Diverging diamonds work pretty well. We have several off of I-40 here. I've ridden my bicycle thru one numerous times. Full clover leafs don't work well when traffic builds. As to bikes and round-abouts, I haven't had a problem negotiating my way around one. They aren't a one-size-fits-all solution, but used in the right places I'd much rather have a round-about than a traffic light or a 4 way stop.
Roundabouts
- Thread starter Eddie_T
- Start date
Help Support House Repair Talk:
I strongly suspect that no one chooses to "do fatal accidents." Every time I set out in my car my goal is to arrive safely at my destination without killing or injuring anyone or anything and to do the same on my return trip. Left turns are probably the most dangerous thing people do while driving, and cause the most traffic delays with long light cycles for left turning cars. New Jersey created a number of roads with "jug handles" that force you to turn right to a side street to turn left. It really allows some over-burdened 4 lane roads to move a lot more traffic without adding lanes. They just don't have the room to add lanes there. We have a couple here in NC and they call them "super streets."
Once a car reaches a certain age, it is pretty easy to total one, as repairs can quickly add up to 70 or 80% of the value of the car. Once it reaches a certain amount (80%?) the insurance company has to total the car. My son's car was totaled sitting in front of our house when someone backed into it (they were stealing my neighbor's truck at the time). Had it been just a few years old it was entirely fixable, but being a 10 year old Honda Fit the replacement value was about the same as the repair cost. He only had liability coverage, but the uninsured motorist coverage paid for the car.
Eddie_T
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Feb 16, 2015
- Messages
- 3,386
- Reaction score
- 3,296
By saying I don't do fatal accidents I mean I carefully avoid all areas of confusion when possible. Even if I might understand it there's always the chance that the 'little old lady from Pasadena' might not. So I don't drive in snow and I avoid diamonds and roundabouts if at all possible. It's hard to drive defensively in a roundabout.
Eddie_T
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Feb 16, 2015
- Messages
- 3,386
- Reaction score
- 3,296
Before I retired I traveled from MD to the Hightstown, NJ area for a monthly meeting and thought the "jug handle" to be a neat solution to avoid left turns. At that time I always stopped at a Ground Round for a beer and a Teriyaki NY strip with the free popcorn appetizer while I waited for the steak.
Guys, if you ever visit the UK I can strongly recommend visiting Milton Keynes.
It is quite the experience if you want some practice with round abouts.
The city is a very modern one by UK standards. When it was built we partially borrowed from the USA and built all the streets straight/in block type formations. But we just couldn't resist our love of roundabouts....so basically at the end of every street there is a roundabout.
My colleague has fond memories of me rushing to get home from Milton Keynes after she's had a lot to drink and eat...needless to say, I ended up getting home late due to a few stops for vommiting.
It is quite the experience if you want some practice with round abouts.
The city is a very modern one by UK standards. When it was built we partially borrowed from the USA and built all the streets straight/in block type formations. But we just couldn't resist our love of roundabouts....so basically at the end of every street there is a roundabout.
My colleague has fond memories of me rushing to get home from Milton Keynes after she's had a lot to drink and eat...needless to say, I ended up getting home late due to a few stops for vommiting.
I lived about 30 miles from Milton Keynes back in the early 1980s. We used to go over for the American style indoor mall. Pretty unusual in the UK at the time. It was amazing the number of round abouts through-out that planned community.
Large "oversized" pickups are a pretty much a North American thing. Pick-ups that are used in Europe tend to be Toyota Hiluxes or Ranger sized, not F150 or Silverado sized. They do have a lot of SUVs but not many in the Suburban size. But many large Range Rovers. I've driven large military vehicles through round-abouts without issues. "Articulated Lories" (semi-trucks) negotiate roundabouts all over the UK and Europe. One significant difference is they use cab-overs versus long hood models we use in the USA and Canada, so their trucks tend to be several feet shorter than ours. On a few recent tours I've done I'm surprised at the bus driver's ability to negotiate narrow streets in Greece, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland with giant tour buses.
Eddie_T
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Feb 16, 2015
- Messages
- 3,386
- Reaction score
- 3,296
My son almost got clipped by a large PU pulling a trailer. Apparently the driver didn't have a clue that he was hogging the circle. I ordered cat food and litter from Chewy to avoid a trip to Walmart. What's funny about the $60K pickups is that the truck is shiny but the drivers look homeless.
Eddie_T
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Feb 16, 2015
- Messages
- 3,386
- Reaction score
- 3,296
There was a fender bender in one of our roundabouts. A bicycle got caught in the inner ring and couldn't get out. Apparently he kept going around until he thought he could get out and caused a three car accident. I drove through the other one tonight in the rain. Entering and exiting via the outer ring were rather tight right turns. I was fortunate that no-one was in the inner ring.
"" A bicycle got caught in the inner ring ... thought he could get out and caused a three car accident ""
Roundabouts really need to have lane lines between the rings (if more than one ring). Also most roundabouts require that someone in the outer ring exit at some points. So most likely one of the drivers caused the accident by failing to exit where required.
While most of us are used to the one on the left yielding to the one on the right (opposite way for Brits), any intersection can be designated for the opposite way by the installation of a yield sign.
Roundabouts really need to have lane lines between the rings (if more than one ring). Also most roundabouts require that someone in the outer ring exit at some points. So most likely one of the drivers caused the accident by failing to exit where required.
While most of us are used to the one on the left yielding to the one on the right (opposite way for Brits), any intersection can be designated for the opposite way by the installation of a yield sign.
