Round-a-bouts for saving gas

[MazdaMatt]

Tony, those pictures are fricken hilarious... i hope that is coolant all over the ground, or somebody's smashed open oil pan contents. They really SHOULD have a tall outcrop of trees in the middle, or some planters... but you'd think that the bright orange caution signs would do it... I'll leave the arkansas stereotypes out of this

I've noticed some of the little suburban mazes around here (ontario) are throwing in roundabouts instead of 4-way stops... WAY better, especially since it isn't that often that you encounter other cars at the end of your little crescent street, no real need to stop. A 4-way yield would suffice, or a two-way for that matter, but the roundabout gives the developer the opportunity to set up a nice garden and trees in the middle.

[MetroMPG]

Anyone looking for a bit of local political/civic involvement could probably organize a group to encourage planners & developers to install roundabouts where appropriate as a matter of policy instead of defaulting to the stop signs.

(Not something I've done, but I'd consider it...)

PS - great pics, Tony!

[bikin' Ed]

In Tallmadge, OH they are sooo proud of their roundabout that it is the symbol on the city flag. Unfortunately, most people here don't know how to use it. I've found during medium to heavy traffic times, approach to the "circle" is at best stop and go. Thus negating any percieved advantage to FE and traffic control.

[MetroMPG]

I once talked to the city engineer about them, and "driver education/ability" was the main reason they've been avoiding them. A high proportion of drivers here are seniors.

Also, the city was once sued (and settled) when a motorist essentially did what's in Tony's pictures - smashed into a "traffic calming" structure (street narrowing using concrete berms & reflective signs).

So, locally I think we've got a situation of once bitten twice shy.

[groar]

My all time favorite :

Magic Roundabout (Swindon) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Others awfulness :

Dark Roasted Blend: Incomprehensible Intersections
Dark Roasted Blend: World's Worst Intersections & Traffic Jams

Denis.

[wagonman76]

With that roundabout in the picture, Im surprised there isnt more carnage. There are no posts, reflectors, no markings, no signs, not even a yellow curb, heck the inside is even paved to match the rest of the road. Absolutely nothing except one remaining construction easel that was obviously put in after it became a problem.

I dont think there are many roundabouts here because with the lawyers and insurance companies, everything has to be somebodys fault. At least with a stop sign or light you can put blame on someone.

About staying moving to keep FE up, I agree 100%, do it whenever you can rather than sitting still.

[Funny]

Here are reasons for engineering a rotary (I'm from Massachusetts too)properly and driver education:
RoundJamWeb.jpg
This one is in Britain I believe
Confusing rotary.jpg
Also in Britain
Paris-Arc_de_Triomphe2.jpg
This 8 lane nightmare is in Paris, L'Arc de Triomphe

BTW, In L'Arc de Triomphe, the people IN the rotary are suppossed to yeild to the people coming INTO the rotary, how backasswards is that! The other funny thing about the Arc, insurance companies in France, no matter who's fault an accident is in L'Arc de Triomphe, will not cover the damages at all for any reason, and the people involved have to split the damages bill 50/50! I personally would just avoid it...

[Tony Raine]

the recent oil/antifreeze slick in the picture i posted was really funny. late one night, i was driving home and saw some headlights realy close to the ground. as i got nearer, i saw a ford taurus about 30-40 feet past the roundabout with no front wheels. couple of drunks standing beside it scratching their heads. i drove by, rolled down the window, and just said "well, your fu**ed" as i drove by.


really funny part is that on each side, there is a yield sign, before that a "keep right" sign, and before that a roundabout sign. it was a new development, so no houses, no trees, no obstructions at all. just straight road. later they put a big metal fence in the middle (think "road closed" barrier). it too was wiped out. so were the signs. idiots.....

[MazdaMatt]

My god that's funny... i wish i were the guy that got to drive by and tell them they were f'd. At least with no front wheels they couldn't end up on "Craziest Car Chases on Fox!"... I hope they felt the long arm of the law that night, with no lube on the rubber glove.

[trebuchet03]

Originally Posted by Funny

This one is in Britain I believe

I wonder what the equivalent traffic light would like... for an 6 direction intersection...

Something like this...



The city just north of my hometown uses roundabouts to lower speeds in addition to changing direction. They installed something like a boulder, sculpture, tree etc. in the center to prevent these accidents from happening at night...