Olds and traffic circles

[ECB]

I hate traffic circles in general.  There is a really horrible one in the center of our little town.  It actually affects how I go where I'm going based on the time of day, where exactly I'm going, etc - I try to avoid it most of the time.

Today... oh boy.  I actually felt sorry for the person in front of me, but they CLEARLY were not comfortable navigating the circle.  Inched out into the on-coming traffic and basically made an oncoming car come to a stop, then, instead of making the "right" that most of the flow of traffic is making, they needed to proceed further into the circle. They actually STOPPED at the next incoming lane of traffic instead of just taking the right of way, which was theirs!!!

Luckily it was at a pretty low flow part of the day so there wasn't too much going on.  But I expected to hear/see a crash.  I was making the right I referenced above, though, and was glad to get the heck out of there!

[flex]

Once you've gone through one safely, it's a breeze. Plus the roundabouts prevent head-on collisions (typically lol).

[2boys2danes]

Gives me Jersey driving flashbacks... they are almost as bad as the Detroit area left turns

[scout8]

Apr 4, 2016 20:49:57 GMT -5 2boys2danes said:

Gives me Jersey driving flashbacks... they are almost as bad as the Detroit area left turns

What are Detroit left turns?

[Mrs.Rad888]

They're starting to install more traffic circles up here. They're more like training traffic circle, as they only have one lane. Drivers up here still have a hard time with them. People still don't get that you signal when you are getting ready to exit the circle, I got stuck behind someone who was signaling all the way around, then they turned the signal off when they were getting ready to exit.
Driving up here makes me feel like the driving version of a rocket scientist.

[2boys2danes]

Apr 4, 2016 21:11:07 GMT -5 scout8 said:

Apr 4, 2016 20:49:57 GMT -5 2boys2danes said:

Gives me Jersey driving flashbacks... they are almost as bad as the Detroit area left turns

What are Detroit left turns?

LOL since I'm old my memory may be testing me here but I swear when I used to have to travel to Detroit there was some wierd thing where you had to pass the street you wanted to turn onto and then almost make a U turn to make a left turn.  I made a house hunting trip there once years ago because I was going to be the regional recruiter for Target and between that and the snow I decided against it.

I'm too Southern.....

[dorothyinAus]

I don't drive, but as a pedestrian I hate round-abouts. I would much rather have a 4-Way Stop, because then I know there is a point at which traffic will stop for me to cross the street.

And here, pedestrians do not have the right-of-way at round-abouts. DH wonders why I take the long way to the shopping district in town -- it's because the long way features a zebra crossing and the more direct way has 3 round-abouts, one on a busy highway.

And don't get me started on the insanity that is a Hook Turn. Those are crazy as a passenger, I cannot imagine being a driver trying to negotiate one. It's the one big reason DH doesn't drive in the Melbourne CBD.

[mrsukyankee]

England is the land of roundabouts. And in London, people do NOT follow the rules. I had to learn how to deal with them when I moved over here and to get my driver's license, as they work a bit differently than in the US (from my experience).

[aMrsin09]

Apr 4, 2016 22:02:23 GMT -5 2boys2danes said:

Apr 4, 2016 21:11:07 GMT -5 scout8 said:

What are Detroit left turns?

LOL since I'm old my memory may be testing me here but I swear when I used to have to travel to Detroit there was some wierd thing where you had to pass the street you wanted to turn onto and then almost make a U turn to make a left turn.  I made a house hunting trip there once years ago because I was going to be the regional recruiter for Target and between that and the snow I decided against it.

I'm too Southern.....

It's called a Michigan Left and they are brilliant.  You cross over the street you want to turn left onto, get into a desginated left turn lane (some have lights, some don't) then make a sort of U-turn and get into the far right lane and then you turn right onto the street you originally wanted to turn left onto.  It stops the on-coming traffic from being held up, by that one car that pulls too far into the intersection and keeps the traffic flowing when that one other car is too timid to ever pull into the intersection to make a left.

I would MUCH rather have those than these stupid circles.  I lived around DC for almost 20 years and managed to only have to do the DuPont Circle 2x.  and I ended up crying both times.

[fairygodmother]

or the no left turns in Jersey, with jughandles to make the left turn- also safe, but annoying.

Circles don't bother me - except when in countries where they drive on the opposite side of the road and my brain can't figure out where I should be... hello, near head on collision!

[aMrsin09]

Apr 5, 2016 6:54:19 GMT -5 fairygodmother said:

or the no left turns in Jersey, with jughandles to make the left turn- also safe, but annoying.

Circles don't bother me - except when in countries where they drive on the opposite side of the road and my brain can't figure out where I should be... hello, near head on collision!

I just googled.  I like the jug handles, but wow, the land they take up.

[fairygodmother]

Apr 5, 2016 6:58:49 GMT -5 aMrsin09 said:

Apr 5, 2016 6:54:19 GMT -5 fairygodmother said:

or the no left turns in Jersey, with jughandles to make the left turn- also safe, but annoying.

Circles don't bother me - except when in countries where they drive on the opposite side of the road and my brain can't figure out where I should be... hello, near head on collision!

I just googled.  I like the jug handles, but wow, the land they take up.

yeah, they're land-grabby but at least you're never crossing oncoming traffic?

