# New roundabout



## Mike T. (Feb 3, 2004)

Yesterday a brand new roundabout opened just 4km from my place, outside of the city; on the edge of the countryside. The authorities, in a rare moment of wisdom, somehow decided to use a roundabout rather than another set of stupid stoplights. The intersection had been serviced by stopsigns for the cross traffic.

So on today's road ride I decided to go check it out for the first time. I was planning on going straight through on the old cross road (the minor road). 

There was no-one in the roundabout when I arrived so I took the plunge and claimed the center of the driving lane thus acting like real traffic. A pickup truck approached from the north and, as I was already in the roundabout, he yielded to me, as he should. I gave him a thumbs-up thanks so that he'd know I noticed and appreciated his correct move.

At the end of the 90 minute ride (at 5c it was a bit chilly) I did the roundabout again just for fun. This time no-one was in it or close to it. I did a 360 and exited the way I entered.

What a wonderful invention they are. No more time and fuel wasting idling for cars at stop lights with no through traffic even in sight. No t-bone high speed crashes. I read one report that stated the number of fatalities at roundabouts is almost zero. Just about the worst crash is a 30kph (18mph) same direction side-swipe for those who fail to yeild. Not many people die from those.

And the big plus for cyclists is no more unclipping!

Do any of you have roundabouts on your rides? Have any stories to share?

This pic was pre-opening so the trucks are workers' trucks.


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## MTT (Oct 14, 2005)

We have a ton of those in Seattle. From what I have read they are safer for all parties involved...............MTT


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## flakey (Feb 8, 2003)

My city has recently started installing roundabouts and I think they suck!

The problem is that instead of a "black and white" law that a stop sign provides, my experience is that the yield sign and reduction in speed signs leave more to the personal interpretation of the law and situation and it can cause mayhem as to what to do and that sometimes cause mayhem in a busy area. 

Here are some of the problems I have experienced: 

Drivers come to a complete stop when they are only supposed to slow down and yield
On the other side, drivers who do not slow down when entering the roundabout
Drivers who do not yield to others entering the roundabout 

They might be nice in a rural area for the cyclist but as a car driver I hate them, mostly because you never know what some moron is going to do. The 4 way stop prevents the inconsistent and personal interpretation of how the roundabout is safely used.

As far as the cyclist goes, it might be nice to cruise through and not clip out but I think they are less safe for the cyclist than a 4 way stop.


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## Mike T. (Feb 3, 2004)

flakey said:


> I think they suck!


Some morons can't navigate a straight road never mind something with a slight curve in it. I've read enough on the statistics of crashes at both cross intersections and roundabout to know that roundabouts slash crashes, especially their severity. So assuming that morons that can't act correctly at roundabouts would probably have a tough time with sign or light controlled intersections, I'll take the traffic-calming advantage of a roundabout anytime. At least most of them will be going quite slow. The rest I hope to take care of with my fine tuned sense of survival and defensive riding.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 20, 2007)

We`ve got about a half dozen of them in and around my city- they started appearing maybe eight years ago. I absolutely hated them at first and have somewhat warmed to them, but not entirely. When the traffic is light, they work great. When it`s heavy, everybody ends up having to stop anyway and the "go" is on a one at a time basis as each successive driver can see whether the vehicles already going around are going to pass or turn off before getting to where you`re waiting. With a 4-way stop, if there are two lanes going each direction, up to four vehicles can potentially cross at the same time. My persepective is that they`ve smoothed out a lot since they were first installed because people are getting accustomed to them. Good point about the severity of crashes- you`d have to try REALLY hard to get T-boned in a roundabout.

All of them in my area are for 4-way intersections, usually with a single lane going around. I spend a lot of time in Mexico, where many are in like 6-way intersections with several lanes making the circle- those are seriously confusing and scare the crap out of me! I go to great lengths to avoid them, though my wife and her father shoot through them at full speed, often drifting across two or three lanes in the process. I remember similar roundabouts when I was stationed in West Germany, but never drove or biked through them.


