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Safer roundabouts are replacing traffic signals (2023)

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Re: Safer roundabouts are replacing traffic signals (2023)

#31

Post by cjs_ac »

crazygringo wrote: post #20
rwmj wrote: post #6

No HN discussion of roundabouts is complete until someone has posted the Magic Roundabout. There are several in the UK, this is the one nearest to me. And yes it's as insane to drive on as it looks, but safer as everyone is terrified and drives slowly. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Roundabout_(Hemel_Hempst...

...WTF. The Wikipedia article doesn't even give any explanation as to why. Why on earth did they build a circle of six roundabouts, rather than simply a single roundabout with six entrances/exits? I'm baffled.

There was a big roundabout, but it couldn't handle the traffic volume.

https://youtu.be/DAFQZwR157E

Re: Safer roundabouts are replacing traffic signals (2023)

#32

Post by DidYaWipe »

o11c wrote: post #18

Anecdotally, I also think the way roundabouts get built in the US is better now than a decade or two ago. It used to be that roundabouts (being unfamiliar) were just treated as a cookie-cutter object to plunk into the roadspace blindly. Nowadays I often see the designers making conscious decisions like: * what radius? * what angle do we need so it doesn't even make sense to try to turn left? * hard curb or drivable c…

Americans still can't understand the passing lane. I'm skeptical that they're going to make effective use of roundabouts (although I do believe in their merits).

Re: Safer roundabouts are replacing traffic signals (2023)

#33

Post by pleb_nz »

josephcsible wrote: post #24

I'll like roundabouts as soon as someone comes up with a good way to fix the resource starvation problem (i.e., if there's a constant stream of traffic from your left, you'll never get a turn to go).

Roundabout’s are only suitable for intersections where traffic on each route is roughly equal. In NZ I can’t recall seeing roundabouts built where the routes are not roughly equal in size and volume. In saying that, mistakes happen and things change and there are roundabouts that suffer this sometimes.

Re: Safer roundabouts are replacing traffic signals (2023)

#36

Post by leapingdog »

paulette449 wrote: post #5

I spend a lot of time near Manchester, VT where there are a handful of roundabouts including two in quick succession, one of which is as small as it is busy. The problem, based on my observations, is that many Americans have no idea how to use roundabout, nor how to signal through them. I feel unsafe every time I'm in the roundabout and have nearly been T-boned multiple times by people feeling they have the right to…

I live in the UK where roundabouts are ubiquitous and most people still don't understand them perfectly. The Highway Code[1] is too ambiguous.

- give priority to traffic approaching from your right, unless directed otherwise by signs, road markings or traffic lights

- watch out for all other road users already on the roundabout; be aware they may not be signalling correctly or at all

The second rule means if you have already entered the roundabout you have right of way over traffic yet to enter the roundabout to your right. What can happen in practice is that people to your right rock on and beep you out for the temerity of getting there first.

[1] https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-highway-code/using-the-road-...

Re: Safer roundabouts are replacing traffic signals (2023)

#37

Post by o11c »

jchw wrote: post #3

Trying to explain how roundabouts work to someone who doesn't get them is extremely frustrating. The rules are simple, but for some reason a lot of folks are vastly overthinking it. The thing is, I like roundabouts, but I'm somehow not surprised that the metrics focus on accidents involving death or injury. I think that because people have to slow down, it must improve those metrics. But there's a particular glut of…

> focus on accidents involving death or injury

The metrics show improvement for all kinds, it's just not as dramatic for lesser accidents. Typically it's something like (very roughly):

* ¼ less accidents total

* ½ less accidents with minor injury

* ¾ less accidents with major injury or death

Re: Safer roundabouts are replacing traffic signals (2023)

#38

Post by XlA5vEKsMISoIln »

crazygringo wrote: post #20
rwmj wrote: post #6

No HN discussion of roundabouts is complete until someone has posted the Magic Roundabout. There are several in the UK, this is the one nearest to me. And yes it's as insane to drive on as it looks, but safer as everyone is terrified and drives slowly. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Roundabout_(Hemel_Hempst...

...WTF. The Wikipedia article doesn't even give any explanation as to why. Why on earth did they build a circle of six roundabouts, rather than simply a single roundabout with six entrances/exits? I'm baffled.

You don't have to do a full loop if you need an adjacent exit. Eases load on the rest of entrances.

Re: Safer roundabouts are replacing traffic signals (2023)

#39

Post by numbsafari »

DidYaWipe wrote: post #32
o11c wrote: post #18

Anecdotally, I also think the way roundabouts get built in the US is better now than a decade or two ago. It used to be that roundabouts (being unfamiliar) were just treated as a cookie-cutter object to plunk into the roadspace blindly. Nowadays I often see the designers making conscious decisions like: * what radius? * what angle do we need so it doesn't even make sense to try to turn left? * hard curb or drivable c…

Americans still can't understand the passing lane. I'm skeptical that they're going to make effective use of roundabouts (although I do believe in their merits).

The data cited in the article is based on usage by American drivers. So you can drop your skepticism, they already work.

Anecdotally, they’re converting a number of intersections here in rural, Northern MN to roundabouts and they are _very_ effective at reducing fatalities and injuries.

Re: Safer roundabouts are replacing traffic signals (2023)

#40

Post by DidYaWipe »

lnxg33k1 wrote: post #17
jchw wrote: post #3

Trying to explain how roundabouts work to someone who doesn't get them is extremely frustrating. The rules are simple, but for some reason a lot of folks are vastly overthinking it. The thing is, I like roundabouts, but I'm somehow not surprised that the metrics focus on accidents involving death or injury. I think that because people have to slow down, it must improve those metrics. But there's a particular glut of…

But do you have to explain? Isn’t it part of the studies one do in order to obtain a driving license in us?

U.S. drivers are profoundly ignorant, and often belligerently so. They block the passing lane (this is the biggest problem in U.S. transportation, no exaggeration). They don't signal. They can barely park.

And most of all, they're texting ALL THE TIME. They kill pedestrians, kill other drivers, and steal thousands if not millions of hours from the rest of us every day. This is actively abetted by politicians, who refuse to impose any significant penalties for texting while driving. It should be a DUI-level offense, with the same penalties... ruthlessly enforced.

I have written to my state senators more than once about this issue... to no response at all. None.

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