“Everyone was safe, but she was mad.”
Reddit user /u/NoxiousKarn posted dashcam footage to the /r/idiotsincars subreddit showing his car getting hit by a driver in a Mercedes as he navigated the inner-most lane of this multi-lane roundabout in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
Check out the video for yourself below.
The accident happened at the roundabout formed at the intersection of W Murdock Ave and Jackson St, link to Google Maps location found here.
As the video shows, NoxiousKarn enters the roundabout off Jackson St. in the left most lane. As the markings in his lane indicate he’s allowed to go straight ahead or continue turning left.
The driver in the Mercedes enters the roundabout also off Jackson St. in the right-most lane but, as the markings on her lane show, she can only go straight ahead onto Murdock Ave.
Instead of going straight, she attempts to turn left towards the roundabout, a traffic maneuver she’s not supposed to do.
This causes her to crash into NoxiousKarn’s passenger fender, sending her careening into an SUV waiting to enter the roundabout in another lane.
In the official crash report provided by OP, the driver in the Mercedes admits her fault.
“She admitted she was distracted while speaking with her son,” the report says. “She realized that she needed to merge into the other lane to go westbound and she decided to try to merge. (against the rules of the road.)
She even admits to NoxiousKarn her fault in person.
“The driver was born in Eastern Europe and admitted she knew she couldn’t turn left in that lane, but did anyway.”
Although an unfortunate incident that results in a lot of paperwork and time spent with insurance, for us drivers coming upon this story, it’s a timely reminder to brush up on our multi-lane roundabout driving.
Wisconsin’s DOT has provided a handy info-graphic worth looking over and digesting when you get the chance.
Conveniently, their info-graphic shows what that Mercedes driver should’ve done in this situation. If you enter a roundabout in the right-most lane, you can only immediately turn right or continue straight.
Geico’s guide on roundabouts sums it up quite nicely,
“Usually, drivers turning left should get in the left lane, those headed right should get in the right lane, and drivers going straight can do so from either lane.”
As an American, someone who encounters roundabouts once a year, this video and writing this blog was as much a refresher as it hopefully is for you.
To sum, yield to traffic and, once you’re in a lane, you have to stay in that lane, following the lane markings as designed and marked.
