[Wright is right!]

Americans are among the worst creatures of habit on the planet. Here - as it relates to driving and traffic - if you didn't grow up with it, it cannot be good. The roundabout here in Nashville seems to be working out fine - I've heard zero complaints. But, then again, it isn't in a particularly high-traffic area.

Michael

[Becki]

These "roundabouts" are very popular in Mexico, South America and Europe. They are the most confusing things I have ever seen. The right of way is not clear. You can cross 3 lanes of traffic to turn right and have the right of way. All I can say is they better not put any in Michigan!! ;^ )

Becki

[sonjay]

This article cracks me up. The writer is trying to place the blame on confused drivers:

demolished the town's only roundabout just eight months after it was installed, saying drivers found it bewildering.

Driver confusion at two roundabouts near Las Vegas

disoriented drivers smacked into each other or into the fountain

"A lot of the opposition to roundabouts comes from a very simple bias," he says. "Americans are fed a diet of speed all the way from freeways to residential streets."

The Clearwater roundabout absolutely invites crashes. It begs for them. There is NO way to drive through the roundabout without risking collision. It is the worst roadway design I've ever seen in my life.

There's a good seafood restaurant by the roundabout where the tables overlooking the roundabout are more popular than the tables overlooking the water. Watching the hapless drivers trying to navigate this stupid road has better entertainment value than watching the sunset, the boats or the dolphins playing

[Psalm 73]

"The whole world is trained to look straight ahead," says Ms. Cullen,

I was trained to look to the sides and also behind when driving, not just stare straight ahead.
If you're not aware of what's going on around you, then you are a menace on the road.

[who knows what evil?]

New Hampshire has had these for ages...what's the problem? Oh...Florida. Never mind.

[vrwinger]

I live near the Clearwater roundabout and driven through it many times without incident... The article accurately states the fountain in the middle is being removed, and much of the trouble drivers had was due to limited visibility across the roundabout as they entered it. Part of the problem, too, in Clearwater is our huge senior population and the large number of accidents they participate in driving through normal intersections. US 19 has a couple of the deadliest intersections in the country, and they are the run-of-the-mill traffic light variety.

I spent 3 weeks in Australia in1999 and drove there a little bit. Every intersection, for the most part, is a roundabout and they do just fine. The diameter of their roundabouts is much smaller than the Clearwater roundabout and they don't put anyting in the middle of them, which may make a difference. Also, everyone knows the rules: The car already in the roundabout has the right away. It seemed pretty easy to me once I got the hang of it. I also appreciated not having to sit at a red light with no traffic coming in any direction, like is often the case here in the states.

[Codybear1]

I well remember, back in the 60s, getting stuck in a gridlock in New Jersey. It seems that the Haddon Airport "circle" got completely locked up - with no cars getting either in or out of the circle.The problem is that to exit the circle, you have to wend your way from an inner lane to the outer lane - if you can. Otherwise, you keep going around, around and around. The pronblem was solved by bringing in a crane and physically lifting key cars out. Several police were walking on car hoods and directing the operation.

[PLOM...NOT!]

Ugh! Here in Howard (Green Bay) Wisconsin, they are cramming these roundabouts down our throats. We have had referendums defeating them, direct legistlation petitions to defeat them, and yet they insist on installing them in our village.
There are currently 2 roundabouts installed on a fairly rural road one right after the other which seem to work ok when there's no other traffic around. However, during peak traffic times, people have complained it takes forever to get through them, and semi-trucks/delivery trucks have difficulty getting through them without running down the center core of it because of the tight radius.
Roundabouts be damned!

[TADSLOS]

National Lampoon's European Vacation - "Look Kids, the Parliament...again".

[Redcloak]

The circles' defenders claim they are safer than typical intersections, since drivers are forced to navigate slowly.

Sticking a few "Battlebots" hazards into an intersection would slow things down, but I wouldn't recommend them either!

[Fresh Wind]

New Jersey used to have loads of these nightmares and has been gradually eliminating them, one of the few good things I can say about NJ. I remember one beauty in Trenton which was sort of down in a pit with high stone walls around it. Every time I went through there, I felt like I was swirling around in a giant toilet. Now, I never go into Trenton, so that solves the problem.

[FairWitness]

"The whole world is trained to look straight ahead," says Ms. Cullen, who sets up promotional displays for Hilton Hotels Corp. "Now they've got us trying to stare around curves?"

When my kids were learning to drive one of the things I told them is that, in my opinion, the most dangerous place to drive is in a half-full parking lot. Cars can come at you from any direction, including through empty spaces in rows of parked cars.

[Desertrat6]

The Texas Highway Department, by the 1960s, had gotten rid of numerous traffic circles in the northeastern part of the state--due to higher than expected accident rates. These circles were regarded for decades with a mix of amusement and horror.

Isn't it nice to know that the Brilliant Minds of the 21st Century can re-onvent the hazards of the 1930s? 'Rat