Washington, D.C., is the only large American city that I’m aware of that has a lot of circles on major streets. They are extremely complicated and dangerous.
They’re popular in New Hampshire 
There are four that I know of (undoubtably there are more than that,) the closest one just one town over. Maybe you’ve never seen them because you’ve never been to New England? There are a few in MA that I know of too.
I don’t understand why they are said to induce panic in people who see them for the first time. It’s not like something bad happens if you miss your exit, you just go 'round again.
I’ve seen the East Coast Left Turn (or whatever) in San Francisco. It’s not common, but it happens.
I’m a California boy, but I lived on the East Coast for several months. People thought I was crazy because I rolled through every stop and drove 10 mph above the speed limit.
^^^I should probably add that driving like I do is normal out here.
NJ has quite a few infamous traffic circles. As others have mentioned us yanks don’t handle them too well.
In California, it’s legal to turn right on red from a marked right turn lane that isn’t the rightmost lane. It’s also legal to turn left on red if you’re in the marked left turn lane of a one-way street and you’re turning onto another one-way street that’s flowing right to left.
There’s a place you can turn left in San Francisco?
There’s a place you can turn left in St Louis?
My brother lives near 55 and Arsenal (near the brewery) and the rule down there seems to be if you’re bigger than the other cars, you don’t have to stop. This may have something to do with the free beer, however.
I call it a St Louis stop but Ardred calls it a Boulevard stop. I don’t know why.
Thanks for the info about “traffic circles” everyone. Seems there a few around but all on the East Coast but not NYC so that would explain why I’ve never seen any in the US media.
they really aren’t that bad unless you are a cyclist, when they can be fairly terrifying. Personally the thought of a four way junction without traffic lights of some kind fills me with dread. I think they all have them here and if they were removed there would be instant carnage.
Thanks for fighting my ignorance. Carry on.
As opposed to the “Buffalo Left,” where two or three cars in the left turn lane throw themselves into the left turn immediately after the light turns red.
Actually, a fairly significant traffic circle in New York City is Columbus Circle. However, at this time all of the entrances and exits to the circle are controlled by traffic lights, so it doesn’t really have the usual traffic circle issues.
Cervaise, if you’re driving a Saturn, are they called Mars Stops?
Just a thought. California is well-known for it’s police chases. When the suspect vehicle approaches an intersection, they sometimes slow down slightly and watch for traffic, then proceed. Maybe that’s where the name came from.
Yes. You must bring your vehicle to a complete stop behind the Mars Bars.
Ow! Ow! Stop hitting me!
If you are in a Surreal World, then rolling stops are fish.
What?
PS: And SendIt? Speaking as a native Californian, it is a state, not an episode of TJ Hooker. (OJ Simpson and Rodney King spectacles notwithstanding…)
I guess that explains the earlier comments about “California Rolls” …
A few of the NJ roundabouts have been re-engineered into ‘regular’ intersections within the past few years, like the Ledgewood circle, or the one on 206 south of Bridgewater.
There is at least one here in Eugene, OR, at the intersection of Greenhill and Barger, but as far as I can tell it serves no useful purpose, since it is an area with relatively little traffic.
Confirmation: Yes, most Americans hate and fear traffic circles/roundabouts/whaddyacallems.
The California stop, as far as I know, got its name from the deeply-held belief of many Californians (like Quint Essence’s mother) that it was once actually legal to roll slowly through a stop sign. Not all Californians were so deluded, and not all those so deluded were Californians, but a lot of Californians have been caught doing it in other states, and blithely explained “Well, it’s legal in California!” (No, it isn’t, and it never was). Along with turning right on red, it was the most common spark for “this ain’t California” comments from state troopers.
Right turn on red from two right turn lanes: I do it all the time. You’d think that timed lights would make it unnecessary, but it turns out that it’s only true in the hands of a competent traffic planner.
Left turns: most places in California (that don’t have left turns lanes and signals where traffic justifies them) have an unofficial “turn after red” policy – that is, people expect two or three cars to turn left after the light changes. I have seen some “turn before green” communities here, but it’s definitely more common on the East Coast. There is some confusion when a furriner comes to town and follows the wrong rules, but it’s usually settled with some well-intentioned cursing.
I live in New Jersey, and here it’s called a California Stop. Also, you can see the “East Coast Left” at nearly any light with a left turn lane…especially near the malls.
There is a variation of the aforementioned “East Coast Left” we refer to as a “Boston Left.” Confronted with the task of making a left turn across several lanes of traffic, rather than waiting for a fully clear space, one simply pulls out when the closest lane is clear, then the next, and so on, essentially blocking oncoming traffic until one can get to one’s preferred lane.
Rude but effective.
We have those around here, but we call them “Michigan Lefts.”