The safest way to cross a roundabout?

[axel_knutt]

This is the one that gave me the most trouble https://www.google.no/maps/@51.8684333, ... 312!8i6656

Ooh Marks Farm!
That's my bogey man, I've had more incidents there than everywhere else put together, by a large margin.

[robing]

If you post a streetview of the location, members may be able to give you advice tailored to the layout.

Here goes:
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@52.03226 ... 312!8i6656

So I was on the roundabout heading from left to right on the screen. The car that hit me was in the middle lane ie the same one as the red car. They had come to a stop, but didn't see me so pulled out. I was probably more over to the left at that point to take the next exit. The lane on the right of the screen is a priority left turn lane - but irrelevant as the driver wasn't in that lane.

[Mick F]

It seems like you are victim of the seemingly modern issue that people don't look Right, then Left, and then Right Again.
I see it all the time. They miss out the Look Right, and go straight to the Look Left.

I reckon people - pedestrians and drivers alike - are missing out the first bit habitually, and only looking where they are going and not what is coming.

[thirdcrank]

I fancy the fundamental problem here is that if somebody is waiting to emerge, they may not expect there to be a cyclist so they won't notice one. That's probably even more the case when they are approaching a roundabout and hoping to enter it without stopping. The typical SMIDSY (Sorry Mate, I didn't see you.) Zooming out of your streetview into the satellite and map views, I see that that junction is just about as bad as it might get for a cyclist: fast traffic, multi-lane, dedicated left-turn lane etc.

A layout like this is typically the scene of a lot of crashes, the evidence being the amount of broken car lamp glass there is on the road. A common crash occurs when a driver is looking to their right for a gap and drives forward without realising that the driver in front has decided to wait so their car is still stationary. Most of this goes unreported/unrecorded/ uninvestigated. Along comes a cyclist and bang! The consequences are inevitably more severe in terms of personal injury but the system is not in place to cope.

You can improve your safety marginally with hi-viz togs (not all agree with that) and awareness of where the danger comes from but a mixture of selfish drivers and those without a clue at roundabouts means you are often at the mercy of others.

Re your own speed, while it's always necessary to be able to stop within the road you can see to be clear, riding slowly in anticipation of people driving out in front of you may be interpreted as an invitation to do so. I'd say that being able to ride at traffic speed here is useful.

[robing]

Quite probably. I think the problem with particularly a multi-lane roundabout there is traffic coming from all directions. The driver being 70 and taking her grandson to Bletchley Park was probably unfamiliar with the road system of Milton Keynes and possibly a little intimidated. She was probably a bit lost as was going in the wrong direction for Bletchley Park.

[landsurfer]

My worst fear, as a driving group, are the 25 to 35 females who seem to believe that they are above the law and all traffic regulations, rather than the older, not sure where they are group.
The majority of my close passes, blasts from horns and flagging off seems to come from this group of females ...
Had the horn blast and the V Fingers from one of this group this morning for not accelerating away from the lights fast enough in a country lane ... with her mobile phone held between her head and shoulder ...
It's easy to pick on stereotypes but here in south Yorkshire there seem to be a lot of them....

[Pete Owens]

Lots of good advice here, but I would add - don't read the bit in the highway code about riding round the edge. OK it is better than it used to be, and if you read it carefully you realise that it is actually warning you not to. However, it would be better if it was a simple instruction not to do so. Drivers use the road position of other road users to judge where they are going, so if you are at the left edge your are effectively signalling a left turn. Ride in the middle of the lane of other road users taking your exit.