Roundabouts are a great way to keep traffice flowing. We go to the UK every year or so, and I’m now accustomed to driving them, but I don’t see them catching on in the US. They require a certain amount discipline and skill that most American drivers lack.
Shortly after it was installed the first incident was a Sheriff's car plowing right through it.
A simple one-lane traffic circle (roundable, rotary, whatever) is easy and an efficient way to manage traffic as long as people know how to yield. But when you get into some of the big urban circles, then it breaks down. I lived outside DC for a couple years and tried to navigate a few of theirs like Dupont Circle...noooo, thank you. Absolutely terrifying.
I grew up in a small town in Virginia with no stoplights...but one traffic circle smack in the center of town. It worked great. They did add a stoplight around 1990, but it was to a different intersection. The traffic circle is still there last I heard.
}:-)4
The ones in Carmel are doing alright. If a Carmel housewife/soccer mom can handle it, anyone can.
I like em myself. And they do help keep traffic moving. It’s either those or widening roads and intersections, adding lights, etc.
The first time I ever encountered one, well, except for Indy’s “Circle” downtown, was in Grand Cayman, in a right hand drive vehicle. No sweat.
I never know when the hell to merge or change lanes, it’s confusing unless everyone uses the same rules, which in the US have never really been established, since so few places had them historically.
That, and a complete lack of engineering knowledge that even I understand (and I'm not an engineer). In my town (Rio Rancho, NM), they have installed roundabouts. They're too small for any vehicle pulling a trailer, and too small to navigate safely (no reaction time for the idiot entering without yeilding, while thinking you're the one who's supposed to stop for him).
Sometimes roundabouts are the only solution to what would otherwise be a hopelessly snarled situation and, like you having driven in Britain, I personally prefer them to the stop and go of traffic lights and stop signs. But you are very much correct about the disconnect between dealing with them and the typical American driver's skill level. A large percentage of Americans drive like they are half asleep, a side effect IMHO of the inventions of Prozac, cell phones, and the automatic transmission.
The problem I have found in St. Louis area is that the roundabouts are too narrow and usually only one lane, so they don’t work like the ones I encountered in UK.
We called them traffic circles in NJ when I was a kid...don’t know if they’re still in use or not but I always thought they were a pain in the butt.
Words of gold right there ...words of gold. In the countries that I have traveled to and lived in, most countries that do NOT have roundabouts are trying to introduce them, and most that DO have them are trying to get rid of the darn bl@@dy things. What you said is very true ....they require a certain amount of discipline. Take away that discipline and roundabouts are the worst impediment to flowing traffic this side of a Redwood tree laying across the road. You just need 2-3 drivers to think they have the right of way (and traffic rules do not necessarily apply to them), and it is gridlock like you cannot believe.
Roundabouts are a bit like minefields ...they have a purpose, but muck about and they will go psycho on you.
However I find it so interesting how the countries that do not have them are trying to get them, while those that do claim the Devil himself came up with the idea!
Roundabouts are a great way to keep traffice flowing. We go to the UK every year or so, and I’m now accustomed to driving them, but I don’t see them catching on in the US. They require a certain amount discipline and skill that most American drivers lack.
I disagree. We have a number of them in our state and are developing more each year. Great for rural roads and are well used and liked. American drivers in our state are pretty disiplined and able to manage them.
....s-l-o-w-l-e-y!
Limited access highways are a great way to keep traffic moving quickly, with minimal slowdowns. Usually.
The locals were talking about taking two 4-6 lane 45 mph roads that presently enjoy an older highway-style interchange, and turning that interchange into a traffic circle (roundabout). Presently, people that are heading straight generally maintain 45-55 mph on both roads. With a Roundabout, that would slow to a crawl as the massive amount of traffic had to yield and negotiate to get a position on the circle. We don't need more impediments to movement, we need fewer.