction before yours. At that point you should carefully “unwind” into lane 1, to exit the roundabout in lane 1. If your exit has two lanes, you can exit straight into lane 2, but be aware that lane 2 may merge back into lane 1 within a very short distance.

How and when to signal.

The principle for signalling is to show your general exit direction as you approach it, and then signal left when your junction is the next road on your left.

If you are taking the first exit on the roundabout, then you will signal left as you approach the roundabout, and keep it on until you leave it.

If you are going right (or right round) at the roundabout, you should signal right as you approach the roundabout, keeping it on until your exit becomes the next one on your left, at which time you should signal left.

If you are taking an intermediate exit, do not signal until your exit is the next one on your left. Your lane position will indicate your general intention, until you can confirm it with a left indicator.

The "12 O'clock Rule".

Is a myth. It does not exist in the Highway Code. It is not a Rule, because it does not, and cannot, apply to all roundabouts. Many roundabouts have the second exit (the road Ahead) which is located before or after the 12 O’clock position.

At all times, be aware of pedestrians crossing near the roundabout, vehicles which may be straddling lanes, either through necessity or by mistake, motorcyclists which may be in your blind spots whilst you are turning, and for cyclists or horse-riders, who may take a position different to motor vehicles. They are generally advised to stay on the outside edge of the roundabout, nearest any pavement, even though they may be turning right at the roundabout. They should use arm signals to inform other road users of their intentions.

Above all, be aware of the movements of other road users, and how they may affect you.
Keep an eye on where you are exiting, and stay in the lane you need to be in.
Signal as soon as you can without confusing others.
Travel at a steady speed on the roundabout, so that others can make plans based on your speed and position.

I was driving to a client this morning, and braking gently to join the back of a  traffic queue. As we all came to a halt, I noticed that I could not see one of  my brake lights being reflected back from the vehicle behind me.
Luckily it was dry, and 16degrees, and I also had two other brake lights working.

I know that some may consider me as a bit of a  dinosaur, who learnt to drive before they invented electric indicators. Lucky I remember how to use arm signals as indicators and brake warnings. Reaching a garage safely, I got a replacement bulb. Even more luckily, I had a suitable screwdriver in the car. Having replaced the bulb, I found that the brake light was still not working, nor was the indicator , nor was the reversing light. Hmmm....

A trip to the Ford garage resulted in my car being squeezed into a fully-booked workshop, to find out what the problem is.

When I bought the car, Bristol Street Ford very kindly agreed to wire my illuminated roofbox into the lighting cables at the back of the car, as an "off the record" favour. Unfortunately, ever since then, rainwater has been dripping along the cable, down into the wiring plug in the rear lighting assembly, corroding the plugs  and bulb connections. When I replaced the bulb, I disturbed the
corrosion and it no longer works. The car will need a new bulb holder, and complete wiring plug. The roofbox wiring also needs to be "adapted" so that the water cannot drip into the lighting again.
Hopefully the parts will be delivered to Bristol Street Ford in Cheltenham first thing tomorrow, and the work carried out immediately.
Hopefully today's and tomorrow morning's clients can move their lessons to later on in the weekend, so as not to slow the progress they are making.
Despite the fact that the roofbox wiring is not
covered by Ford's warranty, Ford are replacing the bulb assembly, the wiring connection plug, and the roofbox wiring under the Ford warranty. It will be done as soon as the parts arrive tomorrow (hopefully).

Many thanks to the Service Team at Ford in Cheltenham for fantastic and prompt support, and to my clients who are able to change their plans to fit in with this problem.
http://www.bristolstreet.co.uk/find-a-dealer/ford-cheltenham/ford-fiesta-in-cheltenham/

Transport Research Laboratory’s report

There have been articles appearing in the media about changes to the way “Young Drivers” can learn to drive.
There has been research and questions asked about how to improve driver training.

Please remember that nothing has been decided yet, nor will anything be decided for a long time.

At present, people can start learning to drive on the public highways at the age of 17. They can take their Driving Test at 17, and once they have passed the Test, they are then able to drive on any public roads, anywhere in Britain, without any further training, or any limitations other than limitations that apply to all drivers. 
That means that a Young Driver can pass their Test, and then drive straight from the Test Centre where they live, along any motorway, at any time of day, in any weather conditions, in any traffic conditions, to any destination they wish, as long as they and the car are on the road legally.

Government Press Release. It seems that the Overhaul of Driver Training was instigated by British Motor Insurers concerned about the high insurance premiums being charged to Young Drivers, not by Bodies wanting to improve Road Safety. 
I think the priority is wrong. Surely we should be concentrating on improving the quality of British Driving because it will save lives and injuries, not because of the price of insurance? The insurance premiums should naturally reduce in time to reflect the lower risks of driving. It should not be the reason for improving Driver Safety. 

