Roundabout crash caught on dash cam divides the internet – who was in the wrong?
Two cars have been filmed colliding at a roundabout in Sydney’s southwest, but opinions have been divided over who was at fault.
Dash Cam Owners Australia shared dash cam footage of a crash at the Henderson Road exit of a roundabout in Ingleburn, which occurred in April.
In the video posted on Facebook, the car with the dash cam could be seen approaching in the left lane while a red car cruised through in the right lane.
Both entered the roundabout, and as the dash cam driver continued along the roundabout after the first exit, the red car veered straight into the first exit, resulting in a collision between the two vehicles.
The video, which has accumulated more than 144,000 views at the time of writing, has perplexed people as to who was in the wrong.
“I had to watch it three times to understand what was going on,” one commented.
“Look I’ll be completely honest, dual lane roundabouts are probably the one part of driving that I just don’t f*****g understand at all,” another wrote.
However, the answer lies on the road markings shown in the beginning of the clip, upon entering the roundabout.
The left lane has an arrow pointing left and another pointing straight, while the right lane has an arrow pointing straight and another pointing right.
The left lane arrows mean that drivers can take the first or second exit, while the right lane arrows mean that vehicles should only take the second, third or fourth exit.
The page explained that the red car wrongfully took the first exit by turning left from the straight/right turn lane.
Transport NSW confirmed to Yahoo News that the red car was in the wrong, as it should not travel left off the roundabout.
“The rules for using roundabouts are very important, but they are one of the most misunderstood road rules,” said Bernard Carlon, Executive Centre of Road Safety at Transport NSW.
“It is particularly important for drivers to slow down, or stop to give way to any vehicle already in the roundabout, and to take note of road markings leading into the roundabout.”
Some commenters pointed out that the design of the roundabout might be confusing for drivers.
“Yes, the driver of red car was at fault, but it looks like the design of the road may have contributed,” one commented.
“That's a poorly designed piece of road to be honest,” another wrote.
A local motorist shared her experience driving through the road.
“This roundabout is so dangerous! The amount of accidents I’ve almost had going straight from the left hand lane because people coming from the left think I’m turning (because of how the road dips) is ridiculous!”