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Debate rages over seemingly simple road rule

Sometimes it’s the simple questions that catch us off-guard, and that was the case for a number of Aussie motorists who were somewhat stumped by a routine road rule question.

The Department of Transport and Main Roads in Queensland left many of its Facebook followers flummoxed after it posed a seemingly simple question to its followers online, alongside a photo of a car driving straight through a roundabout.

“The blue car wants to travel straight ahead at the roundabout. How should they indicate?”

This seemingly simple quiz was shared on Monday. Source: Facebook
This seemingly simple quiz was shared on Monday. Source: Facebook

The post attracted plenty of debate with more than 60 shares and 443 comments at the time of writing.

While most knew the answer, confusion reigned for some people who either got the answer wrong, or were confused about the need to indicate before the roundabout, and when exactly to indicate when leaving.

“I thought it was indicate right to go around and then left to exit. Am I wrong?” commented one person.

“Right on entry, left on exit,” said another, incorrectly.

How to indicate on roundabouts

The government page stepped in and explained what drivers need to do in this situation.

“Because they're travelling straight through, the driver of the blue car *doesn't* need to indicate when they enter the roundabout. They do though need to flick on the left indicator to exit the roundabout (and off again once they've exited),” it wrote.

“If it helps you can think of a roundabout like a clock face. Any turn that exits before 12 o'clock can be considered a left turn (so you'd indicate left when you're entering the roundabout). Any turn that exits after 12 o'clock can be considered a right turn (so you'd indicate right entering the roundabout). Straight ahead at a roundabout can be considered 12 o'clock (so you wouldn't indicate on entry).”

Although not everyone agrees with the logic.

“Coming from Victoria where we don't indicate unless turning right or left I still fail to understand the logic behind indicating at all, to travel straight,” one man wrote.

Drivers in NSW aren't required to signal when approaching a roundabout when going straight ahead but should also indicate when leaving from the inside lane.

One Gold Coast woman claimed she knew of some driving instructors who were apparently teaching students to indicate right when entering in a situation like the one above.

“Can I ask why kids are being taught to indicate right when entering a roundabout to go STRAIGHT ON then indicate left when exiting?” she wrote.

“The confusion started when the requirement to indicate on exiting was added,” another person added.

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