I havd encountered a lot of people in the area that i now live who honestly belive that the rule at a roundabout is whoever gets there first!!! It seems to be a commonly aceepted belief! 
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You said it was probably me. I have the right of reply. Thatās not finger pointing.
Nowhere have I read that āyou must give way to the right even when the other car hasnāt even entered the roundabout yetā
But then Iāve seen advice to proceed with caution because someone is approaching the roundabout at excessive speed. Also ā¦
āAs with all roundabouts in the UK, drivers approaching a mini roundabout must give way to traffic approaching from the rightā
Thatās fine if you think you have priority coming from my right but what about the car approaching you from the opposite direction, my left. By the same logic, he has to give way to me. So whoās right?
Roundabouts were surely introduced to improve traffic flow, implying equal rights once on the roundabout. Iām not the only one concerned (NOT confused) by close calls at mini roundabouts. Quite a discussion below.
I suspect that the reality of mini roundabouts is that in theory a driver on the roundabout (a driver from the right) has priority, in practice so many drivers approach the roundabout at speed itās bordering on the suicidal to do anything other than defer to those approaching from the right faster than you. Which means we might as well have the old junction back, with solid lines you mustnāt cross.
We have a roundabout where the feed from the left is obscured by a wall until you are almost on it. It is basically a T-junction that has been given roundabout status.
Some clowns can see no traffic they need to give way to so dash across at high speed knowing they technically have priority but canāt see traffic from their right because of the wall.
Itās part of a ring road around the town and is quicker that a āTā junction. Most recognise the danger as itās obvious and Iāve never seen an accident there. The vulnerable either inch out to look around the wall or do a dash.
Itās my favourite roundabout. Because of its uncertainty you can often exploit the hesitation it causes. Very satisfyingā¦.
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Many years since I drove in the UK and there was definitely a a rather genteel approach to toward other traffic at that time. In NZ it has always been a ājungle out thereā with most drivers oblivious to other users and the rest only interested in getting there first. As a motorcyclist my approach has always been to prioritise bringing it home in one piece. I just do whatever I need to keep safe. If I find myself in a situation where I am uncomfortable with the behaviour of a car that I am following, or which is following me, I just pull over, take a break and rejoin amongst different company.
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Sad to hear that. Iāve always thought of NZ as the last outpost of civilisation when everywhere else goes full trump. Here in sunny Cornwall we still do ā No, after youā mostly. The visitors love it too, mostly.
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What SWMBO calls a āsoft vehicle,ā with good cause; I bear the scars from when I was young and stupid.
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People have been moaning about the decline of driving standards since I started driving in 1971. As if there were some lost golden age when the roads were populated only by skilful, polite drivers.
The inconvenient reality , I suspect , is that most people can muddle by on the road safely enough but there has always been a minority of careless and aggressive drivers. And as we ourselves get older, we notice them more, forgetting that some of us used to be the problem in our youth.
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More cars on the road, more power, more stressed out people, less patience, no, I think driving standards have got a lot worse than they used to be.
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Afraid that these days we are just another part of the Global Village. We have the same problems as you, and, thanks to the de-regulation ideology and our relative isolation, a lot of extra ones too.
You think ? Interesting how , with far fewer cars on the road (albeit with poor safety ) , four times as many road deaths in 1966, and twice as manyas in 2003ā¦
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Perhaps itās the acquisition of a BMW badge that does it?
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Iād just like one of those devices thatās fitted to white vans and some expensive cars which gives you perfect visibility and allows you to travel down the motorway at 100mph through the thickest fog or torrential rain.
That is what theyāre using, isnāt it?
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Me too!
Yes, but thereās a clear distinction between the number of road deaths and driving standards, which is what the post is about.
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I know, and I read the amount due to speeding is much smaller. Yet they still put even more speed restrictions almost monthly. Heck, move to Wales lol
I wonder too what ādriving standardsā someone has when theyāre on their phone, either brazenly in their hand, or with the oleā head bopping up and down. Almost an epidemic these days. A total addiction.
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1966ā¦Mostly cars with drum brakes, poor tyres, engines that leaked oil all over the road, pathetic headlight brightness, no seatbelts, zero drink driving laws, (breathalyser introduced in 1967)ā¦etc.
Itās a wonder that anyone is still alive. 
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Another issue is cars assuming that you are not turning right despite you signaling because you donāt cut over the circle.
This happens to me regularly, and it is unavoidable in some cases because there are some mini roundabouts near me where the circle is raised and my car will scrape if I go over it, and 50% of the time the car waiting will start moving as Iām turning right because they assumed I was going straight despite me signaling, only because Iām not cutting across.
So bad driving doesnāt contribute to accidents?
By flashing your lights, all you did was encourage them to do it more. Iād have just raised the roof and let them carry on.
Just thought Iād add a bit of irony & levity to the thread.
Tesco ( very busy) car park yesterday. Huge BMW SUV reverses out of āentitledā Mother & Pram marked space very smartish into the path of a new Aud SUV thingy-bob and stoves itās front well in.
Both drivers then got out to exchange blame-worthieness in their respective viewsā¦and they could have been sisters. Blonde swept hair with the shades propped on front of forehead and expensive matching outfits. You could see they detested each other in 3 seconds flat.
We elected to āsee nothingā and drove off smartish before either collared ua as a witness. Butā¦it was really knock for knock in my view. I saw it happening a couple of seconds before it actually happened.
10/15k damages easy peasy. Probably more. Kids were 100% OK by the way.
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