Motorist in roundabout almost hits bicyclist

Roundabouts have existed in Canada for almost a decade. They have been responsible for reduced accidents and better traffic flow in many countries for much longer than that. And the law is very clear, no matter where you drive, traffic already in the roundabout has the right of way. When entering the traffic circle, a driver in North America is required to look to the left and ensure that by entering, they don't affect the movement of traffic approaching them. If it is safe to move into the circle, they may do so, and now they have the right of way over traffic that approaches from their right. These entries are treated as a yield, and if required, a driver must stop before entering.

This cyclist has a helmet camera recording his bike ride. As he enters the traffic circle safely, he wants to go past the first exit and take the second, effectively proceeding straight through on the same highway that he entered on. The roundabout is a single lane and the exits and entrances are so close in proximity that signaling isn't possible until a vehicle driver has almost reached his exit. Otherwise, a signal would suggest that he or she is leaving the circle one exit earlier than intended.

The black utility vehicle that is seen first could have yielded, but the driver properly judged the speed of the approaching bicycle and managed to accelerate through without causing an issue. The second vehicle, the white one, enters the intersection in close proximity to the bicycle. The driver is looking right at the cyclist and the two are making eye contact. The cyclist doesn't know if she will accelerate to get ahead of him. Then she brakes and slows, but she continues forward, almost striking the biker as he brakes hard. He knows there is traffic behind him and he is reluctant to slam on the brakes any harder for fear of being struck from behind. Nobody would ever expect a bike or a car to stop in a roundabout.

The bicyclist has nowhere to go so he signals that he is going right and points at the car driver, hoping she will take this as a sign that she should stop. The biker manages to squeeze around the bumper of the white car just as the white car behind him swerves to the left of him to avoid rear ending his bike. The cyclist doesn't dare take his eyes of the white car to his right, but he can hear what is happening over his left shoulder and he knows he needs to continue around the bumper of the car to his right. The result was a near miss that left this cyclist quite shaken.

Cyclists certainly make their share of mistakes on the road. Some of them also engage in questionable driving that gives them a well earned reputation for causing mayhem, but many cyclists strictly obey the rules of the road and watch the road carefully. In cases like this, an error in judgment can leave a cyclist seriously injured, or worse.