# Roundabout hysteria **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 4, 2026, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roundabout-hysteria/1028186 "2026-03-04T07:29:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2026, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roundabout-hysteria/1028186/61 "2026-03-04T18:38:08Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > If you get rid of traffic lights and replace them with traffic circles you eliminate the platoons and traffic just flows continuously, which means you don’t need as many lanes to handle the same number of cars. There’s a major roundabout near my parents’ house, where they only halfway applied this solution, and it leads to a mess. It’s on a four-lane road, which was moderately busy in the past, but which has become _very_ busy over the last decade, due to a bunch of new retail and restaurants being built along it. The roundabout is about 300 yards north of a highway interchange; there are stoplights on the road on either side of the interchange (controlling the entrance/exit ramps), and another stoplight about 500 yards further south. During afternoon rush hour (yes, Green Bay actually has a rush hour 😉 ), southbound traffic on that road backs up massively, due to the stoplights, to the point that stopped/waiting traffic backs up into, and past, the big roundabout. Any other time of day, it’s not bad, but it’s an area that I avoid like the plague in late afternoon. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2026, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roundabout-hysteria/1028186/62 "2026-03-04T18:39:01Z")
_Roundabout hysteria_ is the name of my next band. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2026, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roundabout-hysteria/1028186/63 "2026-03-04T18:39:59Z")
> [@Frodo](#): > > _Roundabout hysteria_ is the name of my next band Bonus points if you play cover versions of Yes and Def Leppard songs! ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2026, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roundabout-hysteria/1028186/64 "2026-03-04T18:45:38Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > There’s a major roundabout near my parents’ house, where they only halfway applied this solution, and it leads to a mess. Yes, I did forget to mention that in order for this solution to work, you have to eliminate _all_ the traffic lights. If you leave any in there then it disrupts the traffic flow, and traffic goes back to the “platoon” flow, and it leads to the mess you described. ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2026, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roundabout-hysteria/1028186/65 "2026-03-04T18:48:13Z")
> [@ricepad](#): > > controlling speeds without undue consequences > [@LSLGuy](#): > > One of the side effects of putting roundabouts on the sorta main roads through subdivisions is “traffic calming” = speed limitation. This is the main reason the city of Boulder, Co started installing roundabouts a few decades ago. Their biggest issue was, and still is, that there are few non-neighborhood options for east/west travel in the city. Instead of optimizing the existing main roads so drivers will prefer them, the plan was (and is) to make driving more annoying, so people will get out of their cars. The bit of irony is that the traffic-calming roundabouts are more efficient than the previous 2- and 4-way stop sign controlled intersections they replaced, making the neighborhood routes better for driving. I think they do manage to keep people’s speeds down, which was one of the goals. As far as I’m aware, the big objection that the roundabouts would make it impossible for large emergency vehicles to quickly access those neighborhoods never happened. Mostly because even when going full lights and siren, I doubt a firetruck is going to be driving much faster than the speed limit on these 25MPH streets. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2026, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roundabout-hysteria/1028186/66 "2026-03-04T18:54:23Z")
The majority of my roundabout experiences have been in New Zealand and Australia, which meant driving on the “wrong” side of the road. I got used to them after a fashion but even after a couple of weeks I still approached them with some anxiety. My last trip I only got honked at 5 or 6 times. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2026, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roundabout-hysteria/1028186/67 "2026-03-04T19:00:01Z")
I’ve talked about this before on YouTube and people thought I was being a troll. In my opinion roundabouts are the worst thing ever invented. They’re confusing and slow traffic. If you want proof, you’ll hardly find anyone who has anything nice to say about Washington DC traffic. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2026, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roundabout-hysteria/1028186/68 "2026-03-04T19:07:08Z")
> [@furryman](#): > > If you want proof, you’ll hardly find anyone who has anything nice to say about Washington DC traffic. I thought DC had [traffic circles, not roundabouts](https://www.washingtoncountymn.gov/DocumentCenter/View/2296/Traffic-Circles-vs-Roundabouts). ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2026, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roundabout-hysteria/1028186/69 "2026-03-04T19:08:20Z")
Sorry I didn’t realize there was a difference. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2026, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roundabout-hysteria/1028186/70 "2026-03-04T19:09:24Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > It was just a Monty Python joke. I guess not everyone is an MP fan, although most of the people here at the Dope are. Oh, I know the joke, and I am a MP fan. It just didn’tt seem helpful in context. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2026, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roundabout-hysteria/1028186/71 "2026-03-04T19:12:26Z")
> [@furryman](#): > > Sorry I didn’t realize there was a difference. The terms tend to get used interchangeably, IME, and I didn’t realize that there was a difference, either, until a few years ago (probably pointed out by someone here on the SDMB). There’s a circle four blocks from my house, which is nicknamed “Eight Corners,” as four streets (a N-S, an E-W, a NW-SE, and a NE-SW) all converge there. It’s absolutely a traffic circle, as the inflowing streets hit the circle at a 90-degree angle (as per the left-side picture in @Q.Q.Switcheroo 's link), with stop signs where each street intersects with the circle. ---
**Author:** ![ricepad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2026, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roundabout-hysteria/1028186/72 "2026-03-04T19:16:21Z")
> [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > traffic circles, not roundabouts I did not realize that the Federal Highway Administration recognizes different forms of circular intersections under different names, and roundabouts are similar to but different from traffic circles. > **[00067.pdf](https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/safety/00067/00067.pdf)** > > 4.76 MB ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2026, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roundabout-hysteria/1028186/73 "2026-03-04T19:19:05Z")