I have just been viewing the BBC website to find out what has been published by them.

They mention a minimum learning period of at least one year, including at least 100 hours of supervised driver training, and at least 20 hours of supervised driver training at night. 
It does not state that all those hours have to be with an Approved Driving Instructor.
I am a firm believer that the more hours of constructive driving experienced, the better the driver will become, regardless of age.

Once the test is passed, there will be a Probationary period, which could include a curfew, and those under 30 will be banned from carrying passengers also under 30.
I think this is unlikely to work in its present wording; how will a new father under 30 years old carry his new child to school, hospital, shopping etc?
How will the Probationary Driver be able to receive further training if their Approved Driving Instructor is also under 30?

There is talk of a lower alcohol limit for Probationary Drivers.
I think it should be at least lowered for everyone. Could it be an alcohol limit of Zero? Why not?

Statistics show that 20% of deaths on British roads involved drivers aged 17-24 years old.
That is a very high, and scary statistic, which needs to be improved drastically, and fast.

Who is driving for the other 80% of the deaths? 
Why are all drivers not being targeted to improve road safety?

According to ROSPA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents):

In the mid 1980s there were about 5500 road deaths each year. In 2012 there were 1754 road deaths.
This drop in numbers is encouraging, and shows that British drivers are becoming safer. 
Are British Drivers becoming safer, or are the roads they are driving on becoming safer?

But we still need to remember that 5 people die on British roads EVERY DAY, and that does not include all the others who are injured, or those, including close and distance family members who are traumatised. That is a horrendous statistic. It has to be changed, across the whole range of ages, not just one section.

RoSPA's Causes of road deaths in the UK states:
Common causes of these unnecessary tragedies include:
Speeding
Around 400 people a year are killed in crashes in which someone exceeds the speed limit or drives too fast for the conditions.
Drink Driving
Around 280 people die a year in crashes in which someone was over the legal drink drive limit.
Seat Belt Wearing
Around 200 lives each year could be saved if everyone always wore their seat belt.
Careless Driving
More than 300 deaths a year involve someone being "careless, reckless or in a hurry", and a further 120 involve "aggressive driving".
At-work
Around one third of fatal and serious road crashes involve someone who was at work.
Inexperience
More than 400 people are killed in crashes involving young car drivers aged 17 to 24 years, every year, including over 150 young drivers, 90 passengers and more than 170 other road users.

I think what we need to do now is to improve our skills of controlling the vehicle, and our awareness of risk factors. This is nothing more that we are trying to do at present. 
Choose an Approved Driving Instructor who can help you learn to drive safely.
Learn to drive safely, with a safe attitude, and you should be able to minimise the risks in driving.

We cannot wait until there is a new Law before we bother trying to stay safe.. that could be another two years away, or more. With 1754 road deaths each year, we cannot wait that long. 

When the Government has made its decision, we can work from there. 

Once we have "sorted" the "Young Drivers", perhaps we need to urgently start on all the other Drivers as well.

I travelled 300 miles yesterday, mostly along the M4 and M25.
 
I was prepared for middle-lane hoggers, tail-gaters, speeders, and huge amounts of commuters all trying to switch lanes into gaps between cars that were simply not big enough.
 
What I found was free-flowing traffic (admittedly large volumes of it), travelling at sensible speeds, and with good gaps between them. Despite the large amount of traffic, I reached my destination much earlier than I expected.

I even found drivers using the services to take a break, walk around a bit, have some refreshments, and then continue driving. Typically this break was for about 20 minutes.
 
I was beginning to think that there had been a massive change in driver attitudes about motorway driving... could everyone have seen the light, understood the risks, and started driving sensibly?
 
On the way back from London, on a Friday evening (probably the worst commuting time of the week), my Satellite Navigation system showed that the M25 was virtually stationary from junction 9 to 16.

“Here we go; this is where the ‘fun’ will start!” 
No, not a bit of it, well, maybe a tiny bit of it. People were patient, considerate to others. Yes, of course there were a few vehicles cutting across lanes through gaps that were a bit ‘cosy’. On the whole, the traffic stayed safe, and moving, slowly, but moving nonetheless. The variable speed limits were clearly visible on the gantries overhead, and it allowed the traffic to keep moving at a steady, but slow, pace.
 
As the skies got darker, they also got wetter. Dreading the worst, I prepared myself for people driving too close in the new conditions, not adjusting speed or spaces as was needed. Wrong again! Speeds slowed (a bit), gaps increased (a bit), headlights came on, vehicles changed lanes or speeds
smoothly (mostly).
 
