The first time I drove in the UK, it was the roundabouts that scared me. Driving on the left was no big deal. Those roundabouts, however, were scary! But after driving for a while, I was surprised how quickly I learned the rules. These days, I’m a big fan of roundabouts where people are familiar with them. It’s wonderful to avoid all the stopping and backups you get at traffic lights.
I’ve often wondered if they’d work well in the U.S. There doesn’t seem to be any reason why U.S. drivers couldn’t learn to navigate roundabouts. They can’t be all that hard if I could figure them out. However, a lot of U.K. driving practices don’t seem to work so well over here. For instance, I’m always amazed when I drive on the UK motorways and see cars pulls over into the slower lane to let faster traffic by.
It’s a pretty simple concept: if you’re not going faster than traffic, pull into the slower lane and let faster drivers by. Sure, some people do that on U.S. highways. However, you’re just as likely to come up behind my mother who insists on avoiding the right lane (the slow lane) regardless of her speed because she gets scared of merging traffic. :rolleyes:
Well, no… this particular Yank started this thread in the first place because I think roundabouts may be a better system. Maybe I just got lucky in terms of where and when I drove, but overall I’m sold.
I agree completely. One was installed near where my parents live, replacing a four-way stop at a big, funky intersection where sometimes the major traffic flow is east-west and sometimes it’s north-south and sometimes it’s both, and nobody ever knew whose turn it was. When I first saw it, I said, “Whoa.” After I went through, I thought, “That’s the perfect solution for this intersection, but it’s going to take a while before people get used to it.” (And in keeping with Excalibre’s comment, there’s almost no foot traffic there. It’s all cars.)
Naturally, everybody in the area freaked out at first, because it’s different, and all good Americans know that different means bad. (Partly :rolleyes:, and partly ;).) After the first year, though, it looks like people are getting used to it, and traffic flow through that intersection is much, much smoother than it’s ever been. I suspect that if given the choice, a majority would elect to switch back, but they wouldn’t feel as strongly now as they would have at first. But give it a couple more years, and they won’t want to change.
Well yes… you see when I said every Yank I know what I meant by that was - well you know, people that I know. I didn’t mean to imply you. Sorry for the ambiguity…
I think that Magic Roundabout thing was designed to kill off the slower and stupider tourists.
Seriously, though, I notice it was biult in the seventies. Does it still work well? I notice that there are two main ways to get through it for each entry and exit point. Did they double it to handle greater traffic volume? And don’t people get stuck on the inner circle?
Your first link there actually kills my argument, as I wasn’t aware that traffic circles and roundabouts aren’t the same thing, and was thinking of circles when I answered. Looking at the pictures and explanations they provided, I think I might actually be inclined to go for roundabouts. Score another anti-ignorance victory for **GorillaMan **
Do we have roundabouts, or merely traffic circles? My least favorite circle in all existence is the one near Pawcatuck, RI. Followed closely by the one at Hammonassett, which is 2 lanes.
Okay… Lets have a go at this:
[http://roundabout.kittelson.com/]This](
[url) link describes pretty well what is and isn’t a roundabout.
The two main features of a modern roundabout are the initial deflection and the idea of yeilding to the left instead of to the right. Its pretty simple once you get those rules down. In most countries they work pretty well.
They are SAFER. While I can’t remember the figures, it only seems like common sense. The deflection requires you to slow down. Even if the intersection is empty you have to slow down to take the curve. Compare this with a trafic light where it is almost encouraged to speed up to make a yellow light, etc. Also there is no possibility of a 90 degree collision. The possible angle of a collision is, at most, 45 degrees. There are certainly less serious accidents at roundabouts because people have to slow down and the angle of any collision is likely to be much less. It isn’t a modern roundabout if you can speed through the intersection without slowing down. I’ve seen the “Trafic Circle” in New orleans, and it certainly isn’t anything like a roundabout. I can’t remember the trafic flow exactly, but it certainly is a trafic circle.
I like roundabouts in certain situations. At my university back home in the US there is a four-lane highway and an overpass road. Every morning I have to take this four-lane highway and merge onto the two-lane overpass road to get to school. Usually the trafic is backed up down the ramp and often into the highway from this overpass road. Why is this? Because on this overpass road there is a four-way stop with another road that is rarely used at this time of the morning. This would be the perfect spot for a roundabout. Space is not an issue here. What I don’t like are the huge 7-lane roundabouts in some large cities. That is too complicated for me.
Also, if I drove into the Magic Roundabout there would almost certainly be an accident! I couldn’t drive on the left, much less navigate something like that.
Once you get the hang of them they work pretty well. If the roundabout has a large enough road you can usually tell where someone is going. If they are staying on they will be on the inside, if they are getting off the’ll get on the outside.
I learned to drive in Canberra which had roundabouts long before the rest of Australia and they became second nature to me. I think they work wonderfully but my opinion may be coloured by the fact that I have been run into 3 times at traffic lights but never on a roundabout.
I love 'em. I hate lights now because we had a lot of them in my old town, and you could just go straight through a lot of the time. But people do need to know how to use them… In our learner tests here they ask you maybe a couple of questions about roundabouts, so everyone knows what to do.
What I also love and there should be more of, are the TURN LEFT AT ANY TIME WITH CARE signs. Brilliant invention. Of course, if you’re in America, substitute left with right.
Also, I imagine roundabouts would be a lot more cost-effective? No maintenence… (unless they put a fancy garden etc in the middle) no electricity to run.
If America learnt to use them they would be great over there.
Brisbane needs a lot more roundabouts than they have. What’s the point of 5 lights on Coronation Drive? I don’t know. What’s the point of 5 lights on Moggil Road? I don’t know. Maybe to just piss me off?
When I lived in Buffalo, the wise leaders of the city decided to reinstate the original Olmsted-designed traffic circles. They worked beautifully. Buses and snowplowes had no problem with them. I did see a tractor trailer have some trouble, but the circles are in residential areas so I’m not sure why it was there in the first place. The biggest problem was getting people to continue driving in the circle and not come to a full and complete stop at each entering street. :smack:
But, now I’m at Emory University and they are considering changing a 5-way light to a traffic circle. This is a very bad idea. First, Atlantans will never figure it out and they will die trying to find out just how fast one can drive through a traffic circle. Add to that the fact that at least half of the traffic of that intersection is pedestrian and it’s an accident waiting to happen. I’m praying that they won’t go through with the plan.
This is my first post to SDMB! I’m so excited to have found the smart people on the web!
