Roundabouts in the US

This is interesting. What do our US tropers think about roundabouts as opposed to four-way stops and whatever else that you might use instead? Roundabouts are a very regular feature of roads here - especially for me, as I am from the Milton Keynes area (Milton Keynes is a city built in the 60's that uses a US-style grid layout but with roundabouts).

They are evil incarnate.

Fortunately, the idiotic civil planner for our city knew to keep them off the main roads. The tend to only be there for entrances to parks and stuff.

I prefer 4 way crossroads. Roundabouts make it easier for police to set up roadblocks without being seen.

edited 1st Jul '11 4:18:08 AM by SavageHeathen

They've been taking over my hometown for some time now. Pretty much no one has a problem with the one-lane variety other than the fact that city planners seem to want to put them everywhere, but the two-lane variety seems to frustrate a lot of people. They're not bad if you know how to use them, but then other people seem not to; I've had too many people start entering the roundabout right as I'm going through it.

There's nothing complicated about them. Get in lane in good time, don't cut lanes, get your signal on, give way to the right (left in America, I guess) and don't try to be a hero.

edited 1st Jul '11 4:33:32 AM by TheBatPencil

Roundabouts are not widely used in Colorado. They are hated and despised by both government and resident alike.

Unless you live in communist towns like Fort Collins or the People's Republic of Boulder, they are rarely found. And for good reason too, folks have a tendency to crash on those.

Actually, there are indications that roundabouts, because of their 'unregulated traffic flow management' thing, makes people more cautious that they would be at a comparable intersection, and thus have "lower" accident rates*

• Requires the assumption of familiarity with roundabouts, and driver situational awareness. Unfamiliar drivers tend to freak out, and predictably have a higher risk of crashing

Don't drive near the Arc de Triomphe. That's 5ish lanes with 12 entrances/exits

Roundabouts are pretty good. Unless its a sizable roundabout, you don't need to spend money on electrifying the traffic lights. It's not complicated. All you need to do is use your eyes and judgment.

@ Tom. How are roundabouts communist? In Soviet Roundabout, you decrease traffic accidents and improve traffic flow?

Wow, I know they might be tricky if you are only used to driving in a straight line, but for petes sake guys lighten up.

yeah, guys, lighten up. Try dealing with hook turns if you want to complain

If they are really better than intersections like all the statistics say, then I strongly support them. Traffic is a mess here.

Meh, I don't like Roundabouts. We only have a few here at the entrance to neighborhoods and such, but I much prefer the four way stop. I'm a decent driver, but I'm always scared as hell that other people are not when I'm at a roundabout.

... I have never seen an accident on a roundabout, you do occasionally have to trust that people are going to act semi-decently on them, but for the most part everyone knows what to do. Make sure that you don't go if a car is coming towards you, and watch the indicators.

I only ever encountered one, in DC. The exit I wanted was not very well marked, so I ended up leaving late and had to arc back around onto the right road after ending up on some back streets.

If they were signed better, they wouldn't be so bad, I guess...

Ah that's why they seem to suck over there. Here, there are signs EVERYWHERE on a roundabout. You cannot get lost on a roundabout. You also have a lower risk of actually getting killed on a roundabout, unless you're heavily intoxicated, where you think you can drive across the thing. You can't, just to make sure.

You can also put lovely statues and decorations in the middle. Which is nice. I always marvel at the statues and look at the pretty flowers. And then comment on the terrible arrangement skills of the Highways Agency.

I'm just not a big fan of them in general, that and I see them so rarely that when I actually end up at one I start tarding out.

Personally, I'm worried about the driving skills of everyone else on the road no matter where I am or what the conditions are.

Sounds like most people are saying "Oh no! They're different!" as their reaction.

Cannot get lost, certainly. Be blocked from changing into the lane you need for the exit you want by a bloody great articulated lorry on busy, multi-laned roundabouts? Different matter altogether.

edited 1st Jul '11 8:38:55 AM by pagad

We have several roundabouts in the city where I work, and I quite like them. For one thing, it's waaaay better than waiting for a stupid light to change, and for two I've noticed that they're a lot safer (both for pedestrians and vehicles) than traditional 4-way crossings.

I like roundabouts, assuming decent signage. My Mom likes to tell the story of when she and my Dad (in the late '50s) got lost on a roundabout due to unnaturally thick fog. What signs there were were too high up to read. They were stopped trying to find a way to get close enough to a sign to make it out when a truck driver stopped and asked if they knew which exit went to London because he'd been trying to figure it out for the last hour.

We have a couple roundabouts in my town. In my experience, the one flaw in them is the average midwest driver is a retard on straight roads, so give them a curved road and they act even more like the stupid drunk hicks they are.

edited 1st Jul '11 8:52:41 AM by Midgetsnowman

And they mess up the nice pretty grid lays.

The nice pretty grid lays where everyone ignores stop signs unless there's a car coming the other way.