Great cite there @ricepad! Although I bet there are a lot of folk taxonomies out there that define “traffic circle”, roundabout", and “rotary” differently than DoT does. I have to say that IME the useability of circular intersections regardless of terminology declines as the number of lanes increase. One lane = easy; two lanes = challenging; 3+ lanes = fender bender Central. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2026, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roundabout-hysteria/1028186/74 "2026-03-04T19:33:15Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > Forever and ever it was the car on the right had the right of way, or the car that got to the intersection first had the right of way. I am going to fight you on both of these contentions. 1. _The car on the right had the right of way._ Huh? I don’t even know where you are getting this from. Unless you are talking about if both vehicles arrive at the intersection at the same time, then the one on the right proceeds first. If that is what you are referring to, then see point 2: 2. _The car that got to the intersection first had the right of way._ This is still the case with the roundabout. the car that is already circling when you arrive to the roundabout does, indeed, have the right of way. mmm ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2026, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roundabout-hysteria/1028186/75 "2026-03-04T19:41:11Z")
I agree with your facts. But as to #2, the common POV of the untrained driver is not that it’s who got to the overall roundabout first that determines right of way. But rather who will get to any particular entry point first, whether arriving from a radial road or by circulating around the roundabout to it. So If I’m on a radial road heading towards a roundabout and I see someone circulating and I calculate I’ll get to the point of collision before they do, I have the right of way. I’ll be there first, and furthermore I’ll be on the right. So the circulator should slow and give way to me as I enter. Now the above is legally wrong. But it’s logical and consistent with all non-roundabout driving experience. So that’s what drivers typically think until they’re retrained otherwise, or are confronted with a stop or yield sign at the radial’s entrance to the circulator to override their mistaken notion of right of way at an otherwise uncontrolled intersection. Said another way, untrained inexperienced people tend to think of a roundabout as 4 separate uncontrolled T intersections. ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2026, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roundabout-hysteria/1028186/76 "2026-03-04T19:51:58Z")
Yes, acquisition of additional land for the right-of-way generally exceeds costs of creating signalized intersections. Understand that installation of roundabouts is typically initiated as a reaction to traffic management challenges and associated negative impacts. This means the intersection is typically already in existence and needs to be redesigned. These intersections are often in fairly well-developed areas when the need is first identified. Municipalities can acquire the land necessary through the process of eminent domain. However, any lands thus acquired must be paid “just compensation” which usually means fair market value. Municipalities tend (but not always) to err on the side of being generous when acquiring land through eminent domain. As mentioned previously roundabouts are often constructed in well developed areas. Developed land tends to command premium property values, and consequently the costs can very quickly escalate. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2026, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roundabout-hysteria/1028186/77 "2026-03-04T19:53:31Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > One of those two also has a traffic light approaching it from either end of the main road; there is _no_ intersection at that traffic light but there is a sign on the light about “Light controls flow into the circle” What is the point of having the ‘efficiency’ a circle if they still need a traffic light to maintain that efficiency? > [@WildaBeast](#): > > If you get rid of traffic lights and replace them with traffic circles you eliminate the platoons and traffic just flows continuously, which means you don’t need as many lanes to handle the same number of cars. Then why do they have lights specifically metering traffic into the circle? ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2026, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roundabout-hysteria/1028186/78 "2026-03-04T19:59:38Z")
> [@Napier](#): > > What threw me was a figure 8 traffic circle. I’d just freeze up. Thankfully, they’ve removed the center part, so now it’s just an elongated regular traffic circle. If you don’t mind, could you tell me where this was. > [@Spiderman](#): > > > [@dtilque](#): > > > > As an example of what I’m talking about, see the comments in this Facebook post > > Please don’t put links to paywalled articles. Anyone who doesn’t view FB can’t view things there, I don’t have an FB account and I could see the comments just fine. There are limits to what I can do, but it’s not totally shut off. > [@wolfpup](#): > > Requiring vehicles in the roundabout to yield sounds horrendously unsafe and it’s probably a case where a roundabout was a very bad idea. More likely that it’s an old circular intersection. They didn’t always have the yield-to-traffic-in-the-circle rule. That wasn’t invented until about 1966. > [@wolfpup](#): > > Also true. The one near me is at the intersection of a residential through street that has fairly little traffic and another street that has hardly any traffic at all. The roundabout really seems to be there mainly for decoration, and an excuse for the city to plant shrubs and flowers and raise property taxes. This is probably just a traffic calming circle, not a roundabout. Those are mainly to slow traffic because people were speeding through the residential area. > [@Yllaria](#): > > Unsafe speeds and roundabouts do not mix well, even with no other traffic. You want extreme examples, try googling for \>\> 100 mph roundabout \<\<. There have been a few times when someone has hit one at that speed. The one I’m familiar with was in the desert in southern California, but I saw some links to at least one other. > [@Frodo](#): > > _Roundabout hysteria_ is the name of my next band. I’m honored. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2026, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roundabout-hysteria/1028186/79 "2026-03-04T20:17:01Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > …who will get to any particular entry point first OK, that makes sense. My position on roundabouts is that I much prefer them to intersections _when everyone involved knows what they’re doing._ As you might imagine, I usually don’t like them. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2026, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roundabout-hysteria/1028186/80 "2026-03-04T20:26:48Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > > [@PatrickLondon](#): > > > > Don’t you have pre-emptive signage to show which exit leads where before you actually reach the roundabout? > > Not here. There are relatively few roundabouts in San Francisco, and I can’t recall any that had that kind of signage. I recall seeing some that were signed that way in the Palm Springs area. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roundabout-hysteria/1028186.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roundabout-hysteria/1028186.md?page=5)