Anyone like traffic circles-roundabouts?

[the old grind]

I'm almost always the guy who's being passed. If I'm going the limit to five-over and someone is right behind me I'll wave and let off the gas, just to Help them on their way. I try to keep myself midway between leading and following vehicles on rural roads & freeway.

A car-length gap ahead per 10mph works for me. Nothing I want less than to be alongside another vehicle anywhere, anytime. I have brakes and plenty of time to get where I'm going. Pass me, please and get it over with.

 

[Liquidsilver]

As it's been said 100 times, they're better than sitting at a 3 minute light with nobody coming.

 

[turnkey4099]

Begs the question if the flow is 80+ in heavy urban traffic and posted is 65 and I'm towing so for me it is 55...

Plenty of whacked out drivers racing by... makes me want a traffic cam...

God help you if driving at minimum 45 mph...

?? guy ahead is 2 mph under the limit, I pass but I should only go 2mph faster? Wow!!!

 

[turnkey4099]

Sharn Jean and I drove to Tulsa yesterday; first time we had been on the turnpike in quite some time. They raised the speed limit to 80 mph; it was a white knuckle flight for me, since she was driving. About every other vehicle was a semi, and they were hauling the mail.
The left hand lane seemed to have it's share of go-slow idiots, who wouldn't move over, so lots of passing on the right. I didn't see one patrol car the whole trip, so some of the cars and pickups were driving every bit of 90mph. All in all, I would just as soon not drive the turnpike any more. Old HW 66 is still open; takes a bit longer, but not so scary.

Yep, I prefer the rural roads unless I have a LOT of miles to go. Drive is less hectic and the scenery can be enjoyed.

 

[ultrarunner]

?? guy ahead is 2 mph under the limit, I pass but I should only go 2mph faster? Wow!!!

I don't know so I asked...

If posted speed is 65 and and you decide to pass the vehicle ahead traveling 63 what happens when you blow by at 73 in the eyes of the law?

 

[Jstpssng]

I don't know so I asked...

If posted speed is 65 and and you decide to pass the vehicle ahead traveling 63 what happens when you blow by at 73 in the eyes of the law?

Here you'd be speeding. You also probably wouldn't get stopped, as they would have to stop nearly every car on the road. It also comes down to the question; are the laws made for us, or are we here to serve the laws? As others have pointed out; driving the speed limit when everybody else is going faster is more of a hazard than the speeders. Especially if you're "That Guy" in the left hand lane doing the speed limit, passing somebody who's speedometer reads 2 mph faster, so also believes he is "doing the speed limit."

I have a digital as well as an analog speedometer in both of my pickups, they each read differently while traveling down the road. Yet the radar displays I see on construction sites show a different speed...

 

[the old grind]

I don't think of myself as serving laws, more like living happily and prosperously within them. So far I'm having a lot of fun while not breaking any laws that I know of. I stop at red lights, stay in the right lane, ... and tiptoe through roundabouts. There are many drivers who'll struggle to adapt to 'em.

 

[Jstpssng]

I had a woman behind me who I could tell was in a hurry today. We were traveling through a built up area so I kept it within a couple mph of the 45 mph speed limit. When I stopped for a stale yellow light she pulled out into the right hand turn lane just as the light turned red, and blew straight through it.

 

[the old grind]

Someone else could have timed the light and T-boned her. If I'd have been there I'd have wished I'd installed the dash-cam I bought by now. btw, trucker might have his own GPS and/or cam in addition to what his company provides.

https://www.amazon.com/Z-EDGE-Screen-Included-G-Sensor-Recording/dp/B07FQM3V3J?pd_rd_w=8R7kX&pf_rd_p=ee521540-07c2-4687-9605-13c98e32ab2c&pf_rd_r=ZDVY1179FF7QWJ87PYQH&pd_rd_r=9d363f8a-45ff-4c10-86b5-3b43fa347ff0&pd_rd_wg=DyJVx&pd_rd_i=B07FQM3V3J&psc=1&ref_=pd_bap_d_rp_21_t

 

[BravoXray]

Carmel, IN, on the north side if Indianapolis, has been replacing intersections with roundabouts since 1986. They now have 138 in the city, more than any other city in the US. There are only a couple of traffic lights left in the city. Traffic accidents are down considerably, and those that do occur are usually minor, do to the lower speeds involved.
I heard about this one afternoon when I was listening to an NPR program, and this is a link to the information about their changeover to roundabouts.

Roundabouts | City of Carmel

 

[MossRoad]

When I was young, this intersection used to be at grade level. There were 6 RR tracks crossing the north running street, and the same 6 RR tracks crossing the west running street. There was a stoplight at that intersection, as they were both very busy streets. The obvious problems were traffic heading south or east would frequently get stopped by the light, and a train would come. Those 6 tracks are 2 through lines and 4 sidings in a yard. It was brutal. Many, many wrecks from cars just bouncing through up to 12 sets of tracks if you turned north or west, let alone the train issue.

