Aussie driver's rant over 'frustrating' roundabout behaviour
The motorist says it infuriates her when other drivers do this at roundabouts, but is she ignoring the road rules?
An Aussie driver has taken aim at motorists who give way before entering a three-exit roundabout, after describing a frustrating scenario that regularly holds up traffic. But is she actually in the wrong?
The Perth teacher, who only wished to be identified as KDP, shared her frustration in a video, arguing vehicles using the right-hand lane of a roundabout were not allowed to switch lanes, meaning cars in the left lane did not need to give way to oncoming traffic.
“What really pisses me off is when the person in this lane, where this white car is here, stops here,” she said. “You do not need to stop in the left-hand lane. You have the right of way to go in the left-hand lane.
“Anyone coming from that (right) side of the road is not allowed to enter the left turn lanes you're coming from here. You're staying in that lane, if this car tries to cross over into the left-hand lane, they are wrong.”
She said one time she had seen around seven cars banked up in the left-hand lane waiting to go and added, “Why? Who are you waiting for? Please, please stop it.”
KDP was describing a scenario at the roundabout on the corner of Motivation and Hartman Drives at Wangara in northern Perth, a situation played out at multi-lane roundabouts across Australia.
Many responding in the comments section disagreed with KDP, saying that those travelling in the left lane still needed to stop and give way to traffic in the roundabout. However, several others agreed with her saying they also found the behaviour "very frustrating".
Council savages 'dangerous dimwit' for illegal prank on road
The little-known Aussie road rule leaving drivers in tears: 'Red hot mess'
Driver forced to pull over after witnessing violent street ‘brawl’
What is the correct roundabout behaviour?
It turns out KDP's rant was unwarranted, according to Western Australia’s Road Safety Commission rules. It states all vehicles entering a roundabout should give way to oncoming traffic — so motorists were correct to slow down or stop, and lane swapping is allowed at a roundabout.
“Thus, a vehicle travelling north in the left lane of Hartman Drive is required to give way to any vehicle already in the roundabout, including one that has entered at Motivation Drive and elects to move to the left lane after the split,” a spokesman told Yahoo News Australia.
“Most roundabouts, including the one in question, have give way lines at each entry to remind drivers that they must give way when entering. However, even without the lines, the rule will still apply.”
He said a car entering the roundabout from Motivation Drive and taking the second exit onto Hartman Drive "might typically use the inside right-hand lane after the roundabout splits into two lanes".
However, under the Road Traffic Code 2000, motorists are not prohibited from moving to the outer left lane while travelling through the roundabout.
Tough fines and demerit points apply for getting rules wrong
He said whether a motorist could enter the roundabout if a vehicle was travelling in the inner lane depended on how fast they were going and their trajectory.
Under the Code, a driver must slow down or stop if there was a “reasonable possibility” that continuing could cause a collision, “conflict” or dangerous situations with road users already on the roundabout.
Motorists in WA can be fined $150 and receive three demerit points for failing to give way at a roundabout, while other offences could see them slugged with a $100 fine and two demerit points.
Road rules vary across Australia, but NSW, Victoria and Queensland have similar rules around giving way at roundabouts — particularly where there are broken white line road markings, while changing lanes is allowed if it is safe to do so.
Roundabout attitude angers fellow motorists
The post sparked a vigorous debate over whether motorists legally needed to give way or not.
“See the dotted line on the road. That's a give way bar. That means all traffic that that comes to that dotted line must give way to any traffic already on the roundabout,” one person correctly responded.
But an opposing view included, “Broooo, this exact thing is what fuels my road rage. I don’t know if they’re old ... you bet I’ll be sitting on my horn throwing my hands out the window telling them to f***ing go – like there’s two lanes!”
After seeing the comments, KDP told Yahoo News Australia she made the video while "genuinely trying to understand how to use the roundabout".
While she had never seen road rage at the Perth roundabout, she said half the commenters also expressed frustration. But after reading the road rules, she would "proceed with caution from now on".
Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.
You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.
