Which lane should you be in? Diagram!

[CactusUmbrella]

If you were driving from where the red arrow is towards the roundabout, and going straight ahead to where the green arrow is, which lane should you be in?

Context is that I had a collision on this roundabout over 2 years ago, still hasn't been resolved and is now likely to go to court! Other driver claiming they were in correct lane, I believe I was...

If I were in the right lane and thought it would be 2 lanes on exit, I would have stayed in the right lane. I thought you were supposed to stay in lane if going straight and not change lanes at the roundabout risking cutting across people who were in the left lane on entry. I always indicate in any circumstance so would certainly indicate left after the first turning. Once I saw it was one lane on exit, I would make a judgement on whether to hang back.

a friend of mine who passed recently said her instructor told her about either 12 o’clock or 1 o clock.

Left lane

Definitely either lane on approach as there are no road markings indicating which lane you should use. It's complicated by a single road on exit. I would use the left lane but be very careful of traffic merging from the right.

Left hand lane for 1st or 2nd exit, right hand for any exit after that.

I'd be in the left lane. However, either lane is probably okay, as long as you're not driving into someone else's side by exiting. Either OP was going to exit, or was going to continue on around the roundabout (e.g. if joining at the minor road), so the taxi should have been aware of the other car and not driven into its side. How would the taxi's argument sound if it wasn't a roundabout? "I was in one lane, which was correct for driving ahead, and without looking or indicating I changed lanes and hit the car that was there already there in the other lane."

Yes, either lane can be used. The other driver will be responsible though because he drove into the OP.

Did he approach the roundabout in the right hand lane next to you?

Was he travelling around the roundabout from another direction?

Did you pull out in front of or alongside him? Or catch him up on the roundabout if he was travelling more slowly than you?

If the answer to the first question is yes, you're probably less to blame than if the answer is yes to the other questions .

I agree - you can be in either lane if you are going straight ahead

This tends to happen where I live. Roundabouts have two lanes which exit into one lane. Every so often a driver will try to squeeze into the lane you’re already occupying.

I think, for the insurance claim, it is irrelevant which lane you should have been in when entering the roundabout (though absolutely agree that the left lane is totally appropriate and within the highway code).

But even if you’d entered from the wrong lane, any driver leaving a roundabout from a lane other than the left most is responsible for checking that the left most lane is clear before they cross it to exit.

In my experience if there are no marking to say otherwise then the left lane. I have had many near misses as some Very Important Driver in the right lane tries to cut across me on the roundabout to get in front.
Very dangerous as the driver clearly underestimates my driving.

I always use the left as I think that’s most predictable (unless road markings and or signage says otherwise). But as the highest code does specify I’m always on the look out.

Rule 1 of driving: be predictable.

I have a roundabout similar to this close to where I live. Either lanes are fine, but if there are no cars turning left on the outside lane (left lane), I'll stay on the outside lane and signal/indicate left once I pass the first exit.
But if there is a queue of cars on the outside (left lane) I'll stay on the inside lane and signal/indicate left once I have passed the first exit.

This is my understanding!

Unless tha inside lane is left hand only you should be in the left. It may be possible to be in the right if they are 2 lane roads, but the receiving road looks like its a single carriageway.

You were in the right don't go 50:50. The taxi driver did not mirror signal and manoeuvre and yes he does need to signal only turning left does not require a signal.

I think you'll find they are dragging it out so it doesnt hugely affect their insurance. I'm assuming they have told their insurers.

Good luck in court sometime judges have brain farts...!

You see I dont think it’s particularly predictable

I suspect the taxi thought the most predictable thing was for the OP to turn left, because she was on the LH lane.
And it’s more likely that she had no indicator on, like 90% of the drivers and it’s also very likely the taxi wouldn’t have seen anyway if they had set off at about the same time, even she had done so.

Left lane

Left lane

Left lane.

School taxis are just general members of the public that do a part time job of driving kids to school, my NDN does it and his driving certainly isn't the best.

I'd say left lane, unless there were cars indicating to get left in the left lane. It sounds like the taxi was not wrong to use the right lane, but he was wrong not to indicate he was leaving the roundabout (though you may not have seen that, depending on angles,) but he should definitely have been aware of other traffic on the roundabout, which would have enabled him to stop before he hit your car.

You can't predict how people will move on a roundabout. Not everyone is as aware of the Highway Code as they should be. Some roundabouts are not well signposted, and it's not always clear enough which exit you need (especially if there are other exits not in use,) plus people realise things like they're meant to be going to Reading today, not Bracknell like they usually do, so have to change lanes quickly or go most of the way round the roundabout again (there is no shame in doing this. I did it in Chichester at the weekend, because I found the signs confusing and I've only driven there once or twice before.) You should never assume other drivers will do exactly as you expect - especially on roundabouts.

Even if the taxi thought she was going left, once she didn't she would've been fully visible to him. There was no need for him to try to overtake her on the exit.

When turning in any direction you should always look out the window and check your wing mirror for any traffic. The lane argument is moot because the taxi driver very clearly failed to do either of these things, if he had he wouldn't have crashed into the OP. He also committed a further offence by failing to stop at the scene of an accident. How anyone can defend the taxi driver is beyond me.

turning left does not require a signal.

Why does turning left not need a signal? There are no roadmarkings or signs to indicate whuch Lane you should use, so wouldn't you be signalling left to go left, no signal to go straight on, right to go right - and then when you're actually on the roundabout, you signal left just before your exit.

Big roundabouts are usually easier, because they're much more likely to have clearer lane markings and signage. (As long as there aren't a load of lorries and buses in the way.)

The only other detail I feel is relevant is that on my approach to the roundabout, the taxi driver was stationary behind a vehicle waiting to turn right at the roundabout. The other vehicle had their indicator on and turning right. My lane was totally clear. As I got to the roundabout, the other car had moved off and I followed suit, then the taxi driver. He was going slightly faster than I was so caught up to me, and we exited the roundabout at almost the same time, him just very marginally behind me, and then driving into me/scraping against the side of my car. I stopped immediately, he drove on several car lengths until I used my horn to get him to actually pull over. Both cars sustained damage, he didn't seem bothered, didn't take any photos and had to be cajoled into taking my details.

I would use inside lNe for straighf on unless there are road markings aging different