Flamin new road rules as from to.day!!!!,

Axle - not sure where you are, but this has always been the law in WA.

Drivers must indicate left 90 degrees before exiting a roundabout.

The idea is to let those wishing to enter the roundabout know if you are going left straight ahead or turning right rather than waiting for you to exit it before moving in. The idea is to keep the traffic flowing smoothly.

Cheers

Anthony

So Axle, is this something new in your neck of the woods? That's been the rule here in WA forever.

Cheers
Pop

rac roundabout

Here is a good link from the RAC here in WA of how to indicate for 1 and 2 lane roundabouts.

wizzer

hey Axle ,
your miles behind the times , that was the law in vic back in the late 70s early 80s
then they changed it , I thought it was good
mechpete

Hi Axle I'm with you if going straight ahead why indicate ???

If it is meant to indicate to the person entering the roundabout if your turning right then you would have your right indicator on !!!! wouldn't you ??

Cheers
Barry

It would have made more sense to have straight through traffic anly indicating to leave if it were a multi lane roundabout, because-:
A) multi lane roundabouts are generally bigger and it wouldnt be as clear that you were going straight
B) When exiting a multi lane roundabout you may need to cross a lane to do so

Small roundabouts where the vehicle doesnt even deviate from a straight line course it seems absolutely rediculous and I can see this causing some great relief for the insurance industry.

Axle,
it is pretty basic. You are just letting others know what your intensions are.
Reason is some don't indicate at all so if they do at least we know where the hell they are going.

I can't read what someone is going to do unless they indicate.

Then you gotta teach people that the vehicle on the roundabout has the right away whether it is on your right or left. Many come steaming into a roundabout expecting others on their left to give way. If that vehicle on the left has entered the roundabout first then you must give way to it. Now I will step down off my soap box.

40 years of roundabouts and we still can't get it right.

RA.

While on the roundabout thing it never ceases to amaze the morons that turn right from the left lane ILLEGALY, its so tempting to take them out with my bl@%dy bullbar!

Come on people! It doesn't matter whether its the first, the second, the fifth exit or you have been around 4 times, what is wrong with indicating your intention to exit the road, and that is all it is, an extension of the approach road.

Wikki

I always do when exiting - Common Courtesy as I see it.

For a 4 way roundabout

1) Taking the first exit you left indicate prior to the roundabout, this gives any car approaching that junction to make the choice to continue into the roundabout.

2) Taking the second exit (straight ahead), start indicating left when you have passed the turnoff point for the first exit, this gives the vehicles approaching the 3rd exit a chance to make a decision to enter the round about.

3) If you are taking the 3rd or 4th exit, you indicate right as you approach the roundabout and continue indicating right until you pass the exit before the one you are going to take and then switch over to indicate left and exit.

When it is done right it makes the roundabout so easy to use. When a person gets the indicating wrong it just makes it more dangerous.

People have to be more positive at the roundabouts as well, they do not work with over cautious drivers. After all they were designed to keep traffic flowing. Not to pull up just to see what the guy over the other side might do :-)

Regards Tony

Axle,
I agree, why indicate when just going straight thru if the exit is directly opposite your entry point. Its like indicating if you go around a bend.

If a big round about then fair enough, indicate as you have time but if you are from the land of roundabouts like Canberra there is hardly time enough to indicate you are exiting in cases where you want to go straight ahead after passing the left exit. It just becomes more confusing but it will raise a lot of money for the cash starved NSW government.

Are you still supposed to indicate in cases where there is no left exit and you either go straight ahead or go right.


Rich

I'm all for indicating if you're going left or right but indicating when going straight ahead is confusing..... we have people over here in SA who indicate left when entering the roundabout, then indicate right as they turn slight right and then indicate left again to exit the roundabout making it confusing for all involved.

I think not indication at all if going straight ahead is the best option ... if the others don't know your intention then the will stop and wait.

The stupid thing about indicating left to exit is the only people who can see you indicating is ones behind you or in front..... this causes another issue with the ones in front on your left entering the roundabout...... especially on dual lane ones.

