Messed up on roundabout

[Liah1275]

Hi, I’m a fairly new driver and messed up hugely on a busy 3 lane roundabout today, I cut across the lanes by accident as I wasn’t sure what lane to be in or where to go.. I panicked causing drivers to beep at me. Can I lose my licence for this or be reported for dangerous driving?

Please don't worry about this. You didn't cause an accident, and this is exactly the sort of error that new drivers make and learn from.

No, you’ll be fine. Sounds like a horrible experience but luckily nobody was hurt and nothing was damaged so nobody is likely to bother reporting you. Maybe have a look at that roundabout for the future, look for lane markings on signs or on the road so you know where you’re going next time.

It's unlikely. People do this kind of thing all the time.

The best thing to do is work on alternative strategies for next time that don't involve panicking. It's better to go round the roundabout again and position yourself for the lane the next go-round than risk an accident by cutting across. You can always go round again.

Not in Oldham are you?

Don't worry OP - there are masses of people who do this and I assume not all are new drivers! It helps if you have a green P plate on your car, as it will warn other drivers to give you a bit of space and be more tolerant if you make a mistake, but don't beat yourself up. No, you won't get any kind of penalty for it and I'm guessing you've learned a valuable lesson. Lucky everyone was able to avoid you!

You'll be fine! I always look up my routes and roundabouts for new places before I go

Im not a new driver but have had a job requiring frequent travel to new areas. Always hard! I find Google maps and especially my garmin Satnav will usually tell me what lane I need to be in. If in doubt just take the exit of the lane you're in or go all the way around a few times 😅😂

We’ve all been there. Nothing came of it so try not to dwell on it.

Please don't worry at all.
I still find it hard on roundabouts to drive in accordance with everyone else's expectation of what lane discipline requires. (A particular problem is drivers who insist on overtaking on roundabouts, despite this being against the rules, and who therefore require you to have almost superhuman lane control to save them the problem of thinking.)

If I get an angry beep it is almost certainly on a roundabout. Just treat it as a learning opportunity, honing your skills for the future. Don't beat yourself up about it even a tiny bit.

Don't beat yourself up - no accident happened so all is ok. That said, if you don't learn from it, then you should start to question your driving ability.

If unsure which lane you need to be in, in the UK, you need to be in the right hand lane and go all the way around the roundabout, work out which exit, then move across from lane to lane correctly to get the right exit. If you sit in the left lane but keep going round, drivers in the middle lane going straight on could smash straight into the side of you, as you should be pulling off the roundabout from there.

Try to get some practice on big roundabouts at quieter times of the day, so that when you approach one when it is busy you don't panic!

Don't worry about it - I got beeped trying to get through Bradford on Saturday night during the storm; it was an unfamiliar city, the weather was shite, and the road and lane markings had worn off. I didn't lose sleep about it.

Are you worrying about Operation Snap? If so, I suppose that is a possibility. But I think a really unlikely one - one of the drivers you cut up or who were near by would need dash cam footage and also be minded to make a report.

Please don’t worry too much and instead chalk up to experience and use it to help you gain confidence etc going forwards. You are unlikely to do it again if you do that.