Does anyone else drive all around the roundabout?

[DanHumphreyIsA]

Instead of waiting in a long queue for the left/straight ahead exit?

Most roundabouts I use daily have heavier traffic in the left hand lane, (going to centre, retail parks, general main roads etc) and the right one normally has 2 or 3 cars waiting in comparison.

I generally just go into the right hand lane, then go all the way around and back to the exit I need, as its quicker.
Especially when it is a traffic light controlled one, the lights always let 3 cars through and change back.

A few people with me have thought it was strange, so it got me thinking if it was a driving 'taboo' (or unreasonable...)
Are you supposed to stick to the lane you need?

@Timeywimey8 I know that garage well it’s a Tesco one isn’t it. As for the junction heading out of town it makes me so cross when people ignore it. It’s incredibly dangerous and yet there’s no camera there to catch the idiots who break the rules!

It's queue jumping though isn't it!? Sneaky queue jumping but really no less of a queue jump than cutting in.

I do this every morning, there is a roundabout where left hand lane is for the motorway and straight over but hardly anyone goes straight over, so there is a huge barely moving queue all indicating left. I need to go straight over so do a circle of the roundabout and am on my way.

Yeah I see the point about if everyone did it, it would be a nightmare for those only needing the right hand lane, but saying that I don't think I'm 'exempt' from queuing and that others should. If I noticed someone else doing it, I wouldn't think 'hey that's my way' or anything.

I should add, I don't do it on absolutely every roundabout I come to, there's about 3, where I need to go straight ahead and I'd say 80% of the traffic ends up going left and the rest straight on.

Eg there's one where the left leads to a business/retail park that's always busy from 7am to about 8pm. Just after the exit, there's a pelican crossing which ends up then causing another queue, which blocks the left hand lane on 'my side', so the cars can't leave, and then it takes even longer to go over the roundabout. Hopefully I've explained that properly!

Also, I don't do it if I see a stream of cars driving up to the right lane 'behind' me, only when there's no one coming up. I don't know why I do it that way, I just never do.

No because I'm not selfish, it's still queue jumping is your time worth more than anyone elses?

Yes, we did it earlier today, skipped about 20 cars

I think it's fucking rude and it gives me the rage when I see people do it.

I do this.
Survival of the fittest, I say.
And yes, I do think I am more special than others.

I give zero fucks about anyone else. That's their problem.
Most people are in life for themselves and would fuck me over given half a chance so yeah, I fuck them over first.
I so have some psychopathic traits.
HTH.

I do, but only when I'm bit lost and I want to read all the signs before I decide which arm to take. DH now does this too when he's lost as he much prefers it to his previous system of guessing which arm to take!

Only when my navigator is taking a long time to tell me which exit; the record is three times when the roundabout inexplicably had no road signs on it and they couldn't decide. It reminded me of the road system described in hitch-hikers guide where you got randomly spun off at an unknown exit.

Who cares if some random strangers think youre a twat for doing it? I don't! I'm not the one sat in a queue of traffic.

"is your time worth more than anyone elses?"

Well ... yeah it is to me!

Gosh @Timeywimey8 that's more dangerous than cheeky!! It can be so easy to not spot a car, pedestrian, cyclist etc at speed, all of who would not be expecting a car to come from the opposite direction!

That said, I'm one of those who tends to let people through, when they're pushing in. I know it means they won't learn, but I always think well it's not worth them holding up the rest of their lane, whilst they're waiting.
Maybe that balances out my antisocialness with the right hand lane!

Chicken, I kind of have to admire your honesty there.

And I have a lane strategy on my route to work which is perfectly legal but shaves off about 5 mins each way - very occasionally if I can't get back into the left lane I need I circle the roundabout but that's not a planned manoeuvre.
I reckon over the year I must save a working week in queuing time.

Who cares if some random strangers think youre a twat for doing it? I don't! I'm not the one sat in a queue of traffic

Exactly!

I'm doing it in my big fuck off Range Rover with my private number plate, so most MN will already think I'm a twat anyway.

I've nothing to lose.

@chicken 😂 I feel like you're the MN equivalent of Walter White

It does sometimes confuse people on the mini rounabout but I just make out like I'm lost

How do you make out you're lost? Do you look especially confused and drive round with your hands in the air 🤷‍♀️

OP I think it's a bit more acceptable if you are trying to go straight ahead when everyone else is queuing to go left... I'd probably do the same in that case if you're not actually jumping over other ppl in the queue

But if you’re going straight ahead and everybody else is in line to turn left then you don’t need to go right round - you can just enter in the right lane then turn off (not cutting across anybody as they are all queuing to turn left).
What OP describes is poor road manners

Life is so much easier the day you quit giving fucks about what other people say/do/think and just do you what suits you.

Most people are thick and unobservant and probs won't even notice me sailing past with a big grin on my face!

I don't do it.

I think it is indicative of the entitled society we seem to live in.
It absolutely winds me up that people think they are too important to queue along with all the other mere mortals.

If I am fortunate to get to the front before a 'rounder' arrives, I give myself a virtual high five that I beat the fucker

I'm doing it in my big fuck off Range Rover with my private number plate, so most MN will already think I'm a twat anyway.

I do this on our local roundabout as it is safer sometimes as you get idiots using the wrong lane to turn left and cutting you up.. It would be better if they changed the road markings to make both lanes go left into a two lane road, and have the right hand of the two doing straight on and right as well which are not really used much at all. (straight on send uyou back onto the road you have just come off)

@Whitecurrants but wouldn't that still be cutting in? The L/H lane goes left and straight (in my case), the majority turn left but a few are still going straight.

If everyone did it, then there'd be less of a queue in the 'straight on' lane so that would free up space there.

Yes - I do it. But just on one roundabout and if I have to get somewhere quickly. Not all the time.

Our bloody town has lots of roundabouts on the outer ring road.