Intersections vs. circles vs. proper roundabouts

[TreasonousBastard]

There are three roundabouts in my town that work very well. Except for the one that has one or two cars a year jumping a curb. The Pizza Hut there closed because it got hit twice in a year and a half.

New Jersey has absolutely the worst of them on the planet. I rear ended someone years ago when she slammed on the brakes in the newly "modernized" but dreaded Somerville circle. But, that's Joisey which will take any idea and do it with genius or fuck it up hopelessly, with little in between.

And then there's that big circle in Rome which left us in hysterical laughter and was far worse than the one in European Vacation. Amazing that no one got hurt and not even a fender dented.

But, anyway-- here's the facts and why Americans hate roundabouts even though they are better

[CrispyQ]

1. Will watch later & see why we should like round abouts.

As a driver, I'm not a fan & especially ones that put some decorative thing in the center that obstructs the view of traffic. As a pedestrian, they are a nightmare. Drivers have an entitled sense that they don't have to stop because it's a round about.

[Auggie]

2. I notice a lot of drivers in the U.S. don't know what yield means ...

or are too selfish to stop for vehicles that have the right-of-way.

It's typically American. We don't like to yield to traffic, opinion, common sense, or fact.

A nation of selfish morons. A good amount of us, that is.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

5. Worse yet are the drivers who don't understand

that they don't need to make a full stop, but can actually keep on going if there is no one entering their quadrant of the roundabout. Or, as happened the other day, they come to a stop in the middle of the roundabout to let another car in. No, I didn't enter because I did not have the right of way.

Perhaps the essential problem is that people take driver's ed in high school, get their license, and then never again have to pass a written or road test to continue driving.

[Auggie]

6. The video mentioned that roundabouts aren't covered in most states' licensing exams

And that makes sense actually since roundabouts are rare. Time to update that. In my city (CA) there's a roundabout push by traffic engineers with almost every road upgrade.

I don't have an issue with them, though in high-traffic areas I think they have a tendency to slow traffic as much as traffic lights do. My issue is with selfish, unengaged and ignorant drivers.

[progree]

3. I like them as a driver and love them as a pedestrian

A lot depends on how busy the intersection is -- I understand that roundabouts are better as far as moving traffic up to a certain level of traffic, and then conventional intersections are better for higher traffic volumes.

Anyway, in my case, I rarely have to stop, or if I do, it's a short pause. Much better than waiting a minute for the traffic lights to change. No more hazardous left turns (in the conventional intersection it replaced, there were no left turn arrow traffic light, it was just a plain green orb. Not difficult, but some idiots don't know that left-turners are supposed to yield to oncoming traffic in that situation, or they try to get a jump on you.

In my case(s), the roundabout(s) are a one lane circle, so not complex, and all the 8 "lanes" leading into or out of the roundabout are one lane wide with the exception of two of them that are two laners.

As a pedestrian, I only have to look in one direction (though I always glance in the other direction for the drunk driver), and I only have to cross one narrow lane to get to an island, and another lane to finish crossing. Except for the occasional 2 lane crossing without an island, but the lanes are narrower and again only have to look in one direction.

Vastly much better than the conventional intersection it replaced where, as a pedestrian, I'd have drivers right-turning into me and left-turning into me, and then of course had to look for regular cross traffic too.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

4. I hate them around here.

There's an often-used one in Troy OH, and I swear they changed the yield rules there in the past!

It "makes sense" to me now, with drivers on the circle having the right-of-way. Not that I'm driving around there very often anyway, but I try to avoid them.

Edit: Entering vehicles kept cutting me off as I was driving around the circle years ago, and my sister in the passenger seat said that I had to yield for them. WHAT?! Did they WANT a traffic jam?! Maybe my sister was wrong despite how she lived there at the time.

[Backseat Driver]

7. My city has an area with two traffic circles back to back.

There are so many signs, crosswalk areas, traffic bumps, pedestrians (often kids or the scooters of the disabled, family cyclists and Armstrong wannabes, a school, a nursing home, and businesses (pizza, ice cream, drug store, a large gas station/convenience store, a bus stop/layover, a strip retail area, and a church around the approaches and exits to the circles that it's all very distracting. Going south on exit of both circles, the roadway is 5-lanes with a suicide lane for quick and easy turns (hahaha). The double set of round-abouts can become a gridlock area at least twice a day during regular school hours drop-off/pick-up times (now on CoVid-19 hybrid plans) and few places to quickly provide right-of way to hard-charging emergency vehicles.

At all times, one can't miss a thing even at lowered speeds. Some driver's pay no attention, are on phones; pedestrians/scooter users may or may not push crossing buttons, and cyclists use mixed rules driver's must decipher for safety's sake. Plan which lane to use for your destination, exercise patience-don't jump the gun entering a circle, and keep one's speed smooth and no faster than the limit. It is was it is - I've grown used to driving the double set, but not the white knuckle anxiety on approach and exit.

I know about how much safer they're supposed to be; better safety and flow are a good thing when all goes well, but I absolutely don't enjoy using them in heavier traffic or when trying to guess the movement of pedestrians/cyclists. Sometimes, the entrance and exits are the worst part. ALWAYS KEEP YOUR EYES AND EARS OPEN in the proximity of all round-abouts!

[Buckeye_Democrat]

8. Yes, a bunch of crosswalks and nearby businesses...

... make them tricky sometimes.

There's some other nearby roundabouts in more rural areas here, and those are indeed convenient.