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Indicating correctly at roundabouts? Why bother, nobody else does…

One of the most infuriating things you encounter while driving is people who have no idea how to indicate correctly at a roundabout. It’s really simple (as you could see if you looked at the Highway Code), but here’s a very simple set of rules off the top of my head.

  1. When your exit is the next exit, indicate left. This rule never changes. Pretty easy to remember and implement.
  2. Otherwise indicate as if you were approaching a crossroads, reverting to rule 1 when your exit is next. So –
    • If you’re turning left, indicate left when you’re approaching the roundabout. For fuck’s sake don’t indicate right then revert to rule 1, everyone else will think you’re turning right and will thereafter very shortly decide you’re a moron.
    • If you’re going straight on, don’t indicate. You wouldn’t indicate either way if you were going straight on at a crossroads, would you? So why would you at a roundabout? Then revert to rule 1 when your exit is next.
    • If you’re turning right, indicate right as you approach the roundabout. It may be wise to try taking the outside lane too, to save people marvelling at your stupidity. Then revert to rule 1.

There’s very little that’s difficult about this, so it’s amazing to watch people going straight on and thinking they need to indicate right, or just indicating right by default until they decide to surprise everyone and take an exit. Or the marvellous creatures (normally in big German cars) who give nobody any indication of what they’re doing.

Or just read the Highway code, muppets.