Accidents on roundabouts are one of the most common types of accidents we deal with here at The Injury Lawyers. A frequent cause of many roundabout accidents is when a motorist is in the wrong lane for their exit and position themselves incorrectly when travelling around the roundabout.
The Highway Code’s rules on roundabouts stipulates that you should take note and act on all the information available to you, when approaching a roundabout. This includes traffic signs, traffic lights and lane markings which direct you into the correct lane. You should be checking the lane markings and signage to ensure you are positioned correctly for your exit.
Turning right on a roundabout
The situation that motorists seem to find the most difficult when travelling on a roundabout is turning right.
The guidelines which are provided by the Highway Code say that when turning right on a roundabout you should stay in the right lane up until the point when your exit is the next one up.
On approach to your exit you must signal and move to the left lane to exit the roundabout.
As some motorists exit from the right lane and some motorists stay in the left hand lane the whole way round, accidents are very, very common.
Motorists which stay in the left hand lane and proceed all the way round until they reach their exit travel across roundabout exits which other vehicles (in the correct lane) are attempting to exit at that point. Liability unfortunately is not always clear cut as often the parties involved will argue that they were positioned correctly on the roundabout.
Motorists which stay in the right hand lane and attempt to exit from the right hand lane are also causing a hazard as when they try to exit from the right they could collide with vehicles in the left lane who may be proceeding to the next exit.
In the case of Slater v Bancroft where a motorcyclist had to brake sharply and fell from his motorcycle as the Defendant failed to leave the roundabout at the exit which the Defendant should have according to the lane positioned in. The Defendant was held negligent as the Defendant was in the wrong lane for the intended exit and should have taken considerable care when adjusting the position to continue on the roundabout.
Being in the wrong lane on the roundabout does not necessarily prove liability. However it is highly important that when you are adjusting your position on a roundabout, you must take as much care as possible, not to inconvenience other drivers positioned correctly.
Liability for an accident on a roundabout is not always straight forward as there can be several factors involved in the incident.
Therefore if you have been injured as a result of this type of accident and you would like professional advice which is tailored to your individual circumstances, then please contact our road traffic accident claims team and speak with one of our helpful experts. Our claims line number is 0800 634 75 75.