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## Richard_Rides (Jun 28, 2008)

Roundabouts are cool because the eliminate waiting at a red light when there's no cross traffic. They just opened one by my house, but it's very common to encounter a dummy going the wrong direction.


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## robwh9 (Sep 2, 2004)

*I like them*

one fewer stop light.

I was bicycle touring in New Zealand last June, where they have a lot of them. They drive on the left side, and I had to stop and think what to do a few times.

It's fun to hit one on a downhill and then lean into a 270 degree turn.


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## Unica (Sep 24, 2004)

I guess it's a matter of what you're used to. Here in the UK, roundabouts are everywhere. Traffic already on the roundabout has priority and it works well. Until recently in France, traffic entering the roundabout had priority which caused some fun!

Here's a picture of the 'Magic Roundabout' in Swindon - even I struggle with this one!


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## Mike T. (Feb 3, 2004)

I did a 360 on our new roundabout in my Vette this morning. There was no-one around so I let her rip. It was awesome. I wonder if they'd rent me that roundabout for 15 minutes for exclusive use.


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## Slim Again Soon (Oct 25, 2005)

City converted a T-intersection, which had stop signs all around, to a round-a-bout in my neighborhood.

Big, big improvement. Those things handle traffic well -- keeps most people moving, and those who have to stop don't wait for long.

There's never a line of more than a two or three cars.

In the T-days, the line would stretch out for 20, 30 cars when people were coming home from work.

I'm a big fan.


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## Dave Hickey (Jan 27, 2002)

We have a couple around here..... 

I like the single lane round abouts when cycling...

The 2 and 3 lanes ones get a little hairy...


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 20, 2007)

WTFFF??? Sure glad I don`t have to figure that one out!



Unica said:


>


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## Unica (Sep 24, 2004)

It's not actually as bad as it looks. Basically, it's two roundabouts combined in one - the first the conventional, clockwise variety and the second, which revolved inside the first, sending traffic anti-clockwise.

Remember, we drive on the other side of the road - might make it a little easier to understand!


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## MarkS (Feb 3, 2004)

Unica said:


> I guess it's a matter of what you're used to. Here in the UK, roundabouts are everywhere. Traffic already on the roundabout has priority and it works well. Until recently in France, traffic entering the roundabout had priority which caused some fun!
> 
> Here's a picture of the 'Magic Roundabout' in Swindon - even I struggle with this one!


I think that I might have ridden through that one in 2004. I was in London and took my bike on the train to Swindon for a ride in the country. https://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?t=8917&highlight=swindon I remember going through a really difficult roundabout in Swindon. Given that I was not used to riding on the "wrong" side of the road and going through a roundabout the "wrong" way, I attributed the difficulty to my not being used to riding on the left side of the road. But, now that I see an aerial photograph of the thing, I now understand why it was so confusing.


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## Indyfan (Mar 30, 2004)

We have a few here and generally speaking they work great. People here havint figured out that signalling (always a right) just before the turn makes it a lot easier for everyone. I signal on my bike and when driving. Some people actually understand what I'm doing, some stare blankly at me until they realize I've just turned into the street they're exiting (of course many stare at their cell phone...) I think that if they are consistently added across the US, within a generation or two we might be almost as smooth as the Euros at it....

Bob


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 20, 2007)

Indyfan said:


> People here havint figured out that signalling (always a right) just before the turn makes it a lot easier for everyone....
> 
> ...I think that if they are consistently added across the US, within a generation or two we might be almost as smooth as the Euros at it....


Signaling would make it easier to tell what people have in mind, but ours around here are all so small that you`d only get a couple of blinks in a car. Since I rarely ride in town (and I confess that I seldom signal my bike anyway), I don`t think I`ve tried signaling while riding one. I still haven`t pedaled through one while there was heavy traffic either.

Hopefully not a matter of generations, but I agree that they take time to get accustomed to. Yeah, maybe that`s the key.


