If your answer to this question is “no”, then try ‘straight-lining’ at a roundabout. “Straight-lining”, in driving terms, does not mean that your life support machine has indicated that you no longer have anything to worry about: it means that you have not correctly followed your lane around the roundabout. Unless signs or markings say otherwise, or unless there are more exits to the left of ahead than the right, it is generally the LEFT lane to go ahead. In 21 years as a driving instructor in Cambridge, I have found this to be the most difficult individual point to instill into pupils’ minds, as the “left lane is just for going left isn’t it?” the stock answer is often heard, even with pupils approaching test standard. (If it all goes wrong for you in life and you end up being a driving instructor, you will find this difficult too!) If you have erroneously used the right-hand lane to go ahead, you run the risk of cutting across traffic in the correct lane when exiting the roundabout.
But back to straight-lining. If you have used the left lane to go ahead, you MUST stay in the left lane throughout the roundabout. Yes, this will feel like you are oversteering, and yes it may feel like you are heading for the curb on the outside of the roundabout, but try to overcome this discomfort. Just before you exit a roundabout, the road will invariably curve to the right and as with all right curves, it may seem difficult to steer, ‘left’ enough. Unfortunately, it will feel easier to straight-line across the middle of the roundabout, often straddling two lanes, because we are hardwired in life to take the most direct line between two points (and there’s less steering, which is lazily comforting). The trouble is that you may impede the path of the car to your right, which is going right at the roundabout, and the driver may have to brake or swerve, which they really don’t like. Horns and hand signals which aren’t in the Highway Code may result. (when someone cuts me up like that, I content myself with some quiet, condescending tutting, but that’s because I’m mild)
To conclude, if you straight-line, you are relying on the skill and awareness of other drivers in order to avoid an accident, which isn’t good. At the very least, you will temporarily be really disliked by the other driver, especially if they’ve had a bad day, (bad temper causes mistakes and accidents). However, the other driver will normally quickly calm down, and will not normally recall your misdemeanor on their deathbed! But don’t do it anyway! Happy learning