As Galway plans to rid itself of roundabouts, a roadside survey of motorist behaviour at some of Dublin’s busiest roundabouts by Continental Tyres shows that drivers often ignore the rules of the road and show woeful levels of knowledge of correct etiquette at roundabouts.
Of several hundred vehicles observed entering and exiting some of the capital’s larger roundabouts, nearly 70 per cent committed an error - indicating incorrectly (69 per cent ); failing to yield (28 per cent ); and using lanes incorrectly (28 per cent ) when entering or exiting. A number of drivers committed multiple errors.
Both genders are just as good or bad as each other when it comes to proper roundabout usage, - just over 52 per cent of “mistakes” recorded were committed by male drivers.
Paddy Murphy, general manager of Continental Tyres Ireland, says: “We were surprised to see our survey reveal such a high level of non-observance of roundabout etiquette given that roundabout usage is amply covered in the Rules of the Road and the high profile RSA campaign in relation to roundabouts.
“Because motorists consistently overestimate the stopping ability of their cars, there is an important safety consideration here. In a situation where an offending driver on a roundabout causes another driver to brake suddenly there is a strong possibility of a collision. Factor in wet roads, poorly maintained surfaces, or badly worn tyres, and the risk increases significantly. Our advice to motorists is to brush up on their Rules of the Road and make sure they know how to navigate roundabouts correctly as well as keeping track of tyre maintenance.”
In terms of age, drivers in the 40-59 age bracket were most likely to commit an error. The most common error for that group was incorrect use of the indicator when negotiating the roundabout. Drivers in the “older” age bracket (60-80 ), showing the value of experience, were most likely to get around the roundabout without any errors.