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## dir-t (Oct 14, 2005)

There are two of them in my neighborhood and my house sits on the "corner" next to one of them. 

Maybe I shouldn't get so upset about it since traffic is usually very light, but I would say that 80% or more of the people planning to make left turns just go into the roundabout the wrong way. I've seen 2 near accidents caused by that over the past 3 years. Then you have the moreon kids with their loud exhausts spinning their tires around them, and the hicks driving their pickups STRAIGHT through the thing and over the landscaping in the middle...

All in all, I love them and have ever since I visited Ireland 15 years ago. They work great if you could get all the idiots to drive correctly.

There are 3 total in my town, all on more quite residential or semi-residential streets. I wish they would put a couple on the more busy intersections but the only time one was proposed for such a location there was a big outcry - mostly having to do with the amount of private property that would have to be acquired in order to build it.


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## JCavilia (Sep 12, 2005)

Unica said:


> It's not actually as bad as it looks. Basically, it's two roundabouts combined in one - the first the conventional, clockwise variety and the second, which revolved inside the first, sending traffic anti-clockwise.
> 
> Remember, we drive on the other side of the road - might make it a little easier to understand!


It's more like 6 in 1, isn't it? The big "wrong-way" one in the middle (that would be the "right way" for us in the US) and 5 "planetary" roundabouts feeding it. Anyway, it looks a bit mad.

I spent a week in Scotland last summer, and became pretty adept at -- and rather fond of -- the roundabouts. They work well when everyone understands the rules. I can see that they likely save time, fuel and air pollution compared to stoplights.

It helped that my son's GPS was programmed with John Cleese's voice. When he said, "Cross the roundabout; second exit," he somehow made it very clear. (When we got to the the end of the route, he said, "You have reached your destination. You may exit the car. I will not be helping with the bags.")


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 20, 2007)

JCavilia said:


> It helped that my son's GPS was programmed with John Cleese's voice. When he said, "Cross the roundabout; second exit," he somehow made it very clear. (When we got to the the end of the route, he said, "You have reached your destination. You may exit the car. I will not be helping with the bags.")


I`m waiting for a GPS with Hyacinth and Richard Bucket.
"Mind the lory, Richard."
"Minding the lory, dear."


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## JCavilia (Sep 12, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> I`m waiting for a GPS with Hyacinth and Richard Bucket.
> "Mind the lory, Richard."
> "Minding the lory, dear."


Excellent. Mrs. Boo-KAY.

"Mind the pedestrian."
"What pedestrian?"
"There on the pavement."
"I'm not DRIVING on the pavement."

("pavement" of course means "sidewalk" in UK)


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## uphillcrash (Apr 12, 2009)

Im from New Zealand and we have a lot of round abouts.I ride through 8 mullti laned round abouts each way going to work and comming home. Just a few ideas to help you stay alive on them 1 own the lane dont let cars try to push past you 2 stay well out from the gutter as you exit the roundabout this is the most dangerous part of the round about, cars tend to cut the corners and think that they can get past as they speed up 3 let the other road users know which way you are going ,you dont want to t bone a car at 45kph (it hurts) I point to the exit that im taking this lets cars move on to the round about and keeps them happy which is a good thing (we have the car v bike hate thing over here as well )I think Round abouts are the best form of traffic managment they work well, just be carefull not every one respects the rules,of knows how to use a round about .


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## Crack Monkey (Apr 19, 2007)

dir-t said:


> ...I would say that 80% or more of the people planning to make left turns just go into the roundabout the wrong way


Are they sign-posted? In the UK, most of them have a sign that depicts the proper direction to navigate the round-a-bout.

Here's one from the US... 









For a local roundabout, you could make it smaller by dropping the city names and route #s and just leave the picture.


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## bane (Aug 30, 2006)

I went to school at UCDavis where there is massive bike commuting by the students. First day of school it was always good fun to go sit near the biggest roundabout on campus in front of Chem 194 and watch the freshmen freak out on their walmart bikes as they tried to navigate through it. Lots of crashes. No one ever really got hurt.

