Roundabouts turn into absolute shit shows when backed up.
The end.
Safety benefits of roundabouts
291–300 of 409 posts
Re: Safety benefits of roundabouts
#292Simple roundabouts are definitely good but in UK I have found spiral roundabouts error prone if you have not driven on it before Example: [1] When visiting for the first time on a specific spiral roundabout: 1. Lane markings are faded 2. You do not know the specific lane unless you come very close to it and have to make a quick decision 3. Often due to queued traffic you cannot even see the lane marking until its too…
This one is particularly bad for lane changing:
https://www.google.com/maps/@51.7874467,-1.278506,17.57z?ent...
Coming out of Oxford on the A4144 there are two lanes; the left lane is for taking the first two turns and the right lane for the remaining three. But, drivers unfamiliar with the layout who haven't seen the markings, or who fancy jumping the queue, will sometimes use the left hand lane to go straight ahead onto the A44. There's a similar situation coming from the A40 to the East.
I've seen a few accidents there and even been involved in one as a result of this (someone tried to undertake me at speed as I exited, and caused a collision, 100% their fault according to our insurers).
Re: Safety benefits of roundabouts
#293Roundabouts turn into absolute shit shows when backed up. The end.
Luckily most roads are rarely if ever backed up, and the increased throughput of roundabouts compared to traffic lights or stop signs makes this even less likely to happen.
Roundabouts work pretty well for all but the busiest roads.
Re: Safety benefits of roundabouts
#294Earlier quoted context omitted.
> people will NOT understand a roundabout with more than one lane We have tons of 2-lane ones and everyone understands them…
Our town has loads of them too, and everyone think they understand them. Still accidents are common because people think it's ok to just go straight through by changing lane to inner and then directly exiting without yielding to the ones crossing their path in the outer lane.
In my country accidents per roundabout are far less common than accidents per traditional crossroad.
Re: Safety benefits of roundabouts
#295Earlier quoted context omitted.
Is your argument that roundabouts are bad for pedestrians? If so why?
Have you ever tried to cross one? In the UK pedestrians technically have priority at roundabouts now but this doesn't change anything with basically no drivers giving way (and no enforcement). The best compromise is an underpass for pedestrians but this creates a really confusing layout (you always go the wrong way the first time) and the usual dark/dingy/scary problems with underpasses.
> Have you ever tried to cross one?
I do so almost every day. Pretty much every roundabout has marked crossings with islands between the lanes, drivers slow down on entry so easily yield to a pedestrian trying to cross, and the crossing is about a car length out of the roundabout so on exit drivers have the space to both be out of the roundabout and yield to pedestrians.
Then again I’m in a country where drivers are generally respectful of pedestrians, especially on marked crossings most drivers will actively stop if they see a pedestrian getting close to a crossing.
Re: Safety benefits of roundabouts
#296Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is a problem with all multi-lane layouts and exacerbated by drivers' behaviour. The problem is road users new to the road do not know which lane to be in already and they are pressured to go fast. The instant it looks like they've chosen a lane, a driver from behind who is familiar with the layout closes the gap in the other lane, trapping them. This can be mitigated a bit by the first user having the confidence…
It's not a big problem to be in the wrong lane. You just change lanes like any other road. And like any other road, when you change lanes, it's your responsibility to make sure the lane you're merging into has space for you.
Driving schools in UK teach that changing lanes on a roundabout is unsafe. Infact, in a driving test doing so will result into a failure because most people will not follow safety checks and signalling.
If you are in a wrong lane, the safest thing is to continue on it, exit the roundabout and comeback again or go around the roundabout.
Re: Safety benefits of roundabouts
#297Swindon, UK would like to remind the World that recursive roundabouts are a thing too. https://i.imgur.com/4pMhdMl.gif
The video embedded near the end of the article also shows this particular roundabout.
Re: Safety benefits of roundabouts
#298The greatest thing about roundabouts is that they protect against the idiot that goes through an intersection at full speed. He does that either because he is passed out behind the wheel or because he did not notice a stop sign and thought he had the right of way, or maybe because he just does not care. Well with a roundabout if you just go straight ahead you hit the center circle. Good roundabouts always have a slig…
The protection is just by hiding half of the traffic beyond an obstacle, you can still get t-boned on the roundabout, but only by the cars from your right and not from both directions like on an intersection. I guess it's a plus but with the added danger of a head-on collision from people traversing the roundabout in the wrong way I won't say if it's net-positive safety-wise with any degree of confidence.
It also greatly reduces the impact of being t-boned by cars coming from the right. The car coming from the right has to slow down in order to take the roundabout. This means you are now getting t-boned by a car going 30mph rather than 60mph, which is the difference a fatal accident and walking away with barely a scratch.
Cars going the wrong way is a non-issue. It is clearly signed how you're supposed to drive, and if they constructed it properly going the wrong way means you have to do a left turn of about 120 degrees. It feels so unnatural that you'll have trouble doing it on purpose, let alone accidentally.
Re: Safety benefits of roundabouts
#299Earlier quoted context omitted.
> For heavy traffic, though, they're useless as the car flow of one entry/exit can take over the roundabout and block all other entries. Not wrong, but traffic lights can be added to roundabouts as well ("signalized roundabouts") * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCrAPcUzOdw So if an intersection is (e.g.) four-way, and one particular entrance monopolizes things than it can be given red at times and the others green…
wow this stuff is like factorio, where you learn signals. too bad you can't go underground.
You can!
In The Netherlands there are several multi-level roundabouts, with one level for cars and another for bikes and pedestrians.
Re: Safety benefits of roundabouts
#300Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is a problem with all multi-lane layouts and exacerbated by drivers' behaviour. The problem is road users new to the road do not know which lane to be in already and they are pressured to go fast. The instant it looks like they've chosen a lane, a driver from behind who is familiar with the layout closes the gap in the other lane, trapping them. This can be mitigated a bit by the first user having the confidence…
It's not a big problem to be in the wrong lane. You just change lanes like any other road. And like any other road, when you change lanes, it's your responsibility to make sure the lane you're merging into has space for you.
Perhaps you've never driven so I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. Cars can't move sideways. To change lane you have to go forwards. There is no "just change lane".
Of course you could just not change lane, to the wrong way and safely correct your course later. This is preferable but people tend to get stressed out in those situations which is also bad for safety. Not to mention that a safe but ineffective road hasn't really achieved much.