Roundabouts

Trevor Brown wrote:
I have been reading the Cyclecraft book and it says in there "always
keep away from the outside edge of a roundabout, no matter which exit
you are aiming to take".

I thought that the highwaycdoe advice was to keep in the lefthand
lane.
How come these are different? - which is best to do?

They're not different. Outside edge means the outside edge of the left-hand
lane.

When on or near a roundabout, use the left-hand lane when appropriate, but
ride at least in the middle of the lane.

~PB

I have been reading the Cyclecraft book and it says in there "always keep
away from the outside edge of a roundabout, no matter which exit you are
aiming to take".

I thought that the highwaycdoe advice was to keep in the lefthand lane.

How come these are different? - which is best to do?

Trevor Brown wrote:

I am still confused as it does in fact say
what I thought was the advice - which is to keep in the LH lane.

Whatever the HC says, it is not safe to *always* keep to the LH lane. If
you are going to ride a roundabout at all, do it in the same way as you
would (should) if you were driving a car.

If not confident to cycle on a particular roundabout properly, get off and
walk and find pedestrian crossings or an alternative route.

~PB

On Aug 21, 12:01 pm, "Trevor Brown"
wrote:
I have been reading the Cyclecraft book and it says in there "always keep
away from the outside edge of a roundabout, no matter which exit you are
aiming to take".

I thought that the highwaycdoe advice was to keep in the lefthand lane.

How come these are different? - which is best to do?

Someone else will give a fuller explanation but "always keep away from
the outside edge of the roundabout" doesn't mean never use the outside
lane. It means don't ride so close to the outside of the roundabout
that cars can use the outside lane and ignore your existence - because
they will - and then they'll say you came from nowhere when they knock
you off.

Tim.

On Thu, 21 Aug 2008, Trevor Brown wrote:
I have been reading the Cyclecraft book and it says in there "always keep
away from the outside edge of a roundabout, no matter which exit you are
aiming to take".

I thought that the highwaycdoe advice was to keep in the lefthand lane.

Then you thought wrong.

You can see what the highway code says at
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAn...t/Highwaycode/

It says that if you decide to stay in the left hand lane, beware of
this that and the other. The previous version said something vacuous
like "you may feel safer staying in the left hand lane". That's
always been a really stupid statement - you may FEEL safer carrying a
lucky rabbit's foot, but that has no real bearing on whether you ARE
safer.

How come these are different? - which is best to do?

Comply with cyclecraft, which does not in any way contradict the HC.

regards, Ian SMith
--
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|o o|
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On Thu, 21 Aug 2008 12:01:15 +0100, "Trevor Brown"
said in
:

I have been reading the Cyclecraft book and it says in there "always keep
away from the outside edge of a roundabout, no matter which exit you are
aiming to take".
I thought that the highwaycdoe advice was to keep in the lefthand lane.
How come these are different? - which is best to do?

HC has now acknowledged Cyclecraft's advice to an extent, and
Cyclecraft's advice is unquestionably better here. Consider where
the drivers are looking, and what the dangers are in terms of
vehicle paths. If you ride round the edge you are out of their
sight lines and their path intersects with yours as they enter and
leave. If you are in the traffic stream then you are more likely to
be seen (because you are where they are looking) and their path to
the exit is behind you not through you (and they are less likely to
try to pass the "slow" cyclist in the vive feet before their exit as
well).

This is where I learned about negotiating roundabouts, as a lad:
http://www.btinternet.com/~roads/pix/ParkStRbt.jpg

Guy
--
May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after posting.
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

85% of helmet statistics are made up, 69% of them at CHS, Puget Sound

On 21 Aug, 12:39, Ian Smith wrote:
On Thu, 21 Aug 2008, Trevor Brown wrote:
*I have been reading the Cyclecraft book and it says in there "always keep
*away from the outside edge of a roundabout, no matter which exit you are
*aiming to take".

*I thought that the highwaycdoe advice was to keep in the lefthand lane.

Then you thought wrong.

Hotmail account with no posting history. Innocent sounding beginner's
question. Has been reading Cyclecraft but only has a vague idea of
what the HC says. Given the recent posting history on urc, what does
the above suggest to you?

--
Dave...

Trevor Brown said the following on 21/08/2008 12:01:
I have been reading the Cyclecraft book and it says in there "always keep
away from the outside edge of a roundabout, no matter which exit you are
aiming to take".

I thought that the highwaycdoe advice was to keep in the lefthand lane.

How come these are different? - which is best to do?

Personally, I would go with the Cyclecraft version. Without checking, I
would be surprised if the HC suggested that cyclists keep in the LH lane
- it's a darn sight safer to take the primary position in the correct
lane for your exit. Staying in the LH lane could mean that you're
crossing the exit of a roundabout that cars are trying to leave at.

--
Paul Boyd
http://www.paul-boyd.co.uk/

"Ian Smith" wrote in message
. ..
On Thu, 21 Aug 2008, Trevor Brown wrote:
I have been reading the Cyclecraft book and it says in there "always
keep
away from the outside edge of a roundabout, no matter which exit you are
aiming to take".

I thought that the highwaycdoe advice was to keep in the lefthand lane.

Then you thought wrong.

You can see what the highway code says at
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAn...t/Highwaycode/



Thank you for the link - I am still confused as it does in fact say what I
thought was the advice - which is to keep in the LH lane.

You may feel safer walking your cycle round on the pavement or verge. If you
decide to ride round keeping to the left-hand

lane you should



* be aware that drivers may not easily see you

* take extra care when cycling across exits. You may need to signal
right to show you are not leaving the roundabout

* watch out for vehicles crossing your path to leave or join the
roundabout.







(You're initial response was a bit strong : "Then you thought wrong" - I
have never posted here (or in newsgroups before) and was advised by a
friend that I would get advice here - I came looking for advice I did not
profess to know the answer)

Trevor Brown wrote:
"Pete Biggs"

When on or near a roundabout, use the left-hand lane when
appropriate, but ride at least in the middle of the lane.

Thank you - that is what I understand - stay in the LH lane all the
way round but make sure you indicate at exits that you are not
leaving the roundabout.

That is not the advice I am giving.

Use whichever lane(s) are most appropriate for your route. See Cyclecraft
for detail.

~PB