Page 4 | Mini roundabouts! Whose right of way? Diagram included!

Rocketlady · 2025-08-10T13:49:03+00:00

Not my finest artwork, but if vehicle A is is indicating to turn to their right (left in pic!) and vehicle B wants to go straight on, whose right of way is it?

itsallsohard · 10/08/2025 17:03

Ultimately the point is, if cars A and B collide it can only be because A will hit a car in front of it or to its right. So A would be liable.

bumbaloo · 10/08/2025 17:03

pinenuts75 · 10/08/2025 15:14

It’s not who gets there first, you always give way to your right.

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Yes you give way to the right but if B gets there first, A isn’t even at the junction. You don’t have to give way to people 10m up from the junction when you are already there. You’d be across before they even enter the roundabout

chunkybear · 10/08/2025 17:19

A has priority

GlaikitWeeNyaff · 10/08/2025 17:23

A - roundabout drivers always give way to the car on their right

Needpatience · 10/08/2025 17:26

It is scary that 2 different driving instructors have concluded the opposite is correct.
I would have said A has priority but I’d move slowly & be ready to break in case B shot out.

Notmyreality · 10/08/2025 17:27

HappilyUrbanTrimmer · 10/08/2025 14:58

If they both arrive at exactly the same time then it's B's right of way because they are doing the simpler function. However A can go first if arriving significantly before B. Of course both of them should be pausing for long enough to check if there's anything else coming from either of the side directions, and then looking to see what the other is doing, and certainly go across the roundabout slowly enough and observantly enough to slam on the brakes if both drivers appear to be trying to move at the same time, so if there was a crash in this scenario it would almost certainly be held to be 50:50 fault because either driver could have prevented such a crash if either wasn't driving carelessly.

You are absolutely correct except for everything you said.

Original poster

Rocketlady · 10/08/2025 17:27

Needpatience · 10/08/2025 17:26

It is scary that 2 different driving instructors have concluded the opposite is correct.
I would have said A has priority but I’d move slowly & be ready to break in case B shot out.

Agree. Kinda wishing I hadn't posted 😅

OP posts:

PuppyMonkey · 10/08/2025 17:29

I’ll admit I’m confused now with all these disagreeing driving instructors. I still think it’s A who has priority but ime a lot of people in B’s position would just go as they know they’d probably be in and out the roundabout before A has turned.

SarahAndQuack · 10/08/2025 17:30

itsallsohard · 10/08/2025 16:52

would it help if I point out that I'm also a driving instructor? I repeat, read your Highway Code. In the approach to any roundabout priority goes to any car approaching from the right, that is, either already in the roundabout or about to enter at a point below 12 and above 6 (B's entry point) on the clockface in OP's diagram.
For two cars already in the roundabout, the car on the right does not have priority any more. (This is why, in a larger roundabout, if you fail to get into the correct lane, you cannot turn off in a rush and force a car to your left off the roundabout with you; you have to go all the way around and try again from the correct lane.)
If both cars reach a roundabout directly opposite each other at the same time, neither has priority but there is no conflict unless one car wishes to turn across traffic, in which case, as always, the car turning across traffic must yield:/ so A yields to B in Op's post. Technically, in fact, if A and B entered at the same time then A will reach the third exit after B reaches the second exit , especially since the highway code also instructs that you must go round even in mini roundabouts; you cannot start to turn right immediately.
I teach driving in London, and what I always tell my students, a lot of these mini roundabouts are put in as traffic slowing measures. The confusion is deliberate to remind drivers to slow down and be aware of other drivers. (This was also the thinking in the redesign of Exhibition Road.) Of course, you were taught to slow down and proceed with caution on the approach to any intersection.
But again: you try telling an insurer that car A will have been in the right if it rear ends car B or hits the right nose of car A to the right flank of car B. Car A will be unambiguously liable.

But ... the OP is only asking about the scenario where A and B approach the roundabout and need to figure out priority. There is no situation where B is ok to cut up A.

TheWildZebra · 10/08/2025 17:31

Always give way right. It doesn’t bloody matter who arrived first or waited longest! If there is a car to the right then give way. So simple.

Anyone who thinks otherwise PLEASE revisit your Highway Code // hand in your license.

CarterBeatsTheDevil · 10/08/2025 17:32

Asking this out of genuine curiosity and desire to learn. Fortunately I am massively overcautious so would dither and be beeped at rather than ramming someone on the roundabout, whatever the answer is. I am prepared to accept that I am being extremely dense here.

But.

Isn't the point of the diagram that if you turn it around so that you're looking at it from A's perspective, B is in exactly the same position relative to A as A is to B in OP's diagram (assuming there are no road markings making the position on priority more obvious)?

What is the determining factor that means A has right of way?

itsallsohard · 10/08/2025 17:32

B isn't cutting up A. That's the point. A is cutting up B.

SarahAndQuack · 10/08/2025 17:34

PuppyMonkey · 10/08/2025 17:29

I’ll admit I’m confused now with all these disagreeing driving instructors. I still think it’s A who has priority but ime a lot of people in B’s position would just go as they know they’d probably be in and out the roundabout before A has turned.

They're not really disagreeing; they're complicating the issue by introducing different, hypothetical situations where the answer might be otherwise.

SarahAndQuack · 10/08/2025 17:35

itsallsohard · 10/08/2025 17:32

B isn't cutting up A. That's the point. A is cutting up B.

