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06th Nov 2023

Brits warned using ‘slingshot’ trick on roundabouts could land you in trouble

JOE

Brits warned using 'slingshot' trick on roundabouts could land you in trouble

You’ve been warned

Drivers on British roads have been warned against attempting a popular ‘slingshot‘ trick on roundabouts as an attempt to beat any potential traffic.

While it isn’t illegal, it could be seen as a misuse of lanes and could see you get three points on your licence.

The term was popularised quite recently after a video of a driver ‘slingshotting’ went viral.

While wanting to turn left, the driver used the empty righthand lane, to “slingshot” ahead of the stationary drivers, then completed a loop of the junction to exit well ahead of them.

One commenter on the video, which has clocked up over two million views, wrote: “You sir are a genius. Lucky you live in a place where people understand how to properly use a roundabout.”

Another person added: “Omg I’ve been one of the chumps sitting in traffic oblivious to the slingshots taking place next to me. Genius.”

While the move isn’t explicitly illegal, it could be seen as a misuse of lanes on the road and as such could see you hit with some points on your licence if a particularly grumpy officer were to see you pull off the move, so be careful.

This hasn’t stopped a positive response to the move on social media.

“Why would you not do this? Amazing that folks don’t know to do this,” one person wrote, while another added: “This needs to remain uncommon knowledge.”

“I’ve done this but only if I need to. if we all did it then we’d have the same problem on the other side,” another motorist opined.

So regardless of the apparent risks, it seems like it’s one of those that’s going to get more popular.

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