Ok, so driving to work this morning I was involved in an accident at a roundabout. Two lane entrance, me going straight through to 3rd exit at 12 o’clock, lady going left 9’o’clock from right hand lane. She turns into the front wheel arch / wing of my car. Damage not massive but she claims she is not in the wrong and entitled to turn left from right lane – I disagree. Who’s right ?

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Tesco/@51.2402228,-0.6027298,19z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0xb6a0ce2bdbfcf6a8

Entrance – yellow A3 slip road bottom right.
My intended exit – Ashenden road
Other cars exit – Egerton Road

I’m sure I’m in the right but suspect if I claim then the insurance companies will just go down the 50/50 route.

Was her lane a through lane,some of them are,there’s one in our town and I get some savage looks when people think I’ve pulled out in from but I have right of way technically.

Well turning into a car is never anyone’s right! Not sure either of you were in the best lane for where you wanted to go but you’re not in the wrong so let insurance sort out.

She was in the right hand land but turning left? I’d say the fault was on her side.

only possible mitigation (and it’s not much) would be if her sat nav was telling her to take the 2nd exit, and she didn’t know that in this case that meant left. But even then she should’ve gone all the way around instead.

You are doubly in the right.

Nope, not a through lane.

Looks like two lanes lead off Egerton road, is that right? If so i’d expect two lanes to feed it and you should assume this. Always assume the worst.

I think she may be right. No road markings or road signs advising lane choice on approach as far as I can see.

I think 50/50 is the best you could hope for.

Both in wrong lane.
Never go around a roundabout with someone.

As mudshark says, you are not entitled to turn into another car. Imagine changing lanes on the motorway and hitting another car and then saying “I was entitled to go there”.

However, it can be difficult in situations like this as she can then claim you turned into her. Also, you’ll have to judge if it’s worth claiming as any accident, fault or not will affect your insurance premiums.

IMO – you are both wrong, but she’s a bit more wrong!

You should have been in the right hand lane leaving the A3.
She should have been in the left had lane leaving the A3.

I’d be picking the right hand lane for the Ashenden Road turn off not the left, and she’s an idiot for picking the right lane for the 2nd left. I wouldn’t expect better than 50/50.

Hmmm, so she drove into your car right?

I’d say regardless of any squabbling over who’s lane gives them “Rights” the whole looking where you are going thing applies here…

Her car is, presumably, fitted with steering, brakes and windows for her to see out of, is she therefore claiming she could see you, had the means to avoid the collision, but drove into you because she believed had the right to?

Or was she maybe, just not looking?

I think muffin man sort of has it. You could be in either lane, she should have been in the left lane.

Also.

When taking the first exit to the left, unless signs or markings indicate otherwise

signal left and approach in the left-hand lane
keep to the left on the roundabout and continue signalling left to leave.

Sounds like you’re both in the wrong place to me. 3rd exit, you should have been in the right hand lane. 2nd exit, she could probably reasonably be in either. I always thought left hand lane for first exit right hand lane for anything else unless marked otherwise.

Edit: just seen the picture above. I was wrong 😳

Looks like two lanes lead off Egerton road, is that right? If so i’d expect two lanes to feed it and you should assume this. Always assume the worst.

This. I don’t think you chose the best lane, but she should have only turned if she was sure you were using the same exit.

I assume you weren’t indicating?

Google street view does not show any road markings indicating which lane goes where. Scroll about half way down this page

http://www.nidirect.gov.uk/appendix-to-the-highway-code

How on earth anyone can be in the right hand lane to turn left and think that’s acceptable? She sounds like a moron.

Two roundabouts near me that are just normal 4 exit roundabouts, still get muppets trying to turn left from right hand lane and right from the left hand lane. The thinking seems to be ‘the correct lane is the one with the shortest queue’.

She is an idiot, but more importantly she is wrong. Unless that’s what everyone else does at that roundabout.

She was in the wrong lane. 50/50 which you should have been in, but my gut reaction is I’d have been in the right hand lane in your situation but a close call – 5 plus exit roundabout never feel as obvious as that picture above which is clear cut. Definitely her fault though imo.

I think taking the outside lane for exit two of five and expecting to carve serenely through traffic is a trifle optimistic…but looking at it, I’d tend to agree you should have taken the outside. A major roundabout with multiple two lane exits which has only two lanes itself is always going to cause these problems.

The first exit – to the Holiday Inn – doesn’t help either.

It’s a typical pushy trick to fly down the outside on the slip road and assume you’ll be able to pick up where you left off on the outside of the exit.

It will go 50/50 though.

Spence is correct.

On a roundabout with multiple entries and exits and unless the road markings stipulate otherwise, the right hand Lane should only be used for exits which are nominally to the right IE, beyond 12:00.

The left should be used for the primary exit and up to 12:00 unless there are more than two inputs to the roundabout, in which case the left is primarily used only for the first exit.

