Video description:
Roundabouts - the circular intersections seen all over Europe and elsewhere in the world - are said to be far safer than traffic lights. Research shows they reduce crashes, clear up congestion and save cities quite a bit of money. They have a heritage in the U.S., but America has a fraction of the roundabouts that far smaller countries like France, Spain and the United Kingdom have. But there are some states that are adopting them, and one small town in particular: Carmel, Indiana. The people of Carmel love their roundabouts and the mayor credits them with helping revitalize his city. So are they all they’re cracked up to be? And if so, why hasn’t the U.S. adopted them?
Because American boomers treat them as 4 way stops and scream when they see a stream of cars zip by not giving them a turn. Their brains simply can’t understand how they work. Too much lead paint and leaded gas eating their minds, I guess. My own Dad still swears up and down it’s a 4 way stop and it’s an hour long rant when two or more cars go buy “because of those damn circles!”
He’d never make it in Europe. Not a chance.
Meanwhile I’m sitting behind them yelling “it’s a yield!” at my windshield impotently
My mother in law, an idiot, says they’re too confusing. She’d rather sit at a light or deal with a stop sign than… Yield to anyone coming from the left. She says they’re more dangerous as well.
I’ve tried to explain the benefits but she won’t hear it.
The real truth is that it does not matter if you are confused. Roundabouts are safer, even for confused drivers. Even if you totally fuck them up, cut people off, go the wrong way. They are pretty much always safer than signal controlled intersections and usually safer than all way stops for the simple reason that they force speed reduction and eliminate head-on and T-bone collisions.
They are also cheaper in the long-term, far more attractive places for humans to exist in or near, and can generally handle higher traffic volumes without congestion.
Seems to me Americans despise any kind of unsubtle traffic calming – anything that makes them vroom vroom less – even if it factually reduces congestion & trip time length. Unless it’s on their own block, then they want more of it, because the true American suburban spirit is wanting dangerous traffic in other peoples’ neighborhoods.
Americans also seem to just enjoy the meme of “roundabouts are sooo confusing oh woe is me I am so scarrrred”. I don’t think people sincerely believe this shit. I think they just like repeating it for the same reason people talk about the weather. And they just repeat it so much that they forget it’s bullshit.
What roundabouts do fail at is something Americans LOVE – establishing fault. It’s harder to tell who did something wrong when incidents happen in roundabouts. There’s no unsubtle red light to establish blame. And establishing blame is the be-all and end-all to the American justice system. Harm reduction barely even factors in.
The ones they installed near my house need a revision. With the way the exits are positioned you can easily enter and exit (1 exit later, most used) at about 30mph if you use the painted inner shoulder. And people do. This doesn’t help that b/t those 2 exits is an entrance that cannot see the leftmost entrance until people are coming into it. Getting into the roundabout from that entrance is super dangerous.
And if I see one more motherfucker exit the circle from the inner lane without changing lanes I’m going to start assuming they won’t and get read-ended. Fuck their shiny chrome trucks and fuck their insurance premiums.
I’m complaining but I love roundabouts. More please. Just fix that one.
And if I see one more motherfucker exit the circle from the inner lane without changing lanes
This is an issue where I live too. Also people like to randomly stop to let people in, when there is no one behind them.
And if I see one more motherfucker exit the circle from the inner lane without changing lanes
Uh, that’s what you’re supposed to do. Anyone entering the roundabout must yield to both lanes. In this diagram, if the red car is going straight, it must yield to the green car, though the green car should prepare to dodge the red car if necessary:
Not where I live. My city and county use them almost exclusively. You end up loving them too. I can’t stand actual stoplights and stop signs now.
My girlfriend’s parents are from small rural communities and still live in one. Just last weekend we got to hear all about how there was a roundabout installed, and “traffic is going to be messed up” and “it is so confusing” and “why can’t we just have the stop sign back?”.
No amount of telling them facts to the contrary will change their opinion because they’re also of the generation that thinks: if this isn’t how we’ve always done it, it must be wrong, because we’ve always been the best.
Small town folk when they approach a round about:
Plus they’re fun. Hard to contain the ‘wheeeee!’ when you hit those round bois.