[ECB]

Apr 5, 2016 1:27:24 GMT -5 dorothyinAus said:

I don't drive, but as a pedestrian I hate round-abouts. I would much rather have a 4-Way Stop, because then I know there is a point at which traffic will stop for me to cross the street.

 

This too!  Again, the circle I'm talking about is right in the heart of the town - there are shops and restaurants all around.  Oh, and lots of college students who live there and walk alot.

I've seen a lot of almost accidents with cars stopping for a pedestrian but the cars behind not realizing this and almost plowing into the stopped car. (Pedestrians have the right away)

As much as I try to avoid driving around this circle, I sure as hell will NEVER walk it!  If I need to go across the street, Id rather walk down the block to a safer spot to cross.

[moolarkey]

We now have a lot of circles where I live. The problem is our town makes them so tight that school buses and anything large have trouble fitting through them. The town next to us makes their circles larger and they are so easy to use.

[shoeaholic]

They put a few in our town and I love them but it boggles my mind that so many people don't know how to exit and enter them. I just want to tell them it's like jump rope. Jump in at the first opening and don't stop once in the circle or your legs get caught in the rope!

[Deleted]

Traffic circles and one-way streets throw me off all of the time! I know where I want to go, but I can't go the way I want to go, and it just doesn't make logical sense in my head. I get confused following my GPS too, so there's that.

[childofhiphop]

Apr 4, 2016 20:49:57 GMT -5 2boys2danes said:

Gives me Jersey driving flashbacks... they are almost as bad as the Detroit area left turns

Yes.  I do not miss living in Michigan and the backwards way to make a left turn.

[karenj]

I hate traffic circles to.  Mostly, because people do not know how to drive them.  They are going to put one in a really busy intersection in our town and it is going to be a nightmare.  Suppose to be cheaper than traffic lights.  I call bullshit.  

[treedimensional]

I can't stand traffic circles. They should be abolished.

[10nille]

I don't care if you signal as much as do not pull the hell into the circle until it is clear. I'll bitch up a storm about failing to signal a lane change. Also, signaling for half a second and pulling in front of me does not constitute a warning or permission to lane change.

The Michigan thing might be helpful, because you never know who wants to blow a red light.

[NomadicMama]

Americans don't seem to get traffic circles. In Germany, traffic circles work; traffic flows and people know what they are doing. When I worked in DC, my bestie would laugh at me when we had to brave Washington Circle. I joked that I'd close my eyes, stomp on the gas and pray for the best. When I did keep my eyes open, I swore at anyone who dared look my way.

[read247]

I hate traffic circles, but I grew up and learned to drive in NJ, so I at least know how to navigate one. It's all of the drivers who don't that scare me. And don't get me started on trying to explain jug handles to my friends in the other states I've lived in!

[dorothyinAus]

Apr 9, 2016 17:26:41 GMT -5 NomadicMama said:

Americans don't seem to get traffic circles. In Germany, traffic circles work; traffic flows and people know what they are doing. When I worked in DC, my bestie would laugh at me when we had to brave Washington Circle. I joked that I'd close my eyes, stomp on the gas and pray for the best. When I did keep my eyes open, I swore at anyone who dared look my way.

I know my Australian husband thinks they are much better than 4-Way Stops.  He doesn't really see the need for that arrangement.

I think it's really down to what you grow up with.  Most of the ones here are only 1 lane, but when driver encounter the the few multi-lane ones, they can get confused.  It doesn't help matters that the police like to set up random breath tests in the multi-lane round-abouts on the major highways.

[matildasun]

ECB , that one is really badly designed though and it seems to have gotten worse. I agree it is a nightmare. There is one in my hometown that works fairly well, although every so often someone does something stupid.

[Deleted]

Here in Boston/ Mass/ New England they are called rotaries and I rock the shit out of them.

[drloretta]

I use one every day taking DD to school, and i love them. They're going to install one near us soon and it's going to be way better than the current setup.

That said, I feel like I'm on hyperalert when I use the one near DD's school. There are 2 lanes all the way around, and it never fails that someone in the left lane practically crashes into me to make a right turn off of the roundabout

[mags]

Living in NJ they dont bother me at all.  I am a pro

[penelope]

The Michigan left isn't bad if you know where you need to get to is. If you aren't sure where the destination truly is, they can be a pain. Marquette is full of them, but once you know where everything is, they are not a big deal.

I was driving with my oldest to a destination that had one round about before entering town and I was freaking out. "Ok, it's coming!" "3 more miles!" "Put your phone down and help me navigate!!!!" Only for both of us to go "that's it?" Once we were through. It was only one lane though, that made it easy.

[moolarkey]

They are putting in traffic circles everywhere here. The city we actually live in, but don't spend much time in, puts in very tight circles. In our downtown are 2 adjacent circles. Many of our school buses have to pass through them multiple times a day. They almost don't fit. I don't know which idiot designed these circles or which idiots approved them but they are awful. All the circles in our town are tight. The circles are so tight people are afraid to pull in to them. Hate them.

The town north of us (adjacent to my city and we actually live closer to it so spend most time there) built bigger circles and they are really easy to navigate. I hate the circles in my town. I work in the bigger circle city and when I have to drive to downtown in my own city I drive through 8 circles. 4 are big, then I hit the 4 little circles.

[heliocentric]

I'm pretty sure circles, roundabouts, and rotaries are different. I like the roundabout, but find the others confusing.