Marks and Spencer mini Roundabout in Bangor

The mini roundabout next to Marks and Spencer in Bangor also known as dangerous roundabout number 2 is another dangerous roundabout, mainly because it is such a busy one, and also it is so close to the pedestrian crossing and near to the entrance of the one way system, so you have three areas of potential hazzard in a short space of time.

Approaching from the railway station direction

One of the major problems when approaching this roundabout from the railway direction is that, the give way junction to the right, where the one way system comes from is so close to the mini roundabout ahead, it reduces your time to see everything going on at the mini roundabout itself.

The only safe way to approach this roundabout is to slow down even more than usual and much earlier. One method we use is about 40 yards before the give way junction Araf - Slow is written on the road. If you aim to get down into second gear and about 10 mph just as you're going over this writing, then you will have even more time to get lots of observations in.

If you don't slow down earlier enough and slow enough before it, you simply haven't given yourself enough time to see everything at the mini roundabout.

Approaching from the Swimming pool direction

If you are approaching from the swimming pool direction then this is slightly easier as you only have two main things to deal with, the Pedestrian Crossing and the mini roundabout, as the one way system from the left after the roundabout shoud be giving way to you.

Generally I tend to approach this in 2nd gear and at a speed of about 10 mph. The main hazard with this is the entrance coming down Love Lane which is on the right of the mini roundabout. You can't see the cars approaching the roundabout till the very last minute due to the wall, so you have so slow down and anticipate the worst case scenario.

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