roundabout VS 4-way

[AViking]

They're great, rare, and cities need to actually take the time to teach people who to drive in them.

 

[destrekor]

The reason why Americans fail at roundabouts is because they can't take corners.

True, I see it all the time.

Care to explain?

 

[Vdubchaos]

I like roundabouts, CT implemented # of them on Route 80 and I really like them.

 

[lupi]

The only thing worse than roundabouts is retarded ass jersey and those stupid jughandles or whatever those stupid things are called.

 

[notposting]

I don't like that there appear to be different versions of them.

Some of them are just a big circle with a couple lanes and you can change lanes and heck, you could circle the thing all day if you wanted.

Others have "lanes" so you stay in your lane and go straight through, for example. But this means you basically "cross" the lane to the right of you, if someone thinks they are in one of the above style.

Also, humanity, morons, etc etc.

 

[Imp]

They are starting to install michigan lefts in my fair city. I know why Detroit is dying.

Roundabouts are awesome. Naturally, my fair city screwed them up. They built roundabouts but then put stop signs all around.

Might be a good idea considering that confused people would probably panic with a yield sign and plow through the middle or turn left.

 

[Gooberlx2]

They recently redid an intersection by my house and I was hoping for a round about but they put in michigan lefts instead. Yield > stop

LOL, totally the worst option.

 

[Atomic Playboy]

There are only a couple roundabouts in my city and all of them are all-way stops. We can't be trusted to merge properly.

 

[notposting]

Might be a good idea considering that confused people would probably panic with a yield sign and plow through the middle or turn left.

AAAAAHHHH WHAT DO I DO WHAT DO I DO *close eyes, mash gas pedal*

 

[z1ggy]

Indiana has been putting in a lot of roundabouts. There are about 15 near me. The problem is that they put large obstacles in the center of the roundabout. This makes it impossible to see if some jackass is going 40 mph around the roundabout before you enter it.

This has lead to quite a few accidents near my house where people are entering the roundabout from a road where the speed limit is 55mph. They just whip around and anyone opposite of the large hill from them has no idea they are there.

On top of this there is the unfamiliarity with the round about. I've almost been hit head on 6 times now by elderly folk who don't know how to use a roundabout. I've also been in a long argument with a man who thought those in the roundabout yield to him (I'm still not sure how he figured this one...).

Overall, I'd much rather have a 4 way stop.

These people will be dead within the next 10-20 yrs. By that time, everybody should know to how operate in them properly, and traffic will move much much quicker.

 

[Colt45]

We're starting to get a few of them around here. My biggest complaint is idiots signalling improperly. either signalling on the way in and leaving it on the whole way around, or just not signalling prior to exiting.

kinda slows the whole thing down if you can't trust people to signal.

 

[randay]

lets start with a 3-way first and see how that goes.

 

[Triumph]

Love roundabouts. Studies have shown that increasing the apparent difficulty of a roundabout actually increases safety for the simple reason that it forces people to *gasp!* pay attention! Roundabouts shake clueless texting drivers out of their stupor. And the best thing is, if shit goes wrong, many less T bone collisions, worst that will usually happen is a sideswipe.

Multi lane roundabouts are also great for passing slow pokes.

 

[Aikouka]

We had a sort of large one back in New York (used to call it the "traffic circle" when I was younger), but they eventually built an overpass because no one understood how to use it properly. I barely ever had to drive on it myself, but I recall my mom complaining about people darting across lanes to get to their exit. Don't they realize that it's a circle and they can just go around again fairly painlessly?

We have a few of them down here, and I haven't really had any issues yet. Although, they are fairly small roundabouts compared to the one that I mentioned above.

I've also been in a long argument with a man who thought those in the roundabout yield to him (I'm still not sure how he figured this one...).

Quite a few roundabouts that I've been to actually put yield signs at each roundabout entrance! The one that I posted above uses triangles on the roadway, which also means yield.

 

[cronos]

They are starting to install michigan lefts in my fair city. I know why Detroit is dying.

Roundabouts are awesome. Naturally, my fair city screwed them up. They built roundabouts but then put stop signs all around.

Lol. Fail!

 

[dank69]

lets start with a 3-way first and see how that goes.

The more the merrier.

 

[Ichinisan]

I don't like that there appear to be different versions of them.

Some of them are just a big circle with a couple lanes and you can change lanes and heck, you could circle the thing all day if you wanted.

Others have "lanes" so you stay in your lane and go straight through, for example. But this means you basically "cross" the lane to the right of you, if someone thinks they are in one of the above style.

Also, humanity, morons, etc etc.

That center "lane" probably isn't a lane. It's a buffer that makes it possible for tractor trailers to go through.

 

[Lonyo]

Lol. Fail!

Fail is when you build a large roundabout, so that people will enter without necessarily being able to check their exit, then on two of the exits put pedestrian crossings with traffic lights close to the exit.

That way pedestrians will cause a red light just after the exit, where you can queue around 2~5 cars, and then block up the exits to the roundabout, to make sure traffic gets massively screwed up as people who have a clear exit can't enter because someone else's exit isn't clear, but they went onto the roundabout anyway and are now blocking it.

 

[DrPizza]

The city I formerly lived in has proposed a roundabout at one of the main intersections. You wouldn't believe how many people are protesting the idea.

My idea: put in a roundabout. After people have had a month to get used to it, station a few dozen police officers around it. If they see someone doing it wrong - sorry, while we give away licenses like they come out of cracker jack boxes, you don't know how to drive. License revoked until you take a drivers ed course for idiot adults.

 

[zinfamous]

Here in Berkeley, a lot of the small, off-roads have "roundabouts"--basically a barrier in the middle of the tiny intersection--as well as 4-way stops for the same intersection.

....I have no idea what they were thinking.

 

[BoomerD]

The city of Modesto was changing lots of 4-way stop intersections to roundabouts when we moved.
Kitsap county has a shit-ton of them...

Both kinds of intersections work fine...as long as people pay attention and use them in the manner they were designed.

(unfortunately, there's always some fucking idiot who seems to ignore the "rules" and drives like he/she is too important to wait his/her turn)

 

[lozina]

the trade-off is they take more real estate

 

[LTC8K6]

Typically they install a roundabout and then too many morons don't know what yield means, so then you get stop signs.

I love the free flowing ones with the yield signs, we have a couple near me, but some people are just dangerous in them.

 

[ElFenix]

problem with 4 way intersections is that when they're not light-controlled most people have no idea what to do. *zomg there's more than one other car at this intersection at the same time and the traffic light is out CHAOS so i'll just go when the car in front of me goes!*


it's really not that hard to pay attention when you get to the intersection and see who's been there longer than you. all of them get to go before you do. but people can't figure that out.

 

[Zeze]

the trade-off is they take more real estate

And more $$$

And requires skill to properly merge in and get off the roundabout properly.

Us stupid Americans can't be trusted.