# Roundabouts **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 30, 2015, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roundabouts/736145 "2015-10-30T02:24:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2015, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roundabouts/736145/41 "2015-10-30T21:51:15Z")
> [@stillownedbysetters](#): > > The attitude is mostly - I get to go full speed ahead and the rest of you need to get out of my way. Ergo, the darn things are dangerous, so I usually avoid them. Sounds like most of the attitude I the seen in everything on the road. Better you avoid driving or even walking on one, not just roundabouts. ---
**Author:** ![Lowdown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c57346/32.png) [@Lowdown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lowdown)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2015, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roundabouts/736145/42 "2015-10-30T21:54:26Z")
A few years ago they started putting them in all over the place around here. I think they’re okay. I’d like them a lot better if dumbasses could figure out how to navigate them. Many people will hit them fine, others seem to have a panic attack when they encounter one. ---
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2015, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roundabouts/736145/43 "2015-10-30T23:14:48Z")
Even though the roundabout is great, it did take some getting used [to](http://imgur.com/sCCQzzP). 😃 No one was hurt ---
**Author:** ![Sarabellum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarabellum/32/3492_2.png) [@Sarabellum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarabellum)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2015, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roundabouts/736145/44 "2015-10-30T23:21:35Z")
They’ve been building them like crazy around North Texas lately. We always had a handful of them in Fort Worth, though you rarely see roundabouts in Texas. I have no idea why. Are they getting a tax deduction for road projects if they include a roundabout? They’re popping up in very unlikely places. I don’t have serious hate for them, and I do think they can be an improvement over stop signs in some cases. Still find them weird, though. ---
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2015, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roundabouts/736145/45 "2015-10-30T23:33:03Z")
they have been popping up like weeds around where I live lately. They’re not bad, but for tractor-trailers they are the pits. It’s starting to get to the point where some places are inaccessible without going through at least one. I see a lot of fuel and pollution savings being wiped out by maintenance and repair costs from big rigs going through them and dragging the trailer over parts of the middle since they are too small. ---
**Author:** ![CoastalMaineiac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e8c25b/32.png) [@CoastalMaineiac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoastalMaineiac)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roundabouts/736145/46 "2015-10-31T05:47:41Z")
We used to have maybe half a dozen or so rotaries in Maine, but they have been adding modern roundabouts within the past decade or so. We probably have close to 20 or so, if you count the rotaries and roundabouts together. I count them together, because in Maine, both operate under the exact same rules; the only difference is a roundabout makes you slow down to enter, whereas most rotaries allow you to keep going full speed. We have very few of the multiple-lane variety. When I learned to drive, the closest rotaries to learn on were in Augusta, which were two-lane circles. I didn’t even get the luxury of practicing on a single lane circle first. They were intimidating at first. Intimidation then gave way to annoyance, but annoyance eventually gave way to wondering why the heck they even use traffic lights in any area where a rotary would fit. After you get used to them, you start to resent the amount of your time (and gas from idling) wasted waiting at red lights. Best trick I can think of is to watch where people are in relation to the center island. If they start to pull away from the island, toward the road you’re coming in from, that’s you’re chance; you can usually go as they exit. And a word of wisdom: yield to traffic in _all_ lanes of the circle, not just the one you want to use. In other words, someone being in the left lane is not an invitation for you to pull in alongside like you would at a freeway entrance. Just don’t do it; it is a failure to yield the right-of-way, and can lead to a crash if your exit is further around than the the other driver’s, or if you both want the same exit, but there’s only one exit lane. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roundabouts/736145/47 "2015-10-31T06:11:23Z")
