Roundabouts scare a lot of learners, and it's nearly always the same worry: which lane do I get in? The good news is there's one picture that answers it almost every time — think of the roundabout as a clock face, with your entrance at the bottom.
Straight on, or any exit before 12 o'clock, you approach in the left lane. Anything after 12 o'clock — turning right or doubling back — you approach in the right lane. Left for early exits, right for late ones.
Priority is lovely and simple: you give way to traffic already on the roundabout, coming from your right. If it's clear from the right, you go. No clear gap? You wait, and another one always comes along.
The bits that matter
- Give way to traffic already on the roundabout, coming from your right.
- Exit before 12 o'clock → approach in the left lane. After 12 → right lane.
- Pick your lane before you go on, and hold it all the way round.
Memory anchor
Before twelve, keep left; after twelve, keep right
Picture the roundabout as a clock with your entrance at 6 o'clock. Exits up to 12 (straight on or earlier) start from the left lane. Exits past 12 (right turns) start from the right lane. One clock, every roundabout.
Out on the road
The three-exit roundabout on the way to college
Second exit, straight on — that's before 12, so you take the left lane and don't signal on the way in. As you pass the first exit, you flick on your left indicator to say "I'm coming off next". Smooth, predictable, and the driver behind knows exactly what you're doing.
The mistake everyone makes
Changing lanes on the roundabout itself
The scary moments almost always come from someone drifting across lanes half-way round. Pick your lane before you go on, and hold it. If you take the wrong exit, it genuinely doesn't matter — go round again. Never swerve to fix it.