Why do British cars have left-hand levers for turn signals?
The Nissan Qashqai I rented for the British Grand Prix. This one also has a right-hand drive, and the turn signal lever is on the left.
The 2025 MotoGP season had a one-month summer break after the Czech Republic Grand Prix, round 12, in mid-July. Since there were no MotoGP coverage sessions until the Austrian Grand Prix in mid-August, author Eri Ito was staying in the UK during that time.
I’ve heard that midsummer in Japan is quite hot, but it was pretty hot in the UK too. That said, the temperature drops at night and there were days when it was much cooler. You might not believe it, but there was even one day when I told the host at my homestay family that it was cold, and he thoughtfully handed me a small fan heater and asked, “Eri, do you want this?”
By the way, most British houses don’t have air conditioners. This is because up until now, the temperature had only been low enough to be comfortable without air conditioners. Of course, the house I was staying in didn’t have an air conditioner either.
Well, this time I would like to tell you about the road conditions in the UK. I have spent a relatively long time in the UK compared to other parts of Europe, and in 2023 I used London as my base for covering the European MotoGP for about five months. In 2024 I also stayed in Blackpool during the summer break.
I rarely have the opportunity to drive a car while I’m there, but I do rent a car when I go to cover the British Grand Prix.
In the UK, people drive on the left side of the road, just like in Japan. And cars have right-hand drive, just like in Japan. But the problem is that the turn signal lever is on the left, which is the opposite of Japan.
In European countries where I have driven, such as Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, and the Czech Republic, people drive on the right side of the road and the steering wheel is on the left. And the turn signal lever is also on the left. This is understandable. But in the UK, they drive on the left side of the road and the steering wheel is on the right, just like Japan, and the turn signal lever is on the left, so it’s confusing. The rental car I drove was automatic, so that was fine, but I wonder if a manual car would be more difficult to drive.
“Magic Roundabout” – a series of five roundabouts
And then there are roundabouts. Frankly, I hate British roundabouts. Or rather, I’m not good at them. A roundabout is a roundabout, roughly speaking a circular intersection. You enter the roundabout at the right time and exit at the exit in the direction you want to go.
This is a roundabout at the Thruxton Circuit. Roundabouts are everywhere.
The larger roundabouts in the UK can be complicated. There are traffic lights inside and before the roundabout, and on larger roundabouts you might be told “you must stay in this lane to take the third exit.” In Italy or Spain, even on roundabouts with two or three lanes, exits are rarely determined by lane. Of course, there are some extremely complicated roundabouts, like the Arc de Triomphe roundabout in France.
In the UK, for example, if you enter a roundabout from the left lane, intending to stay in the outermost lane, you may find that your only option in that lane is to head for the first exit. You can’t just say, “Oops, I missed the exit, let’s go around the roundabout one more time” (this is much safer than frantically changing course when you’re about to make a mistake). Of course, you can change lanes within the roundabout, but drivers here are fairly (quite) aggressive, so it’s safer not to push yourself too hard.
When I drive on the roads in the UK, I sometimes think, “Wouldn’t it be better to have intersections like in Japan instead of roundabouts?” Rather, perhaps we should change our mindset and realize that “this is not a roundabout, it’s just an intersection.” That’s what I’ve come to think.
But in the UK, I came across an even crazier roundabout: the Magic Roundabout in Swindon, where I was staying during my summer break.
Five small roundabouts in a row
Of course, there are no traffic lights, so drivers must decide when to enter and exit the roundabout.
I went to see this famous Swindon roundabout, and it’s literally a “crazy” one. It’s five roundabouts connected together. What I mean is that there is a roundabout at each corner of a pentagonal intersection. Why not have a roundabout with five exits?
When I first saw it, I was stunned by how complicated it was. When I asked the father of my homestay family, he said, “Even I’m scared to go inside.” If the locals say so, it must be pretty impressive.
“But Eli, just in case, I’ll give you some advice: if you go in, don’t hesitate. Once you decide to go, go for it.”
That’s the advice my dad gave me. Of course, I had no desire to drive through such a crazy roundabout, so I replied, “Okay!” while thinking to myself, “I don’t think I’ll ever get around to it.” But I never imagined that this advice would come in handy one day.
Before the second half of the MotoGP season began, I went to the Thruxton Circuit to cover the British Superbikes. Thruxton is about 50km from Swindon, so I commuted there every day from Friday to Sunday. On my way home on Friday, I ended up going through the magic roundabout.
I checked the route carefully and set the navigation on Google Maps, but it seems that the route had changed to a “faster route” while I was driving. What an unnecessary intrusion. When I realized I was heading towards the Magic Roundabout, I literally broke out in a cold sweat. I think it was around 7pm, and the road towards the Magic Roundabout was extremely congested.
Timing when to enter is difficult, and timing when to exit is also difficult. Even when you exit one roundabout, there is another one ahead, and you have to time your re-entry there, so it’s no wonder there are traffic jams.
Luckily, I only had to make a U-turn around the first roundabout, so I didn’t get too confused. Still, cars were waiting for the right moment to enter the roundabout from each of the three roads, and I was incredibly nervous when I did. If you think about it, each roundabout is just a roundabout, but entering an unfamiliar roundabout was extremely stressful. The reason you feel “scared and anxious” is because you “don’t know” about it. Needless to say, his words, “Eri, don’t hesitate,” echoed in my head. I can only imagine how reassuring his advice was.
If I thought of it as an experience, it wasn’t so bad. It’s a place I never want to drive on again, though. But still, I can’t help but wonder why such a strange roundabout was built.
Buses also enter the area. It may seem obvious, but it’s amazing that they can pass through this small roundabout.
Traffic lights before a roundabout. Wavy lines are painted on the road before traffic lights, which are a sign to slow down.