Plans were just announced to install traffic circles in a suburb outside Little Rock. > **[City of Bryant to give traffic circles a whirl in November](https://katv.com/news/local/city-of-bryant-to-give-traffic-circles-a-whirl-in-november)** > > The City of Bryant has been receiving numerous complaints about people speeding in neighborhoods, and only pausing at stop signs at busy intersections. At this week's city council meeting, they talked about replacing some of those intersections with... I’ve never driven through one. Traffic circles seem to be the new thing and I’ll eventually encounter one. Sure hope they are well marked. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roundabouts/736145/48 "2015-10-31T06:50:42Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > I think there are also a couple of variants of priority (not absolutely sure if these correlate with roundabout vs circle thoough) - that is: > > Traffic in the system has right of way (you give way on entering) > \*\*Traffic entering the system has right of way (traffic already going around has to give way) > > The latter case sounds to me like the dumbest thing ever, but I believe it’s out there.\*\* Yes, I’ve heard of those too. Really, WTF? ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roundabouts/736145/49 "2015-10-31T06:50:55Z")
> [@CoastalMaineiac](#): > > Intimidation then gave way to annoyance, but annoyance eventually gave way to wondering why the heck they even use traffic lights in any area where a rotary would fit. After you get used to them, you start to resent the amount of your time (and gas from idling) wasted waiting at red lights. If there’s a heavy flow of traffic entering the circle clockwise of you to exit counterclockwise, you can get stuck at a circle far longer than any light cycle. ---
**Author:** ![TheChileanBlob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thechileanblob/32/435_2.png) [@TheChileanBlob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheChileanBlob)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roundabouts/736145/50 "2015-10-31T07:32:42Z")
> [@Spud](#): > > The first one I remember was on Hilton Head Island and I kind of freaked out the first time… now I smoothly move through them with hardly a thought. Same here. We were on vacation and I only had my learner’s permit and I was practicing driving. We came on the roundabout suddenly and I didn’t even know they were a thing. I was like :eek: and had to pull over immediately after and let my dad drive. ---
**Author:** ![HowSoonIsThen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e56c9b/32.png) [@HowSoonIsThen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HowSoonIsThen)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roundabouts/736145/51 "2015-10-31T08:04:31Z")
I love roundabouts. My biggest gripe is that so many people round here (Sydney) seem to think that you’re supposed to give way to your right. No, you give way to those already on the roundabout if there is a risk of collision. If you get on the roundabout before the person on your right, you have right of way. Of course, if it’s obvious the person on your right has no intention of stopping, don’t risk them crashing into you. And there’s also the people who treat them like stop signs. And people who on double lane roundabouts turn right from the left lane. In short, roundabaouts are awesome. The people who use them aren’t. And I’m a perfect driver who has never made a mistake ever. ---
**Author:** ![CoastalMaineiac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e8c25b/32.png) [@CoastalMaineiac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoastalMaineiac)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roundabouts/736145/52 "2015-10-31T14:12:34Z")
> [@Peremensoe](#): > > If there’s a heavy flow of traffic entering the circle clockwise of you to exit counterclockwise, you can get stuck at a circle far longer than any light cycle. The heavy flow is seldom continuous, though. Someone will eventually come along from _their_ left and stop them. This [Youtube video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PirgrfzDRBY) gives a good example of when you can go at a roundabout, but it is British, so you’d have to reverse left and right to apply it to American roundabouts. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roundabouts/736145/53 "2015-10-31T14:50:57Z")
> [@catflea12](#): > > there must have been a really good roundabout salesman going through the Midwest in the last few years, roundabouts are popping up all over. (Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, and Missouri.) You said it. I’m a Kansan, Topekan to be specific, and I hate the modern roundabouts that are being put in. Oddly enough there is one old residential neighborhood in Topeka that used to be a smaller town, that has traffic circles. The streets are wide, and in several intersections there aresmall, circular lawns. To go left one must drive around the circle 3/4’s of the way, not just head left 1/4 of the way. It’s said these were put in place in the horse and buggy days, because younger guys would race their carriages on the wide streets. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roundabouts/736145/54 "2015-10-31T14:57:01Z")