So yes, Egerton Rd, is a two lane exit, and I wasn’t indicating.

I agree that it will likely be 50/50 due to insurance company apathy and no independent witnesses. I could have been in either lane, and perhaps the right would have been more sensible, but I still don’t think I was at fault. In fact looking at the appendix to the highcode there is a roundabout with the exact same layout and clearly I can be in the left lane.

http://www.nidirect.gov.uk/appendix-to-the-highway-code

Two roundabouts near me that are just normal 4 exit roundabouts, still get muppets trying to turn left from right hand lane and right from the left hand lane. The thinking seems to be ‘the correct lane is the one with the shortest queue’.

You can do this, you just drive all the way around the roundabout 😉

From experience of someone who had something very similar happen to me on a roundabout, a) I hope you got photos at the time b) it seems to be irrelevant of whos fault it is – the first to claim wins…

I had a minor bump with someone on a roundabout – they were in the wrong lane to go straight on and should have left the roundabout and effectively changed lanes in to the side of me squashing their wing mirror off and denting their wing and scraping all the way along the side of my car. At the side of the road the damage look so minimal that we both shrugged and said “it’ll buff out”. Fast forward 18 month:- Claim for a written off car, whiplash etc, 8 weeks off work and 12 month of ‘flashbacks’ and physiological trauma to the tune of £30k+. Fortunately I had photos of the damage so that went from write off to £600 but the total claim was still £10k against me.

Insurance company wouldn’t fight it as it wasn’t worth the trouble so it was a fault claim against me.

Basically told me the first to claim wins unless its clear cut against.

C****

I agree that it will likely be 50/50 due to insurance company apathy and no independent witnesses. I could have been in either lane, and perhaps the right would have been more sensible, but I still don’t think I was at fault. In fact looking at the appendix to the highcode there is a roundabout with the exact same layout and clearly I can be in the left lane.

That diagram which I referred you to also shows that you should not have been indicating when the collision occurred. In my opinion, in the eyes of the Highway Code you behaved appropriately and are not to blame.

However could you have anticipated it?

Also I would make sure you supply your insurance company with a detailed description of the incident with photos and sat images from google earth with appropriate notations of the direction of travel of veichles etc and showing the current road markings etc.

My insurance company / solicitors couldn’t even get which roundabout it was right…

Both in wrong lane.
Never go around a roundabout with someone.

+1

Were you indicating right until you approached your turn off?

Sometimes I come across this (three lane entry) but in reality its a two lane roundabout so you get someone coming in the inside flooring it then attempting to cut across you to come off.

As such I always avoid Trafford Park.

no way can she turn left from that lane and she certainly cannot do it into a car and then blame you

IMHO you are not in the best lane either but still 100% her fault

IME diagrams in the Highway Code are little help when faced with more complicated roundabouts/roads layouts.

At the end of the day, you BOTH had an accident and irrelevant of who is at MOST to blame – you are BOTH still to blame.

Insurance-wise, it’ll be 50/50 at best.

Insurance-wise, it’ll be 50/50 at best.

This is incorrect. I’ll be 50/50 at worst.

IMHO you are not in the best lane either

According to the Highway Code she is

Surely 50/50 at worst.

Being honest, looking at the highway code, I’m actually in the recommended lane. She isn’t. I should really win but I know that I won’t, which sort of irks me.

50/50 will be the outcome. I speak from experience of someone doing a similar thing to me on a roundabout and annoying as it was, I had to accept it. I was pretty much told that unless you had a massively overwhelming case of it not being your fault then that’s the usual result. I even pursued my case legally and didn’t get anywhere so I wouldn’t advise doing similar.

If your exit was 12 o clock, then you were in the correct lane, she wasn’t,

Stick to your guns as the Highway Code is definitley on your side on this one.

dougieb – Member

I agree that it will likely be 50/50 due to insurance company apathy and no independent witnesses.

Until she magically produces one out of thin air, I’m constantly surprised how dishonest some people can be 🙁

Surely 50/50 at worst.

Nope, read one_happy_hippie’s post plus my Missus had an equivalent one.

With 50/50 if you’ve no damage to your vehicle (or don’t want to claim) then while you have an accident against you there is no claim against you (and no loss of excess).

According to the Highway Code she is

what you turn left to exit a roundabout from the right lane 😕

News to me can you highlight the highway code on this please

OP I retract due to picture, your lane choice is fine

She’s in the wrong. Turning left from the right hand lane is plain stupid. As such, straight on from the LH lane is fine.

I had the opposite a couple of weeks ago. Car in left lane going off right (3 o’clock), me in right going straight on (12 o’clock). They biffed me and it’ll probably go 50/50 due to no witnesses. Bollocks.

At least if you have protected NCB and minimal excess the cost is minor.