What is the right way to negotiate a roundabout? Specifically, which lane should I be in? Until a few weeks ago I would've followed the same procedure as when I'm in a car; I would have selected a lane depending on which exit I was proposing to take. However, I recently learnt from the Highway Code that when I'm on my bike I should remain in the left lane regardless of which exit I'm taking. Rule 77 reads as follows:
You may feel safer walking your cycle round on the pavement or verge. If you decide to ride round keeping to the left-hand lane you should
be aware that drivers may not easily see you
take extra care when cycling across exits. You may need to signal right to show you are not leaving the roundabout
watch out for vehicles crossing your path to leave or join the roundabout
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Highwaycode/DG_069837
I've been a motorist for almost seventeen years and a regular cyclist for just over three and - admittedly, to my shame - I was completely shocked by the idea that as a cyclist I have to remain in the left lane. (I'll be honest - until a few weeks ago, if I'd been in my car going round a roundabout and somebody had cycled past an exit in the left lane, I'm sure I would've been quite indignant about the whole thing [or I might have just mowed him/her down by mistake - because of a presumption that s/he was planning to take said exit].) Unsure of whether I was peculiar in my ignorance, though, I asked a few friends who are motorists how they'd expect a cyclist to go round a roundabout. Without exception, they said they'd expect a cyclist to follow the same rules as motorists and choose the appropriate lane according to the exit they want to take. Such was their disbelief about how cyclists are instructed to negotiate a roundabout, they demanded that I provide them with an online link to the relevant paragraph in the Highway Code. I think most drivers would be equally ignorant of this rule and for that reason it seems extremely dangerous.
Looking for further online guidance on how to negotiate a roundabout on a bike, I came across a website seeming to contradict Rule 77. The Nutty Cyclist advises as follows:
[...] your next task is to identify the lane you want for your exit, the queue of traffic in that lane, and the speed of traffic going around the junction. You also need to keep an eye open for common hazards.
The lane you want is easy to identify, primarily it is the same as for car drivers. Keep left if turning left or going straight on, keep right if turning right. Some junctions may also have a third lane (or more) for straight ahead, but will probably also have clear markings on the ground to tell you where to go. Highway Code rules 160 to 166 give more details and pictures. (That chapter is directly referenced from rule 61 which is for cyclists).
You should also consider which lane will give you the safest route, and the best opportunity to negotiate the junction without conflict.
http://www.nuttycyclist.co.uk/cycling/roundabout-2.htm
(It's possible that this advice is out of date - the rules cited by The Nutty Cyclist are wrong - the relevant rule for cyclists & roundabouts in the current edition of the Highway Code is, as I've said, Rule 77 and the rules for motorists are outlined at Rules 184-190, but having read The Nutty Cyclist's guidance, I'm more confused still.) Rule 77 seems to say that cyclists are required to stay in the left-hand lane, regardless of whether we're turning left, right or going straight on which is completely at odds with what The Nutty Cyclist says. To me, though, The Nutty Cyclist seems to be wrong in applying the same rules to cyclists as to motorists because the rules for motorists regarding roundabouts (specifically, Rule 187) fall outside the General rules, techniques and advice for all drivers and riders (103-158). Because these rules fall outside the rules "for all drivers and riders," doesn't this mean that they apply specifically to motorists?
What complicates the matter even further, though, is that at Rule 187, the Highway Code says that,
In all cases watch out for and give plenty of room to [...]
cyclists and horse riders who may stay in the left-hand lane and signal right if they intend to continue round the roundabout.
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Highwaycode/DG_070338
This seems to be saying that cyclists are not required to remain in the left lane. Surely, if cyclists have to stay in the left lane, Rule 187 would say that we, "must stay in the left-hand lane," instead of, "may stay in the left-hand lane."
I'm more confused now than I was at the outset. Now I haven't a clue what's the right way to get round a roundabout. Am I being thick? What's the correct way to do it?