British people choke with laughter when they hear that we install roundabouts to ease traffic congestion. Anyone who drives through the roundabouts that infest DC knows that they are a dangerous nuisance (the roundabouts, not the British). They’re so unpleasant, in fact, that it has been suggested they were originally installed to deter and confuse any invading army.
I drive through a few every day. I hate them. I know perfectly well how to negotiate them and have done so without an accident throughout Europe as well as here at home, but nonetheless I hate them. It can be impossible to get into the correct lane to turn onto the exit you want without going around and around the stupid thing until someone lets you in.
“British people choke with laughter when they hear that we install roundabouts to ease traffic congestion. Anyone who drives through the roundabouts that infest DC knows that they are a dangerous nuisance (the roundabouts, not the British). They’re so unpleasant, in fact, that it has been suggested they were originally installed to deter and confuse any invading army.”
The ones in DC are also really odd. Take the one at Dupont circle. Its a double roundabout divided by concrete and you can only exit onto certain streets from different levels of it. Its also a roundabout with traffic lights which defeats some of the purpose of a roundabout. Personally I think that for the busiest intersections a light makes the most sense but for the smaller ones a roundabout is much more time efficient. I hate sitting there at a light after light with nobody coming in either direction. It drives me nuts.
The DC traffic circles themselves weren't built to confuse the enemy - they were built to be artillery emplacements to destroy any invader. Look at an overhead map of DC, and you'll see the circles of defense radiating out from the Capitol (NOT the White House) along the avenues.
And yeah, the DC ones are a disaster, as are most of the DC roads. I can't think of any good circles up here, but there is one in Fredericksburg behind Mary Wash hospital that's working out well.