I think multitasking is going to far...... how the hell are you able to use your mobile phone, eat and indicate all at the same time..... god; don't they relise we only have two hands and there is no way I can use the indicator with my knees.....

It actually works better on the 90% of roundabouts that are very small and single laned if you indicate your intention to stay ON the roundabout by keeping your right blinker on and cancelling it when you are leaving. Indicating you are leaving on a large multi-lane roundabout is a no brainer in that it certainly makes sense to NOT have your right blinker on and to indicate when you are leaving with your left blinker.
Therefore, there should be two sets of rules depending on the size and complexity of the roundabout. Common sense should prevail but is in short supply. The rule is a compromise for that reason.

Ahhh,

Just turn your hazard lights on and all contingencies are covered,

Might actually be a good idea for some of the grey nomads towing their vans around some roundabouts.

I will indicate for a left turn ONLY if I am taking the FIRST exit!

If you are intending to pass the first exit & take the second exit, ie. continue on the road on which you are travelling, & use your left indicator with sufficient timing for it to effective for a following vehicle, then a vehicle waiting at the first exit will think that you are taking that exit & enter the roundabout, the result is obvious!

I also hate people that are approaching the roundabout from your right & think that they have a God given right to force their the way through, a vehicle on the roundabout has right of way.

Sorry Axle but that rule has beeen in for years 'The law states "That you must indicate when leaving a roundabout" I was pulled over one morning at about 4.00 no other traffic and warn about it.


Cheers Bazza

I'm with Axle on this one - agree on larger or multi-lane roundabouts indication should be used, but on smaller ones it's a pain in the *rse and can be confusing.

Case in point, I used to ride a motorbike home and just before my place I had to turn right on a fairly busy, but rather small and tight single lane roundabout. I would turn my right blinker on before entering the roundabout, however if I activated my left blinker before I was past the apex of the turn, it would just invite cars to pull out in front of me. By the time I was past the point where I felt safe to indicate left, I was already exiting the roundabout... I would just leave the right indicator on until I'd left the roundabout - safer that way.

Same roundabout in a car, to change indicators in the regulated manner requires me to remove my hand from the steering wheel while executing a fairly tight turn.. not safe in my opinion...

OK, try those rules on THIS roundabout! LOL

roundabouts are typical of the failure of our governments to properly inform the public and to enforce simple basic road rules.

I recon less tha 1/3 of the public know the rules for using a roundabout.

Since I first got my licence in the late 70's the rules in QLD have changed.

Originally you where required to indicate right when entering a roundabout unless you where taking the first exit in which case you indicated right.
You then indicated left after the exit before the one you where taking.

Some time ...in the mid 80's I think they condecended to allow straight thru motorists to not indicate on entry.....I don't know if this was a good thing or not.

What is simple an clear is that you must indicate left before you exit.

There are a couple of very good reasons why straight thru motorists should indicate.
1. If straight thru motorists where not required not indicate at all.......there would be no difference between straight thru motorists doing the right thing and other motorists who just did not indicate.
2. on many large roundabouts the straight thru apperance has been removed or other motorists simply cant see the other entries on the roundabout.



Spare a thaught for heavy vehicle drivers, who drive vehicles that neither start nor stop quickly and have to negociate roundabouts.
In a heavy you are dependent on knowing what is going on on the roundabout to get thru it. people indicating properly and placing their vehicle on the road so their intention is obvios makes life a lot easier.

remember heavy trucks may have to make upwards of 6 non syncromesh gear changes to negociate a roundabout..........that is if they don't have to stop......
If these guys can manage to undicate at all...I am sure the average motorist can manage to indicate left to exit.

As for police enforcement....I have never seen a copper writing tickets on or a roundabout.

On the governments part roundabouts are a cheap option and a cop out.......they truly are a freeforall....they stic a roundabout in and that is the last they want to know......sort it out ya selves.

OH and if ya think the roudabout rules will hold water in court...forget it....the first on the roundabout has right of way........... right........yeh try proving that in court.....after you have failed to prove your where on the roundabout first....give way to the right prevails.....been there copped the ticket and my insurance company paid...I was clearly on the roundabout first.