So they built a huge hill south of the intersection, bridges over the tracks on the north and west roads, curved the approaches, and put a stoplight at the top of the hill. That lasted about 15 years. Then they put in this roundabout. I love it!

 

[Pixguy]

I have no issues with roundabouts and then I went to Ireland and entered driving on the left side into one there.
That was fun!

 

[kenmbz]

NJ on the other side of the river put in more roundabouts.
In NJ "squeezing" them in or making them in weird shapes seems to be the norm.
Have some ones here where you can't see people entering from under an over pass too easily.

Most of the ones in my old town had to have their center sections redone due to tire wear

Most have been improvements, but in some areas an overpass would be needed , no one around here wants to spend that kind of money and close roads while being built. Too much traffic on the NJ side. (one of the many reasons I am on the PA side).

 

[ray66v]

In a perfect world, the concept is fine.

However, we don't even live in a world that is close to perfect.

They just built a new one by me that is so small, you don't have time, or ability to clearly signal your exit, which is the critical part to keeping traffic moving. Not that most people consider anyone other than themselves and signal anyway.

 

[Cub 7275]

I guess the highway engineers today are too young to remember the old round-a-bouts (many in NJ) which caused so many accidents back in the 60's & 70's that they were replaced by traditional intersections. Oh well, what was old is new again. Can't wait for the diverging diamond with a reverse rotation round-a-bout in the middle!

In theory, and in other places around the world they work. Problem is, like kenmbz points out, our highway engineers can't copy the effective designs without "improving" them and invariably screwing them up. Most roundys around here in Michigan are too small in diameter for one lane and woefully small to be multiple lanes (I believe the multiple lane ones where not needed are a requirement to get federal matching funds or something similar).

Then there is the competition to put as many roundys in series as possible. Here is a sweet setup (zoom out to see the bonus roundys by the stores): Lee Rd · Michigan 48116

As we all know, when pulling a trailer, any cars behind you must get in front of you at the first opportunity, even if you were going faster than them before the intersection. You can guess what happens when the two lane road goes to four lanes through the tiny roundy. Driving a 53' tractor trailer must be extra fun!

 

[MossRoad]

In a perfect world, the concept is fine.

However, we don't even live in a world that is close to perfect.

They just built a new one by me that is so small, you don't have time, or ability to clearly signal your exit, which is the critical part to keeping traffic moving. Not that most people consider anyone other than themselves and signal anyway.

Around here nobody uses their turn signals in the roundabouts and it seems to work just fine. In fact, if someone DOES use their turn signal in the roundabout, it makes you wonder what they're up to.

 

[lman]

I've never used turn signals in a roundabout and I found this article that left me even more confused.

Turn Signal on a Roundabout - National Motorists Association

Editor’s Note: This post first appeared as NMA Weekly E-Newsletter #585. In response to this newsletter in March 2020, over 50 readers responded with their own ideas about roundabouts. If you would like to receive the newsletter and join the discussion, become a member of the NMA. Join Today...

www.motorists.org

 

[Oaktree]

I guess the highway engineers today are too young to remember the old round-a-bouts (many in NJ) which caused so many accidents back in the 60's & 70's that they were replaced by traditional intersections. Oh well, what was old is new again. Can't wait for the diverging diamond with a reverse rotation round-a-bout in the middle!

In theory, and in other places around the world they work. Problem is, like kenmbz points out, our highway engineers can't copy the effective designs without "improving" them and invariably screwing them up. Most roundys around here in Michigan are too small in diameter for one lane and woefully small to be multiple lanes (I believe the multiple lane ones where not needed are a requirement to get federal matching funds or something similar).

Here in New England we call them rotaries, but I've seen the same thing...back in the 80s a lot of them were replaced by multi-way stop intersections, now we're starting to see rotaries make a comeback. I agree that some of them seem way too small, mostly due to lack of available land to make larger ones. Still, they do seem to help traffic flow at busy intersections, though I see how pulling a long trailer might be "interesting".

 

[ning]

I've never used turn signals in a roundabout and I found this article that left me even more confused.

Turn Signal on a Roundabout - National Motorists Association

Editor’s Note: This post first appeared as NMA Weekly E-Newsletter #585. In response to this newsletter in March 2020, over 50 readers responded with their own ideas about roundabouts. If you would like to receive the newsletter and join the discussion, become a member of the NMA. Join Today...

www.motorists.org

I try to signal my exit as soon as I've passed the previous exit to it, as a courtesy to someone entering from there or the next one. For instance, in a typical 4-street roundabout where I'm going "strait through", I'll signal my exit immediately after passing the first exit since I'm taking the second.

 

[Bearsixty7]

I don't know so I asked...

If posted speed is 65 and and you decide to pass the vehicle ahead traveling 63 what happens when you blow by at 73 in the eyes of the law?

Most LEO's won't bother you on the freeway's unless you are more than 5mph over (some don't care until 10) the posted speed limit so do 70mph in the 65mph zone to pass and you will be fine.
The main point is, don't just go 63.1mph to pass a vehicle going 63mph!