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Thoughts on roundabouts

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They seem to be becoming more common.  I know traffic experts say they're more efficient but I hate them.  Thoughts?

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We have 2 major ones in my city. I can't stand out of towners that don't know how the fock to drive on them.

I am a big fan overall.

We call them "Da Rotary" 

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Just now, thegeneral said:

“Look kids. Big Ben…Parliament!” 

:first: 

I say that EVERYTIME we get lost while driving. They know it's coming but I still do it

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Quite a few around me and I think they are great.   Problem is most people don't know how to drive so that causes issues.  If you know what youre doing, they are wayyyyy more efficient than red lights or stop signs

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2 minutes ago, supermike80 said:

Quite a few around me and I think they are great.   Problem is most people don't know how to drive so that causes issues.  If you know what youre doing, they are wayyyyy more efficient than red lights or stop signs

100

Anytime I can not slow down coming into traffic, I am a happy guy!

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About a year ago they added one in my neighborhood. Philly drivers don’t even stop for red lights so I expected daily 10-car pile ups but so far it’s been fine. 

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Roundabouts are great...  It is the other drivers you have to watch out for as a huge majority of them don't know how they work...

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Driving on them is fine, they are far superior to waiting for red lights.

I do not like riding bicycle through them, though. All of them around here are two lanes, and people just can't handle a bike being next to them. And there's plenty of jagoffs that take bicycling as a personal affront to their freedom to drive like morons.

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1 hour ago, supermike80 said:

Quite a few around me and I think they are great.   Problem is most people don't know how to drive so that causes issues.  If you know what youre doing, they are wayyyyy more efficient than red lights or stop signs

this.

 

love them when drivers know how to use them

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I use to hate them but I've grown to like them.  They have helped lower the amount of serious accidents and they help keep traffic moving.

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1 hour ago, Fnord said:

Driving on them is fine, they are far superior to waiting for red lights.

I do not like riding bicycle through them, though. All of them around here are two lanes, and people just can't handle a bike being next to them. And there's plenty of jagoffs that take bicycling as a personal affront to their freedom to drive like morons.

Sounds like a biker problem.  I can't stand bikes on the roads, and yes, I know they have a right to be there as well.  They're like the jet skis of the roadways.

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5 minutes ago, Hawkeye21 said:

Sounds like a biker problem.  I can't stand bikes on the roads, and yes, I know they have a right to be there as well.  They're like the jet skis of the roadways.

Yeah, I get it. Bicyclists can be frustrating idiots, too. But there's a difference between that and riding my bike as close to the curb/shoulder as possible while goons roll down their windows, tell you to GTFO the road, and then try to sandwich you into a parked car. This has happened to me. Thankfully the brakes on my bike work well. As do my lungs and both middle fingers.

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I’m against them. 

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3 hours ago, Fnord said:

This has happened to me. Thankfully both middle fingers work.

Been a while since I rode no handed.  

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3 hours ago, Fnord said:

Yeah, I get it. Bicyclists can be frustrating idiots, too. But there's a difference between that and riding my bike as close to the curb/shoulder as possible while goons roll down their windows, tell you to GTFO the road, and then try to sandwich you into a parked car. This has happened to me. Thankfully the brakes on my bike work well. As do my lungs and both middle fingers.

One day in college in Boston, I was driving over the Mass Ave Bridge and a bike was in the road.  He probably was legally supposed to be there vs. the sidewalk, but most bikes rode the sidewalk because the lanes were wicked narrow.

Anyway, my good friend in the passenger seat was from South Boston (think Good Will Hunting but an actual Irishman vs. whatever Damon is).  He got pissed that the bike was in the way, so before I realized what he was doing, he rolled down the window, slid off his canvas converse sneaker, and threw it at the guy, hitting him square in the back.  Thankfully the guy tumbled right, onto the sidewalk.

When we got off the bridge I turned to him and said, "I can't believe you wasted a perfectly good shoe doing that!"  :lol: 

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1 hour ago, Alias Detective said:

Been a while since I rode no handed.  

The double barrel finger salute was performed while sitting still, as I had to slam on my brakes to avoid serious injury.

I only ride no handed when I'm lighting my crack pipe. 

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6 hours ago, MDC said:

I expected daily 10-car pile ups

And car jackings, and overdoses, and pooping on sidewalks, and one legged tranny hookers, and rats the size of dogs, and drive by shootings. 

😂 FISHTOWN 😂

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Just now, Maximum Overkill said:

And car jackings, and overdoses, and pooping on sidewalks, and one legged tranny hookers, and rats the size of dogs, and drive by shootings. 

😂 FISHTOWN 😂

There it is. 🌈 😂 

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Freakonomics did a pod a while back about roundabouts, focusing on some city in Indiana (I think) that has embraced them.

From a safety perspective, they cause significantly more accidents but almost no serious ones, whereas lights have fewer accidents but the occasional serious/fatal T-bone at 50 MPH.

They are also significantly more expensive than lights.  In my old neighborhood the people wanted a speed bump on a road, but the road was considered a through street and there was some ordinance against speed bumps slowing down emergency vehicles (this wasn't a major through street, one lane each way).  The solution to end-around the speed bump problem:  a roundabout!  It looks nice and all, but it cost $250K to build and, well, still slows down emergency vehicles I would think.

On the plus side, there is one by me where 4 streets meet at odd places and they put in a roundabout.  It works fantastic.  I think maybe most of the people who drive it are familiar with it and know how to navigate it, though.

Finally, regarding European Vacation, I drove in Scotland last year on my trip to The Open.  Part of that driving involved navigating roundabouts in dense traffic heading in and out of the tourney.  Driving in the wrong direction from the wrong side of the car on structures I'm not that familiar with was more than a little intimidating.  I may have pulled a Clark once or twice and taken a second loop.

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8 minutes ago, jerryskids said:

 

Finally, regarding European Vacation, I drove in Scotland last year on my trip to The Open.  Part of that driving involved navigating roundabouts in dense traffic heading in and out of the tourney.  Driving in the wrong direction from the wrong side of the car on structures I'm not that familiar with was more than a little intimidating.  I may have pulled a Clark once or twice and taken a second loop.

in 01 we did 3-4 weeks in france just before i started culinary school. we were dropping off the car in paris and got caught in a 6-7 lane round about and were laughing at the european vacation scene. we couldn't exit due to our street being right after the entrance from the autoroute.  

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12 minutes ago, Bier Meister said:

in 01 we did 3-4 weeks in france just before i started culinary school. we were dropping off the car in paris and got caught in a 6-7 lane round about and were laughing at the european vacation scene. we couldn't exit due to our street being right after the entrance from the autoroute.  

Not sure you heard but I was just in the Bahamas. Well, good thing I didn't have to drive. They drive on the wrong side of the road down there

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i have not driven on the let with right sided steering wheel yet (nor manual on our left). and i am fine not doing that.

 

but in general, i really prefer driving in europe to the US (aside from some very narrow lanes/roads)

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