Best way to navigate a right turn on large multi lane roundabout

[NickNick]

I generally try and avoid such roundabouts, but sometimes I have no practical option but to go over camphill roundabout turning right, its a 3 lane roundabout at the intersection of 3 dual carriageways and and a single lane road (the one I join the roundabout from). Its a pretty fast moving roundabout to say the least due to the dual carriageways that feed onto it and the road I join the roundabout from is at the top of a pretty steep hill so its hard to get a decent amount of speed up, especially if you've had to go from a stand still.

My usual way of dealing with it is to stick to the left hand lane, and I use my right arm to indicate until I get off the roundabout. I've always assumed this would be the best way to handle it, but stumbled upon the cyclescheme website which advises to use the middle lane on the roundabout. My concern with taking the middle lane is that I will get stuck when trying to leave the roundabout by cars undertaking me who won't have seen me till the last minute due to the combination of the speed they go at and that the trees on the roundabout limit visibility.

There are some slower moving multilaned roundabouts where drivers have full view of the roundabout/exits/entries where I always take the middle lane to turn right as cyclescheme recommends, but on this specific one I'm not sure whether to stick to my current method or whether I should try taking the middle lane. How would you handle it?

This is the roundabout in question (red line is the direction I need to travel in)

camp hill roundabout

• NickNick
• 13 Nov 2017

 

[jefmcg]

I do it like I do it in a car. Start in the middle lane and gradually move left as I pass exits, to be in the left of the carriage way by the time I reach my exit. Big signals and lots of shoulder checks. Cars are usually generous at this time - I found myself on an unfamiliar roundabout yesterday, heading towards the M25 Drivers supported me getting out of that bad place.

 

[raleighnut]

Same here, ride in the correct lane for where you're going that way drivers/riders are left in no doubt. I'd feel very vulnerable going all the way around the outside of a roundabout but as @jefmcg says plenty of shoulderchecks and clear indication of intended path is paramount.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

I do it like I do it in a car. Start in the middle lane and gradually move left as I pass exits, to be in the left of the carriage way by the time I reach my exit. Big signals and lots of shoulder checks. Cars are usually generous at this time - I found myself on an unfamiliar roundabout yesterday, heading towards the M25 Drivers supported me getting out of that bad place.

I've always had a very pragmatic approach to negotiating what I consider dangerous junctions when riding a bike. I stop, get off the bike, walk across the junction the shortest/safest route, and remount the bike once on the other side. Quite often drivers will be in the wrong lane on roundabouts, or not know where they are going, and will cut you up and exit right across in front of you. It's far safer just to keep out of the way and treat the junction as though you were a pedestrian.

 

[Markymark]

Yep, as above, use the correct lane. Hold primary in your lane. Constantly check all lanes around you. Indicate as clearly and timely as possible.

Edit, as the two people who ride their bikes above, not the one who gets off and walks. However if that's what makes you feel comfortable then do that instead. I'd ride it though.

 

[NickNick]

I do it like I do it in a car. Start in the middle lane and gradually move left as I pass exits, to be in the left of the carriage way by the time I reach my exit. Big signals and lots of shoulder checks. Cars are usually generous at this time - I found myself on an unfamiliar roundabout yesterday, heading towards the M25 Drivers supported me getting out of that bad place.

That's how I handle the couple of other multilaners I come across on my travels. I think due to the mix of being fairly new/unconfident&unfit when I tackled this one for the first time, I struggled to get any speed up going due to the hill, got slightly spooked by just how aggressively/fast they drive on this one and I've ended up sticking with that method/treating this one differently.

Looks like I just need to shake that off and treat this one like the others.

 

[Markymark]

What feels safer can sometimes be more dangerous. Being in the left lane and turning right can easily lead to a vehicle assuming you're coming off and cutting across you.

 

[NickNick]

What feels safer can sometimes be more dangerous. Being in the left lane and turning right can easily lead to a vehicle assuming you're coming off and cutting across you.

