Ok, about time I provided my thoughts on this.
Red car is in the wrong.
Here's the relevant Victorian rules (and since the road rules have been nationalised, I assume other states are either the same or very similar in this regard) that apply in this situation. All rules available
here:
Authorised Version No. 001
Road Safety Road Rules 2017
S.R. No. 41/2017
Authorised Version as at
1 July 2017
(my bolding)
110 Meaning of halfway around a roundabout
A driver leaves a roundabout halfway around
the roundabout if the driver leaves the roundabout
on a road that is straight ahead, or substantially
straight ahead, from the road on which the driver
enters the roundabout.
111 Entering a roundabout from a multi-lane road or a
road with 2 or more lines of traffic travelling in the
same direction
(1) A driver entering a roundabout from a multi-lane
road, or a road with room for 2 or more lines of
traffic (other than motor bikes, bicycles, or
animals) travelling in the same direction as the
driver, must enter the roundabout in accordance
with this rule.
Penalty: 3 penalty units.
Note
Multi-lane road is defined in the dictionary.
(2)
If the driver is to leave the roundabout less
than halfway around it, the driver must enter
the roundabout from the left marked lane or,
if the road is not a multi-lane road, as near as
practicable to the left side of the road.
Note
Marked lane is defined in the dictionary.
Example
Example 1
Leaving a roundabout less than halfway around it
(4) If the driver is to leave the roundabout halfway
around it, the driver may enter the roundabout
from any marked lane or, if the road is not a
multi-lane road, anywhere on the part of the
road on which vehicles travelling in the same
direction as the driver may travel.
Example
Example 3
Leaving a roundabout halfway around it
(5) Despite subrules (2) to (4), if the driver is entering
the roundabout from a marked lane and there are
traffic lane arrows applying to the lane, the driver
must—
(a) if the arrows indicate a single direction—
drive in that direction after entering the
roundabout; or
(b) if the arrows indicate 2 or more directions—
drive in one of those directions after entering
the roundabout.
Examples
Example 4
Roundabout with 3 entry points
Example 5
Roundabout with 5 entry points
Notes for examples 4 and 5
1 Rule 116 requires a driver to obey traffic lane arrows
when driving in or leaving a roundabout.
2 The rules in Part 11 about driving in marked lanes,
and moving from one marked lane or line of traffic
to another marked lane or line of traffic, apply to a
driver driving in a roundabout—see rules 146 to 148.
116 Obeying traffic lane arrows when driving in or
leaving a roundabout
If a driver is driving in a marked lane in a
roundabout and there are traffic lane arrows
applying to the lane, the driver must—
(a) if the arrows indicate a single direction—
drive in or leave the roundabout in that
direction; or
(b) if the arrows indicate 2 or more directions—
drive in or leave the roundabout in one of
those directions.
Penalty: 3 penalty units.
Note
Marked lane and traffic lane arrows are defined in the
dictionary.
So, my interpretation of the above rules is that the red car should have either been in the left lane to exit onto Macquarie Rd (NE bound), as they attempted to, or exited to stay on Henderson Rd (SE bound), exited onto Macquarie Rd (SW bound) or exited onto Henderson Rd (NW bound) from the right hand lane, as they were in.
But (and there's always a but!). There's a couple of contributing factors that may have made this situation a bit murky:
The roundabout is not the 'standard' 90-degree angle 4 way roundabout. The below image shows that it may be interpreted as though the first exit (Macquarie Rd NE bound) is the 'substantially straight ahead' road as per the road rule definitions.
The sign as per this image, clarifies the situation, however.
I also think that the painted arrows on entry to the roundabout from Henderson Rd NW carriageway could be misleading. if you look at the image below, the straight ahead arrows appear to align more with the Macquarie Rd NE exit than they do with the Henderson Rd SE exit.
And, lastly, the white line marking on the exit to Macquarie Rd NE bound (as others have already pointed out) indicates that any vehicle in the left lane must exit on to Macquarie Rd NE bound. This doesn't appear to be consistent with the arrow markings, so is a potential source of confusion.
If I was to regularly travel that roundabout, and I was intending to enter and exit as per the 4wd's intentions, i would be staying in the right hand lane, as that would minimise the risk of just such an event occurring.
I find it interesting as to how many people, even on this forum where you'd expect a reasonably high level of understanding of the road rules, interpret things differently. For example, I see the number of the exit you are taking as being a reference for which lane you should be in. The road rules make no reference to exit numbers.
Hopefully at least one person gets some use out of this thread. My whole purpose of posting this was to openly discuss people's opinion and interpretations, and then provide some education to those who weren't so sure of the rules. It never hurts to refresh your understanding every now and then.