‘This is how roundabouts are meant to work!’ Drivers are divided after a motorist moans about a van pulling out on him – but the rule isn’t as clear-cut as you think
- Dashcam owner shared footage of having to break in the middle of a roundabout
- They complained a white van pulled out in front of them from the left
- But driver was in the wrong as vehicles already on roundabout have right of way
One of Australia’s most misunderstood traffic rules reared its head again when a driver vented on social media about a near miss.
Dashcam footage showed them drive into a roundabout only to be stopped in their tracks by a white van pulling out in front of them from the left.
The driver beeped their horn as they waited for several seconds while the van moved past, then proceeded on through the rest of the roundabout.
One of Australia’s most misunderstood traffic rules reared its head again when a driver vented on social media about a near miss at a roundabout
White vans are a persistent source of ire for drivers but on this occasion the dashcam owner’s frustration wasn’t universally shared.
Fellow drivers were divided over who was actually in the wrong as the rule about who has right of way on a roundabout is widely misunderstood.
Some blamed the van driver for appearing to pull out in front of another driver who was approaching from the right.
However, others correctly pointed out that the van had right of way because it entered the roundabout first.
‘See the van got into the roundabout first – if the cam vehicle hit him – he’d be hung out to dry,’ one driver noted.
Others noted that the dashcam driver completely failed to slow down and check their surroundings as they approached the roundabout.
‘If the dash cam driver had backed off the throttle a little coming into the roundabout, there wouldn’t have been an issue. This is how roundabouts are meant to work!’ they wrote.
Dashcam footage showed them drive into a roundabout only to be stopped in their tracks by a white van pulling out in front of them from the left
However, fellow drivers correctly pointed out that the van had right of way because it entered the roundabout first (pictured)
NSW Transport includes entering a roundabout as one of the 10 most misunderstood road rules in a pamphlet on its website.
‘Drivers must slow or stop to give way to any vehicle already in the roundabout,’ it simply states.
Having received a definitive answer on the rule, another driver had some sage advice for all motorists in dealing with roundabouts.
‘If everybody just slowed down a bit at roundabouts then every one gets their turn and it keeps the traffic flowing.’