There was only one roundabout in town I didn't like and that was because it was pretty narrow and buses would go through it while you were going round and try to pass you on your bike. That got pretty nerve wracking.


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## Mike T. (Feb 3, 2004)

bane said:


> There was only one roundabout in town I didn't like and that was because it was pretty narrow and buses would go through it while you were going round and try to pass you on your bike. That got pretty nerve wracking.


As a bicycle is a vehicle under whatever traffic regulations you're operating under, then the bicycle is allowed to take up a full lane. As it is unsafe for any vehicle to pass another vehicle within a roundabout, unless more than one lane is provided, then it is very wise for the bicycle to take up a stance that prevents it from being passed.


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## uphillcrash (Apr 12, 2009)

The problem is most drivers that dont ride see bikes as TOYS not as a real vehicle ,and treat us as we shouldnt be on there road ,they tend to give me more room when i have my back pack on commuting .I have more near misses when Im out training .Most drivers dont know that its the same road rules for ALL road users .I always claim my lane at round abouts so they cant get past while Im on the round about, then move over when its safe for them to pass me .


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## dir-t (Oct 14, 2005)

Crack Monkey said:


> Are they sign-posted? .


Oh, yeah, there are signs. People are just too lazy to hold on to the steering wheel for the amount of time it takes to properly use the roundabout.


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## Mike T. (Feb 3, 2004)

uphillcrash said:


> The problem is most drivers that dont ride see bikes as TOYS not as a real vehicle ,and treat us as we shouldnt be on there road ,they tend to give me more room when i have my back pack on commuting .I have more near misses when Im out training .Most drivers dont know that its the same road rules for ALL road users .I always claim my lane at round abouts so they cant get past while Im on the round about, then move over when its safe for them to pass me .


If we are traffic (and we are) and we want to be treated like traffic then we must behave like traffic (as you did when you claimed your lane). When we ride with confidence, we get respect. I have an acquaintance who has a great website called the Vehicular Cyclist. The great quote on his site is -

_"Cyclists fare best when they act and are treated as drivers of vehicles" _- John Forester, Effective Cycling


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## Anthony_boi (Dec 15, 2008)

I ride through one round-about (circle-jerk as I call it) on my commute. The only danger is that this one, along with many I've seen, includes a right-turn-direct lane where you can bypass the circle to simply turn right. Therefore, if you take a left through the roundabout, you have a "merge" situation with the cars coming towards you who were taking a simultaneous right. It took some practice to get used to looking ahead and see if there is a car taking that express-right, and timing that merge with a car that may or may not see you.

Other than that, they're fun - and it makes my ENTIRE commute unclip free.


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## Mike T. (Feb 3, 2004)

Anthony_boi said:


> Other than that, they're fun - and it makes my ENTIRE commute unclip free.


I'm the OP. On yesterday's ride I did a 180 (straight thru) at our new roundabout and there were no vehicles in sight. I went through at 20mph and didn't even back off the 'gas'. Yeow. Previously that was a stop sign at a fairly busy road. So far, this roundabout is awesome.


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## Indyfan (Mar 30, 2004)

Mike T. said:


> I'm the OP. On yesterday's ride I did a 180 (straight thru) at our new roundabout and there were no vehicles in sight. I went through at 20mph and didn't even back off the 'gas'. Yeow. Previously that was a stop sign at a fairly busy road. So far, this roundabout is awesome.


And that is exactly as it should be, traffic keeps moving. It's the people that can't follow simple directions (signage) that are the main problem. All of our roundabouts have yield, not stop signs, at the entrance from each street. I remember being a little unsure of the details (mainly signaling) the first couple of times I used them. But after about a minute's worth of thought about the whole thing it was pretty obvious what I needed to do. And I think that's the problem with a lot of people on the road - they just want to put the car on autopilot and not think about anything but the call/text message they just got and/or if they look as good as they did the last time they looked at themselves in the rearview (2 minutes ago).

Bob


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