Spiral roundabouts: how the lane markings lead you out
On a spiral roundabout the lane lines guide you to your exit, as long as you start in the right lane. How to read the approach, follow your lane round and leave cleanly.
7 min read·Advanced
TRWritten by the Testroute teamChecked against DVSA guidance and The Highway Code · Updated 13/10/2026
Spiral roundabouts have lane lines painted on the roundabout itself that curve outwards, so the lane you enter in carries you to your exit. Choose your lane from the signs and arrows on the approach, follow it round without changing lanes, and signal left after you pass the exit before yours.
What is a spiral roundabout?
A spiral roundabout is a larger roundabout, usually with two or three lanes, where the lane lines carry on round the circulating area. The lines do not form neat circles. They curve outwards after each exit, so the outer lane leads off at the early exits and the inner lanes move outwards, one step at a time, towards the exits further round.
The Highway Code does not use the word spiral. It covers these junctions with the normal roundabout rules (rules 184 and 185). Act on the signs, traffic lights and lane markings that direct you into the correct lane, decide on your exit early, and give priority to traffic from your right unless signs or markings say otherwise. Some spiral roundabouts also have traffic lights on the entries or on the roundabout itself, and then the lights decide who goes.
How the lane markings lead you out
The point of the spiral is that you never have to cut across another lane to leave. On a typical two-lane spiral roundabout:
The left lane takes you to the first exit, and on some layouts to the next one too. The arrows on the approach show which.
The right lane takes you round on the inside. After you pass an exit, the line beside you swings outwards, so your lane becomes the outer lane in time for a later exit.
Where your lane is marked to leave, the lines and arrows turn towards the exit. If you stay in the middle of your lane, the markings take you off.
Every layout is different. Treat the arrows on the approach and the lines on the roundabout as the instructions for that junction, not as a pattern you can assume.
On a spiral roundabout the lane lines curve outwards, so each lane leads to its exits without a lane change.
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Read the advance direction sign. It shows the layout and where each exit goes. Count the exits to yours. If the shapes on it are new to you, our guide to reading roundabout signs helps.
Find your arrows on the road. Rule 134 asks you to follow the signs and road markings and get into the lane they direct you to.
Check your mirrors, signal if your exit needs one, and move into that lane early (rule 186).
Give way to traffic from your right at the line, unless traffic lights control the entry.
Follow your lane round. Keep the car in the middle of it, and let the markings move you outwards.
Check your left mirror after you pass the exit before yours, then signal left.
Leave in your lane, and look for cyclists and pedestrians on the exit road.
Picking your lane on the approach
Most lane mistakes on spiral roundabouts start before the give way line. Once you are on the roundabout, the lane you chose decides where you can leave, so the decision belongs on the approach.
First exit: left lane, signal left, unless the arrows say otherwise.
Exits to the right or a full circle: the lane marked for them, usually the right lane, signal right.
Exits in between: the lane the arrows show, no signal on the approach.
More than three lanes at the entry: use the most suitable lane on the approach and through the roundabout (rule 186).
Once you have a test date, work out the lane for each exit of the big roundabouts near your centre at home, from a map or a video. A lane chosen calmly in advance is one less decision at the give way line.
An exit slip road curving towards a roundabout near Hemel Hempstead, seen through the windscreen, May 2026
If you end up in the wrong lane
Do not swerve. A lane change on a spiral roundabout means crossing a line that other drivers are following. Rule 133 sets the order: mirrors, a quick sideways glance if needed, then a signal, and move only if you will not force anyone to change speed or direction. If that is not possible, stay in your lane and take the exit it leads to.
On independent driving, a wrong turning is not a fault in itself, and the examiner will help you back on route. Our guide to following the sat nav on independent driving covers what happens next. A sudden lane change that makes another driver brake is a different matter, so taking the wrong exit calmly is the safer choice.
Who to watch for
Drivers out of position: give room to anyone straddling lanes, or crossing in front of you to leave at the next exit (rule 187).
Long vehicles: lorries and vehicles towing trailers may need more than one lane. Do not sit alongside them.
Cyclists: give them priority on the roundabout, plenty of room, and do not overtake them within their lane (rule 186).
Motorcyclists: easy to miss when you look right at a busy entry, so look twice (rule 211).
A large map type sign before a roundabout on a dual carriageway in north London, seen through the windscreen, May 2026
What the examiner looks for
Spiral roundabouts test lane discipline. In the guidance examiners use, the faults that show up here include:
Positioning: straddling marked lanes, or cutting across the normal road position when going ahead at a roundabout.
Response to road markings: not following the direction arrows.
Signals: an exit signal given late, or a signal that misleads.
Use of mirrors: not checking before you signal or change lanes, or checking and not acting on what you see.
Junctions: not looking effectively before you emerge, which was the most common reason for failing in the DVSA list for April 2024 to March 2025.
How these add up to a pass or a fail is in our explainer on driving test faults. Spiral roundabouts are one of the harder parts of how to pass your driving test, and the ones near your test centre are worth seeing before you drive them: find your test centre to watch the roads learners there drive most often.
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A multi-lane roundabout with lane lines painted on the circulating area that curve outwards, so each lane leads you to its exits without a lane change.
Do you signal on a spiral roundabout?
Yes, as on any roundabout: left on the approach for the first exit, right for exits to the right, and left after you pass the exit before yours (rule 186).
Can you change lanes on a spiral roundabout?
Only if you must and it is safe: mirrors, a quick sideways glance, a signal, and nobody forced to slow down or swerve (rule 133). It is usually safer to follow your lane and take the exit it leads to.
Which lane do you use to go straight on at a spiral roundabout?
The lane the arrows on the approach show for your exit. Do not signal on the approach, then signal left once you pass the exit before yours.