> [@CoastalMaineiac](#): > > The heavy flow is seldom continuous, though. Someone will eventually come along from _their_ left and stop them. > This [Youtube video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PirgrfzDRBY) gives a good example of when you can go at a roundabout, but it is British, so you’d have to reverse left and right to apply it to American roundabouts. [this roundabout](https://www.google.com/maps/@42.6016673,-83.030802,428m/data=!3m1!1e3) was a godsend when they built it. Morning and afternoon traffic was hellacious because of the M-53 traffic meeting Van Dyke. even getting through it coming from the lightly-traveled 18-1/2 Mile road is easy. also, I’m not sure how widespread it is, but we’ve started building them [like this](https://www.google.com/maps/@42.5545663,-83.4481182,301m/data=!3m1!1e3) where traffic turning right can bypass the roundabout entirely. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roundabouts/736145/55 "2015-10-31T15:58:06Z")
> [@Mr\_Shine](#): > > Here we have a [roundabout of roundabouts.](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-19726385) (It’s quite simple really, but looks indimidating) I can only guess that the purpose of this design is to give you two alternative ways to reach the exit you want. But why? And is this actually better than a regular design? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roundabouts/736145/56 "2015-10-31T16:42:24Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > Lots of places are putting them in. They’re “traffic calming”; they’re faster than traditional traffic lights. They’re touted as being at least the second greatest thing since sliced bread. > …& then there’s Fucking New Jersey; had 'em for years; actively removing them. :smack: > Of course in FNJ, to turn left, you go [right](http://www.app.com/story/news/traffic/2014/07/29/nj-jughandles-stay/13313305/). Grrrr! They just added a small circle near me in front of the local college. It is working great. Many older large circles are being reworked or removed as what worked into the 70s no longer work with today’s traffic load, but at the same time small circles have been added to help out. The jug handles you are cursing works well compared to left turns for the bulk of traffic, I know it is different and therefore worthy of cursing but seriously, look into the traffic studies and the NJ jug handles seem to be supported. We are the most densely populated state in the US. We have more cars and roads per square mile. It is a very congested state. We keep experimenting and trying to fix the serious traffic issues that New Jersey has. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roundabouts/736145/57 "2015-10-31T17:04:43Z")
> [@CoastalMaineiac](#): > > The heavy flow is seldom continuous, though. Someone will eventually come along from _their_ left and stop them. No, with certain configurations of highway ramps, dense residential zoning on a particular side, and morning rush-hour commuter flow getting on in a particular direction, there is really very little chance. Yes, I have a particular spot in mind, where I have gotten caught a couple times, waited waited waited waited, and finally had to make a technically-illegal back-away-turn-around move, and then detour a couple miles. What used to be an ordinary T-intersection has become a conditional one-way road; you can use it if you’re going with the rush-hour flow in the morning, but not if you want to go the opposite way. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roundabouts/736145/58 "2015-10-31T17:19:57Z")
> [@Spud](#): > > I know they have been common over seas for a long time, but they are just now starting to take hold in the US. I’ve seen a few others on the east coast. Anyone else have experience with them. New England has had them all my life and probably well before that. To me they’re just normal. I was taught how to navigate them in driver’s ed and of course knew (theoretically) how they worked since earliest childhood due to being in car as a passenger while other people drove around them. The fact that there are ones out there where the traffic in the circle yields to entering cars is disturbing, though. I thought it was a joke the first time someone told me that they worked that way where they lived. ---
**Author:** ![Spud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spud/32/347_2.png) [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roundabouts/736145/59 "2015-10-31T18:20:15Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > The fact that there are ones out there where the traffic in the circle yields to entering cars is disturbing, though. I thought it was a joke the first time someone told me that they worked that way where they lived. I agree… I’ve never heard of these and it seems like it would totally counter any benefit of the roundabout. You yield to the traffic already in the circle… if you are in the circle, you don’t stop because you have the right of way. Pretty simple and easy. Having someone yield who is in the circle seems like it could easily back up and cause grid lock. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roundabouts/736145/60 "2015-10-31T18:29:01Z")
I like them for smaller roads. They are much nicer than stop signs and traffic lights in most cases. But I don’t care for them on large, crowded roads. Once their capacity is exceeded, they are frustrating as all get-out, and the really big, multi-lane (more than 2 lanes) ones scare me. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roundabouts/736145.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roundabouts/736145.md?page=4)