I posted here some months or a year ago about not fully understanding the rules regarding a round a-bout.
Reading from the book is one thing and seeing how people do it is another thing. I have never ran into issues with a round -a-bout but I still don’t fully grasp the rules despite never running into issues
Tonight, my favorite celebrity lawyer discusses the rules about using a round-a-bout in the United States and, not surprisingly, a load of people were in shock to find out they were all wrong all this time.
This isn’t a clueless problem This is a really complicated issues as thousands on top of thousands of people struggle to grasp the rules pertaining to USA round-a-bouts
Please see video below , and if you have anything valuable to share on this topic, please do so as sharing will enhance my understanding and awareness of this particular subject.
I guess I want to say I’m in shock the white car is at fault. I had no never a car from the inner lane of a round a-bout could cut across to the outer lane to go straight.
I need to edit this part of my post as auto-correction changes some of my words and makes it incomprehensible.
Correction: I guess I want to say I’m in shock the white car is at fault. I had no idea a car from the inner lane of a round a-bout could cut across to the outer lane to go straight without yielding to traffic.
But isn’t weird that the inner lane occupant can shoot across to the outer lane rather than to switch lane safety to the right so they can go straight ? I thought the inner lane was to make a u-turn and to travel to the next exit point ?
The lawyer is wrong. US law, in every state, which is based on Englands common law, requires you to mitigate any potential damage or injuries to other people, even IF they have the right of way. But the white car may have violated other laws, most likely speeding which allowed them to overtake the car in the inner lane.
Even at a regular intersection, if someone runs the stop sign and you hit them, you could be held liable IF you could have avoided the collision. That can be hard to prove though.
Edit: the video did not show enough of the incident to really get the whole story. It was very carefully edited to show what they wanted to show.
The lawyer’s focus is to teach how the round a - bout works.
I know I must yield to traffic to the left before entering a round a-bout ( that’s clear). What I didn’t know was any car in the inner lane can just cut across to the right outer lane to go straight.
I always use the outer lane to make exits and to go straight. Cars in front of me do that all the time, so I follow from behind. I never knew the inner lane can be used to go straight by shooting across the outer lane.
Many people like you left comments on his take saying he is wrong about what he’s teaching. But he stayed firm on that the audience is wrong and not himself is.
The question is about round a-bouts. It has nothing to do with regulars having issues with round a-bouts.
Do you have anything of value to share on the subject ? Like what do you think of the lawyer saying a car in the inner lane of a round a-bout having the right to cut across lane to go straight ?
I have done some research on the issue and stumbled across a helpful comment posted on the video. I took a screen shot of it. It’s very informative:
Read the post again if doing so doesn’t require much of your time. The post isn’t about regulars having problems with round a-bouts. It’s about whether the lawyer’s take on the rules is correct or incorrect.
You don’t necessarily need to announce that you’re a cheerleader for Loudthunder. It’s obvious. And it’s not relevant to the thread.
I won’t be responding to you after this if you keep going off track.
Glad we have a little activity here anyway. My first round about was in London. Now that was an experience. Multi lane driving on the wrong side. Luckily my wife had experience in Norway.
Most of the ones around here are single lane and small so it is hard to tell if the car already in it will take the exit or continue on around in front of me. There really is no way to tell in time so the yield sign is effectively a stop sign. Most are low volume. Our folks in Minnesota just spend a half million or so not accomplishing much more than a couple stop signs had before. I remain unconvinced of their worth.
My daily routine doesn’t have a round a-bout in it, so it’s rare when I come across one.
Some times few of the folks here make it seems strange or concerning that I would have difficulty understanding something and then I’d start questioning myself as a result. However, a step into another online forum assures me I’m not alone — even longtime truckers get confused at these things.
I encounter a round a - bout like once per year ( some time once every 2 years). It’s not something I’m familiar with.
The New York driver’s manual refers to this type of intersection as a “roundabout”, not far from old Mopar guy. The New York manual states to yield to vehicles that may be next to yours when changing lanes.
Wrong, I hate them. Fortunately I know how to avoid a bad traffic circle in my area.
I did not watch the video. The question ‘is the lawyer correct?’ That is up to a judge to decide the law.
+1
IMO, the Cardinal Rule relating to traffic circles is to expect the unexpected. Also, be sure to be driving slowly enough to be able to successfully evade the occasional a-hole who suddenly cuts across your path.
In my area, we have the notorious “Somerville Circle”. In reality, some parts of it are in Somerville, and other parts lie in two other municipalities. This leads to some confusion when the inevitable collisions take place a few times each week. One PD will show-up, only to have them radio one of the other PDs because the accident took place a few feet away from their jurisdiction, in a different municipality.
This traffic circle is at the confluence of a major highway and three smaller side roads, so the traffic entering and exiting can be really chaotic at times. The situation was improved more than a decade ago when a flyover for the major highway was built over the circle, but it’s still not a pleasant experience, and a prudent driver has a LOT to deal with if he is to avoid the knuckleheads.
A bit of historical trivia has to do with this location, as the official end of WW I took place a few feet from that traffic circle. The plaque noting the location of this event is–sadly–now situated in the parking lot of a Burger King.
Here in Metro Boston, we’re not strangers to roundabouts and rotaries. My son grew up driving in a small town with 2. This past weekend, he was stopped in a smaller town in New Hampshire (Dublin). The police officer was kind enough to let him off with a warning. My son’s error was that he didn’t see a “traffic in roundabout must yield to entering traffic” sign. The precise opposite of how all the ones in our area operate. Crazy.