What has happened to the reputation of Mad Motorway Motorists? Where
have they gone?

The answer is that I couldn’t find (many of) them. Drivers seem to be recognising the futility of rushing into non-existent gaps at reckless speeds. They seem to be much more relaxed and considerate to others. The vast majority of them are happy to indicate their intentions to others before they change speed or direction. Most of them are happy to reduce their speed to increase a
gap so someone else can use it. Most of them are willing to change lanes early, to create a gap for others to be able to do what they are indicating.
 
Have the motorways become safe places at last? I think the answer (based on that one trip to and from London) is that they have become lass dangerous than before.
 
BUT:
Unfortunately, during the 308 mile trip, I still passed six different “incidents”. They had all made it to the hard shoulder. Four of them involved two vehicles. These all involved large dents and damage to the front of one vehicle, and damage to the rear of the other. My presumption is that cars were following each other too close for the speed they were doing, and the rear vehicles drove into the back of the vehicles in front. It seems that not everyone was thinking about stopping distances and ‘safety bubbles’.
 
One of the others was a trailer that had a puncture, and had swerved hard before stopping. 

The final one involved an articulated lorry and a small car. The car had damage to the front left corner of the engine bay, and it was facing “upstream” to the traffic. You can only wonder what had happened for this to be the result.

All the incidents were being attended and helped by either the Police or the Highways Support Agency vehicles.
 
So it seems that although people are conscious of the risks of high-speed driving, there are still people who are willing to risk their (and others’) safety in the hope that they will get to their destination just a few minutes faster than the rest of us.



It seems that the old system of; 
Look Well Ahead, 
Keep Your Eyes Moving, 
Spot The Problems, 
KEEP SPACE, and 
Be Seen 
are still as important as ever.


Driving at speed is tiring: take a break before  you get tired. Get out, walk around, eat or drink something. Drive on when you are ready. Do it again when you need to. 

Constant monitoring of your;
Mirrors, signals, positioning, speed and gears, and looking well ahead
is just as vital here as it is on any other road.
 
Thank goodness that the emergency services are still able to monitor
the busy roads, and react to whatever they find.

Thank goodness that the motorways have still got hard shoulders that
are used as hard shoulders, not full of other traffic when used as extra lanes
where there is congestion. 

Thank goodness that the only ambulance I saw all day was parked in the
Chievely Service area.

The Highway Code (Motorways)

We've just completed a 2-hour driving session, using the country roads of the Cotswolds, to practice anticipating the next potential hazard that we may come across, and how are we going to prepare to deal with it. 
We were getting quite good at thinking about the tractor that may appear, the amount of pheasants on the road, the steep damp narrow roads, the areas of loose gravel at the bottom of those hills, and how our grip is affected by all of these.

In a few months time, we might also have to think about the possibility of;
being blinded by the sun, low in the sky, as we come over the crest of a hill,
driving round a corner, straight into a deep puddle lying across the road,
deer moving from woodland to grasslands and dawn or dusk,
patches of fog in the bottom of dips in the countryside,
icy sections of roads, where the sun never reaches the tarmac because it is in the trees,
the list can go on, and could be endless.

Tyres are designed to be used at specific pressures on specific cars, to produce the optimum amount of grip.
Windows are designed to be seen through. If they are dirty, or covered in snow or ice, or misted up on the inside, you won't be able to see where the road goes, and what the next hazard is.
Lights are designed to shine brightly, but if they are covered in mud, frost or snow, they cannot do the job they are there to do.

Drive safely, expect the unexpected, and be ready to react to whatever may be next.

I have just introduced a new system for booking and paying for lessons.
The idea is that the customers will pay a deposit upfront for their driving lessons.
The deposit is non-refundable, and valid for one calender month from the date of payment. The lessons can be taken at any time that is available in my work diary; it can moved earlier or later through the month, but only within that calender month.
If you use up the deposit before the month is finished, then you are able to pay another deposit, which will be valid for a month from that date.
There is no penalty for late cancellations.
There is discount available for booking block lessons.
Payments can be made by cash or cheque, by PayPal, or direct payment into a bank account.
If you would like to, you can start using this system immediately, rather than waiting until 15th October, which is the official start date for the change.

I have decided that the block booking payment will be enough to cover 8 hours of driving, because the majority of customers normally have one 2-hour session each week, totalling 8 hours per month. The discount will drop the hourly rate from £24 per hour, to £22.50 per hour.

If you want to continue paying each week, then you will need to pay a week in advance, and there will no discount available for this system of paying. 

More details are available on my Terms & Conditions Page