Getting it straight at Napier roundabouts

Kathy Webb
Drivers using the two roundabouts on Hyderabad Road, Napier, should indicate left or right turns regardless of which route they are taking through them, the Land Transport Safety Association (LTSA) says.
A feature in Hawke's Bay Today on January 14 about driver confusion about the rules for indicating at roundabouts has drawn many responses from readers, some wanting clarification in regard to particular intersections.
One query was about the two-lane, three-leg roundabouts in Hyderabad Road, Napier.
A reader says some drivers regard those two roundabouts as providing straight-through routes, therefore requiring drivers to signal their direction before leaving them but not as they enter them.
However, the LTSA says the alignment of the legs of both Hyderabad Road roundabouts is such that they all constitute left or right turns.
Spokesman Andy Knackstedt says drivers intending to leave at the first exit after entering a Hyderabad roundabout are turning left; they should therefore signal left before entering and continue signalling as they leave.
Those who intend to leave by the second exit or do a U-turn at the roundabout are making a right turn because they are going more than halfway around the roundabout. They should therefore signal right as they enter the roundabout, then signal left as soon as they pass the last exit before the one they are leaving by.
"The photograph shows that each entering leg is two lanes and drivers are able to make a right turn more than halfway round, from both lanes.
"For this reason it is very useful for the efficient and safe operation of the roundabouts for drivers to signal their intention so drivers entering from the next leg can make suitable decisions about whether they can enter or not," Mr Knacksted says.
Having said that, though, "one should never rely on a signal (or no signal) to judge what another party is doing, or assume others realise what you are doing".
Other cues such as the speed of vehicles, their orientation and placement should also be taken into account.
"One should never merely rely on what the traffic rules say and assume others will always comply."
The way to decide whether a straight-ahead route through a roundabout really is straight ahead and not a turn, is to assess whether it exits more than half-way around the roundabout.
Police say there is widespread confusion among drivers about the rules for indicating at roundabouts when they are going straight ahead. Many intending to go straight ahead are signalling right as they approach and enter a roundabout, then indicating left and exiting.
Their conflicting signals are confusing for pedestrians, cyclists and other drivers.
Sergeant Corey Ubels of the Hastings police says officers are allowing a period of grace for driver education and exercising a degree of tolerance when drivers give incorrect signals at smaller roundabouts, particularly those at T-intersections such as the corner of Heretaunga Street and Tomoana Road in Hastings, which do not meet the strict legal definition of a roundabout.
However, officers are pulling up drivers at larger roundabouts, such as Stortford Lodge, and explaining the rules to errant drivers.