Driver from hell captured on camera making worst possible mistake at roundabout

03 March 2024 , 10:37

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The heart-in-mouth moment was captured by a bus passenger after the Fiat seemingly drove the wrong way around the busy roundabout

This is the nail-biting moment a hapless motorist came within inches of colliding with oncoming traffic after driving the wrong way around a busy roundabout.

The driver almost caused total chaos in Edinburgh, Scotland, after things took a dangerous turn and the horror moment was captured by a shocked bus passenger. Panic sets in as the penny drops that they've got things badly wrong, almost causing a pile-up.

The onlooker was onboard a Lothian bus service as they approached the roundabout at The Jewel, just off the A1.. As they looked out the window, they noticed a yellow Fiat driving in the wrong direction, EdinburghLive report.

According to the eyewitness, vehicles at the roundabout heading onto the A1 were forced to act fast and slam on their brakes to avoid a collision with the off-track motor. They captured an image from the bus which shows how close the cars came to colliding as the Fiat can be seen with its brake lights on in front of a white van at around 7.15am on February 25.

Nearly 6 million UK drivers could be fined because they're making mistakes at roundabouts, a study shows (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Shocked at what they had just witnessed, the passenger said: "It was just outside the Asda at the Jewel. I don’t know what happened but the car almost got hit by oncoming traffic as the picture indicates.

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"Thankfully the van and car noticed and the car did a 180 and sped off. It looked like they went right round the roundabout then noticed. The van driver was very alert, slammed on the breaks, as I was in the bus I didn’t get much time to catch it all."

Last year, a worrying study conducted by Compare the Market showed that shockingly nearly six million drivers in the UK are vulnerable to getting fined when using roundabouts, simply because they don't understand the rules properly.

When approaching a roundabout, you must give way to the right, with the Highway Code stating that all drivers must "always give priority to the traffic coming from the right, unless you have been directed otherwise by signs, road markings or traffic lights," in rule 185. However, the survey showed that nearly 20% of UK drivers are failing to give way to their right at roundabouts, which can lead to a £50 fixed penalty notice.

Equally bad habits can be found in UK drivers when it comes to mini-roundabouts, with nearly two-thirds of drivers admitting that they will drive over a flat mini roundabout and 48% saying they would drive over a raised one while on their journeys. This means that over half of UK drivers aren't properly adhering to the Highway Code, which states that drivers must treat mini roundabouts in exactly the same manner they do large ones.

Here's a refresher of the full rules from the Highway Code on how to approach mini roundabouts: "Approach these in the same way as normal roundabouts. All vehicles must pass round the central markings except large vehicles which are physically incapable of doing so. Remember, there is less space to manoeuvre and less time to signal. Avoid making U-turns at mini-roundabouts. Beware of others doing this. At double mini-roundabouts treat each roundabout separately and give way to traffic from the right."

Sam Elliott-Gibbs