Very true I'm always very conscious of that on this roundabout, my arm is extended to the right all the way round to try and make it clear that I'm not coming off. But now that I can pick up enough speed to get into the middle lane without being cut up (was a real issue the first few times I tackled it) looks like I should break the hangup I have with this one.

 

[Alan O]

I'm in agreement with what everyone else so far has said. I always use the correct lane and primary positioning (and lots of shoulder checks and signalling) to negotiate roundabouts and all other junctions. That is, unless I feel a junction is too dangerous, when I'll get off and become a pedestrian.

 

[mjr]

I think I said last time: I'd probably use Kyotts Hill Road and Small Heath Bridge to avoid that, the dual carriageway and the half-baked roundabout at the other end.

 

[growingvegetables]

That's how I handle the couple of other multilaners I come across on my travels. I think due to the mix of being fairly new/unconfident&unfit when I tackled this one for the first time, I struggled to get any speed up going due to the hill, got slightly spooked by just how aggressively/fast they drive on this one and I've ended up sticking with that method/treating this one differently.

Looks like I just need to shake that off and treat this one like the others.

Just a wee fwiw - it's not the dual carriageways that worry me, but the very shallow (?) gentle angles designed to minimise congestion; allows drivers to maintain their speed. Like a few on the Leeds ring road; I really don't like them, and avoid. They're often worse when traffic is light.

From the look of it? I'd be walking .

 

[NickNick]

Just a wee fwiw - it's not the dual carriageways that worry me, but the very shallow (?) gentle angles designed to minimise congestion; allows drivers to maintain their speed. Like a few on the Leeds ring road; I really don't like them, and avoid. They're often worse when traffic is light.

From the look of it? I'd be walking .

Yes you're exactly right, that's what makes this roundabout a particular nightmare, the cars coming from the exit directly to the right go through at such a high speed and on a bike on a very steep hill (the section leading up to roundabout is 7-9%) it's particularly difficult just to make it through the gaps.

It's at it's worst when there's a moderate level of traffic as the drivers are in dual carriageway high speed autopilot mode! It's not as bad when the traffic is either very heavy or very light

Will look into @mjr alternative route for when I'm heading in that direction (it's not quite as bad when aiming for the exit before for digbeth which is my more frequent route).

 

[Too Tyred]

Can someone explain to me why you wouldn't be in the furthest lane to the right, the third lane (albeit as near to the middle lane as possible so I could start scooting over as I passed exits)? Middle lane to me suggests straight forward? If I was turning right at a two lane roundabout I'd be in the right lane, what's different about a three lane roundabout? I've probably been doing roundabouts wrong for years!

 

[ColinJ]

I would normally do my best to avoid big roundabouts and plot my routes accordingly. One ride went wrong though and I was delayed so long that I was in danger of having to ride home in the dark without lights so I abandoned my scenic country route and went round Huddersfield's ring road instead. I then climbed up the A629 to the big roundabout at Ainley Top next to the M62.

I had been given lifts up there before that but as a passenger in a car I hadn't appreciated that the road round the roundabout from that direction is significantly uphill. I got there in the rush hour. I stopped to let traffic pass from my right and then went for a gap but I couldn't get any speed up because of the gradient so I limped out and caused panic braking by drivers bearing down on me. It was a very scary experience and I would not choose to cycle round there again.

My route round the roundabout is shown by the yellow line. The elevation profile shows how much the road climbs round the roundabout.

 

[mjr]

Can someone explain to me why you wouldn't be in the furthest lane to the right, the third lane (albeit as near to the middle lane as possible so I could start scooting over as I passed exits)? Middle lane to me suggests straight forward? If I was turning right at a two lane roundabout I'd be in the right lane, what's different about a three lane roundabout? I've probably been doing roundabouts wrong for years!

It's not that it's three lanes, but it's that two lanes exit to the right, so using the right hand lane would leave you in the right hand lane exiting, which often isn't a great place to be on a bike. Your only clue to this is that the centre lane on entry has a doubleheaded arrow IIRC, which is a bit shoot if you don't know the area.