You have to approach a roundabout as if you ar going to be at fault in any collision.

cheers

I think roundabouts make sense if you consider them a bent bit of straight road(?) By that I mean that while on the roundabout your are considered to be travelling straight ahead. When you leave it you are turning left off it - regardless of which exit you use - so you use the left indicator. Simple.
Yabbo

Here you go for those who havent seen it ..... all makes sense to me
http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/usingroads/downloads/nsw_road_rules_2012.pdf

After reading this post I'm astounded by the people who believe that indicator bulbs are super expensive, and wouldn't want to wear them out!

Fascinating reading all the opinions,

As I have said before...

A roundabout is a one way road that goes in a circle. Anyone who has travelled to countries with large roundabout would have seen these in action, and they do work.



When you approach a roundabout there is a dotted line to show you are entering a road. (the roundabout)
Then you exit that road. (the roundabout)

So although it appears that the road goes straight through its interrupted by a separate circular road.

Just because it is small, doesn't mean people can't indicate, what it most likely mean that they are are travelling to fast into it and not slowing for the junction, it may be because they feel that the straight road has right of way..

This appears to be at odds with what most people are posting:

AUSTRALIAN ROAD REGS 111

There are some excellent descriptions/drawings in the Regs

As a lot of people seem to be saying but not in so many terms is that the typical rules and diagrams don't work well in some roundabouts due to scale.

I have mentioned before, traffic planners seem to view roundabouts as a universal solution and a universal panacea....so often they seem to be applied in places where they make little or no sence....this is not a problem with the rules but a problem with engineering.

In new estates soo often roundabouts seem to be used to negate the normal traffic rules of giving way to the right and the T junction rule in favour of a free for all or to actively disadvantage heavy vehicles.

I wonder how many of these very small roundabouts actuall conforn to the "universal standard on traffic signage"......

It seems that the"give way to the right" rule is all but onsolete, because it is quite rare to find an intersection these days that does not either have traffic lights, stop or give way signs or a roundabout.........so if you approach any unsigned intersection do so with incrible caution....because a great many road users will not know the rules.

Hell a very large proportion of road users do not know their road rules any way, lack of enforcement and education....and ...the dumming down of the road system has guaranteed that.

cheers

So what's the problem? In S.A. they are talking about banning U-Turns on main roads and banning right turns at intersections that don't have traffic lights,unless absolutely necessary.
That wouldn't be confusing,would it?

While driving over the weekend thru a number of roundabouts I considered the issue of indicating left when driving through.

On most of the roundabouts I would already be in to the exit by the time I could have indicated. So why do it.? Indicating is for other peoples benefit. If they don't realise I am driving straight ahead by then they must be blind.

And before any one says it I was not speeding.

On some of the larger ones where the exit was not directly opposite I did indicate, probably confused everyone else though as they didn't :).

As I mentioned earlier the rule is not precise enough, stating 'when practical' or what ever they say is not enough as it is to open for misunderstandings.
The objective of indicating is to let other drivers know what you are doing, I am not convinced the enforcement of the law as it stands does anything to help that in many cases.

Rich

I followed a Police car through 5 Roundabouts in Bundaberg yesterday, they went straight ahead on four with no indicators and then turned left again with no indicator.

Had a few minutes to spare and watched 73 cars go straight through NOT One used an indicator.

Guys I cannot see what's so hard about it. You are overcomplicating them. Yes I am not a fan of roundabouts but they do work for all concerned. Especially in heavy traffic.

Forget whether there are three, four, five or more exits. You just indicate to turn left when exiting. And if going more than two indicate to turn right and then left to exit. Simple. Otherwise we will have to have a rule for each type of roundabout. We have big ones here and a lot with more than four exits also a lot without a road "going straight". So as I said indicate left when exiting. And indicate right to make it easy for others to see what you are doing.

And who cares about what the coppers do. Just watch the TV "live copper" shows and you will see a bunch of very bad one handed drivers more intent at being dramatic and looking at their electronics gadgets than driving safely anyway.

Phil