I go through DIRFT quite regularly going A5 to M1 North. Yes, I fear it happens. And it's even worse when HGVs do it. Familiarity breeds something or other.

Happens all the time in Colchester. I thought the Highway code had been changed its so common these days. As is contra indicating. You know turn left, indicate right and vice versa, especially fun watching this at Roundabouts, as you are trying to pull out. It's a wonder there are not more accidents. This morning I followed a line of traffic all busily indicating left as then entered a Roundabout. Pity there was no actual left turn. Only a straight ahead option or a right turn. Fine to commence indicating left when you leave the roundabout but a hundred yards before? Life is becoming very odd these days.

Ultimately, you have to be on the left hand lane of the roundabout to exit it. If you get into the middle of the roundabout, and there's something outside, the car in the middle is the one changing lane so had to give way.

It's not a particularly good, or defensive technique to drive around the outside of the roundabout to turn right, but in the absence of any markings there is nothing illegal about it.

In the direct opposite of this, there is a roundabout near me where the third exit is 'straight on'' with a two lane approach. Both of the first two exits are fairly major roads, one being the on-slip to the A1(M). There is almost no reason to use the 4th exit, as it only really goes to the service area. In rush-hour it works fine, with traffic for the motorway using the left lane and those using the third exit approaching in the right hand lane. However, about 1 time out of 10 in off peak hours, there will be someone who doesn't do this, and I've had to do an extra lap of the roundabout to avoid any risk of a crash.

Given by the amount of broken glass and bits of car scattered on the road, I presume accidents happen there fairly frequently, and the whole situation could be avoided in most cases with some better lane markings.

(duplicate - please delete)

Edited by Bilboman on 12/11/2018 at 19:59

(Is this the first roundabout after exiting Kilsby northwards and crossing the railway?)
In response to Bromptonaut: Coming north from Kilsby, if you turn right at the first roundabout, you leave the A5 and take the A428 heading east. Two roundabouts later, the A5 again intersects the A428 at a roundabout after looping around behind Tesco/DIRFT. It's this last roundabout where the fun starts.
Most traffic coming from Rugby on the A428 (now on your immediate right) will be going round to the third/right-hand/eastern exit towards the M1. And some, as I discovered, are in such a blinding rush that they use the left hand lane to gain a few seconds' journey time and woe betide any outsider who doesn't know this! Lethargic HGVs are a lot easier to anticipate; it's speeding van drivers who deliberately undertake who create the risk here.

Multi lane roundabouts can be dangerous, Basingstoke has loads of them. You really have to know which lane you need on the approach and the roundabout and look out for drivers who cut across you. Best if possible to give yourself space between you and others and just expect someone will cut across. Horn blasting only makes for trouble.

I suppose one possible explanation is that the rogue driver isn't sure of his way ahead, and decides to go round 360 degrees for another attempt ....

After 28 years living and driving here, I could write a thesis on Spanish roundabouts! Years ago an utter nincompoop in a government office looked at the thorny question of roundabouts and decided that rather than treating a roundabout as a junction, it is rather the circular continuation of a general highway, to which existing traffic rules must be applied.
Thus the outside lane has priority, which leads to ridiculous situations, such as the driver taking the final exit who curls around the outside lane centrifugally, asserting his priority over everyone else.
It is also apparently illegal to exit a roundabout in any lane other than the far outside one - even if there are three lanes exiting! - so no cutting-in (lane changing) is allowed. Finally, there are no lane markings to speak of, less still direction arrows - and of course indicators are a total irrelevance.
Santander has introduced "turbo" roundabouts recently with proper lane markings and arrows and people are finally getting used to them, but in the rest of Spain roundabouts are a manic free-for-all. "God knows how they managed to get an Armada together", as Basil Fawlty once said...