No, because A has priority.

chillycat · 10/08/2025 17:35

JustGotToKeepOnKeepingOn · 10/08/2025 15:32

Good grief, it’s staggering how many people haven’t got a clue how to navigate a mini-roundabout. How some of you have passed your driving test, I’ve no idea. A has the right of way. You just treat a mini-roundabout exactly the same way as any roundabout. Give way to the traffic on your right. That’s it. Not complicated. Some of these responses are bonkers.

I stand with you. Can't quite believe what I'm reading 😬

CarterBeatsTheDevil · 10/08/2025 17:36

chillycat · 10/08/2025 17:35

I stand with you. Can't quite believe what I'm reading 😬

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Well, this is what I would do as well, but I am starting to wonder if I understand what "give way to the right" means 😆

itsallsohard · 10/08/2025 17:36

Or for those of you still struggling to visualise this, if A is signalling a right turn that B could block, by definition B is to A's right just as much as A is to B's right. A has to turn behind B, not in front of B, isn't that obvious?

CarterBeatsTheDevil · 10/08/2025 17:37

I mean to my mind, if A isn't on the roundabout and nor is B, and both are stopped at give way lines onto a roundabout, then they're probably both going to look to their right and go if there's space to go without an accident or forcing someone to stop.

Original poster

Rocketlady · 10/08/2025 17:39

CarterBeatsTheDevil · 10/08/2025 17:32

Asking this out of genuine curiosity and desire to learn. Fortunately I am massively overcautious so would dither and be beeped at rather than ramming someone on the roundabout, whatever the answer is. I am prepared to accept that I am being extremely dense here.

But.

Isn't the point of the diagram that if you turn it around so that you're looking at it from A's perspective, B is in exactly the same position relative to A as A is to B in OP's diagram (assuming there are no road markings making the position on priority more obvious)?

What is the determining factor that means A has right of way?

Edited

I had thought, it was because A could enter the roundabout safely, as nothing is due to approach/cross their entry point from their right. Therefore once on the roundabout, anyone at point B would need to give way as they are then being approached from the right. But I am now more uncertain that I was to start with.

OP posts:

Ilovemyshed · 10/08/2025 17:45

Which entrance to the roundabout has a double dashed white line and which ones have a single dashed line?

Flossflower · 10/08/2025 17:49

ThingsgetbetterwithalittlebitofRazzmatazz · 10/08/2025 15:02

Please tell me you don't have a driving licence.

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🤣🤣🤣

My own thoughts too!

itsallsohard · 10/08/2025 17:52

You're right Rocket, if A is already on the roundabout and therefore to B's right before B enters. But we're talking about a scenario where the two cars reach the roundabout at the same time from directly opposite directions. In which case neither is to the right of the other to claim priority, and both may enter provided A yields to his or her right before trying to take his exit.

I might add that in London, I would hesitate and not just jump in even if A isn't signalling. Because as someone upstream noted, people regularly fail to signal properly. Where I live is one mini roundabout after another and in 30 years I've never had or seen this accident so in fairness, most drivers do slow down at mini roundabouts rather than barrel through!

BogRollBOGOF · 10/08/2025 17:53

B should be prepared to give way to A. The entry to the right of A is clear, so A should be able to advance.

A should assume that B is an idiot and has seen a straight, clear road ahead of them so be prepared to manage the timing of their right turn to avoid being in the same spot at the same moment as B. As it is a roundabout there is usually (but not inevitably) space to go around the roundabout should be used as much as possible which can help with the timing, especially if there are B2s in the mix.

Yesterday's jaw-dropping driving stupidity involved a smart motorway, flashing arrows, big red crosses, "stranded vehicle" signs and about 4 drivers missing these little, subtle hints and lingering in lane 1. Special bonus points (alas not penalty points with a large fine) to the absolute bellend who decided to move left into closed lane 1 in the mutual blind spot of the vehicle trying to leave it and nearly side swiping each other as they tried to move into the same space.
If so many can't grasp what ↘️ and❌️ mean, there's no hope for understanding "give way to the right at that pretty ⏺️ painted on the road" 🤦‍♀️

BeltaLodaLife · 10/08/2025 17:57

Rocketlady · 10/08/2025 15:04

No, I'm not sure either but you wouldn't believe the number of people who are approaching some distance from where A is, think they have right of way and just motor on through, leaving B having to give way! I think it's because the junctions are opposite each other, rather than there being a 4th exit to the right of B between them, people lose their minds and think the roundabout doesn't exist. I am often vehicle B, and it happens so often it's got me doubting myself! Wondered if there was some weird rule I'd missed somewhere.

What is confusing about it?

If A isn’t already going round, then B can go because B won’t cause any issues for A. They’d pretty go at the same time and B will be clear before A comes round.

But if A is already on the roundabout or has started to enter the roundabout when B arrives, then B must give way because A has priority.

It’s not an issue if no one is already on the roundabout because B would clear it before A rounds it. If it is an issue, then that’s only because A is already coming round when B tries to go, causing an incident. So what are you confused about? You need to give way to A if they are coming round before you have cleared the roundabout.

itsallsohard · 10/08/2025 17:58

And if you all want a real headscratcher, why don't you all now debate who would have priority if A and B arrive at the roundabout at the same time both signalling to turn right? I'm telling you what I tell my driving students, the key priority should always be: slow down and don't insist on claiming priority!