Driving The Spanish Way – Traffic Islands
Foreign drivers get a bit flabbergasted on Spanish traffic islands. It takes a while to get used to and begin to drive “Spanish”. The short version is don’t drive on the lane(s) nearest the island if there are any. You have to treat the roundabout itself as if it was a straight road. In Spain you wouldn’t turn right on a straight road from the left lane. For this reason, you shouldn’t leave a roundabout from the inside lane.
How to drive safely on a roundabout? There are three key points:
- Entrance: Access from the right lane is mandatory whenever possible.
- Inside the junction: you must drive on the outer lane whenever it is free. Use the other lane to overtake if necessary.
- Exit ONLY from the right-hand lane and signal the exit with indicators. This ensures other users know that we are exiting the roundabout.
Are you permitted to exit the roundabout from the inside lanes?
The general rule is no. The regulation obliges you to leave from the outer right lane. This avoids one of the classic offences on roundabouts, which is crossing from the inside lane. Such a manoeuvre can cause a collision with another vehicle that is travelling according to regulations.
More information on the N332 Facebook page
