People in Kentucky can't figure out how to use a roundabout

[Eric]

Can't wait to see Rand Paul call the department of transportation to the Senate floor to tell them how bad roundabouts are for traffic because he simply doesn't understand it.

Folks, I give you Kentucky.

 

[Edd]

Rotarys are very popular up here in New England. I was surprised to learn recently that the US town with the most was far from here.

Roundabouts | City of Carmel

 

[User.168]

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[Chew Toy McCoy]

My coworker lives on a corner house and the interception has a roundabout type structure except it’s not there to help the flow of traffic. It’s there to deter people from speeding down a long straight street. She has a security camera on the front of her house and the view includes that intersection. At least once a week she sends me a video of idiot drivers causing accidents not knowing how to negotiate it or slamming right into it like it’s not even there. Personally, I think in neighborhoods they are more of an accident magnet than whatever danger they are attempting to prevent.

 

[Thomas Veil]

Can't wait to see Rand Paul call the department of transportation to the Senate floor to tell them how bad roundabouts are for traffic because he simply doesn't understand it.

Folks, I give you Kentucky.

What the…?!? That’s not how you use a roundabout.

And people tell us not to think people in southern states are morons. No, not all, @Alli being a prime example. But good lord…

That said, roundabouts are not popular up here. I’ve used a few in the south, small ones with five or more exit lanes, and they’re frustrating because it’s easy to miss your exit.

 

[lizkat]

I recently learnt that in some places in the US people actually protested against roundabouts many decades ago.

There's a lot of confusion still in the USA about "traffic circles" vs roundabouts. The former (actually called rotaries) are way different to a roundabout. A rotary takes up more acreage and is much more like a freeway cloverleaf; it permits high speed merges into traffic with lane changing... and so has a higher rate of multi-vehicle crashes, often caused by drivers unfamiliar with the layout of the exits or wanting to change lanes quickly in order to leave the "circle" at the desired exit. The signage for entry and exit varies from rotary to rotary, some have none at all so you just find yourself merging into traffic and experiencing stuff like driving lanes ending in merges or exits without warning. Most of them were designed in the 40s or 50s and became nightmarish with increases in traffic density. I think there are more of them left in the northeastern USA now than elsewhere.

 

[Renzatic]

We've been seeing a bunch of roundabouts spring up around here over the last few years. The adjustment period was pretty brutal for some people.

 

[Alli]

And then there’s Mobile AL where they do shit like this:

They put them at intersections in neighborhoods where it’s difficult to go around them. Emergency vehicles have to actually go over them for the most part.

 

[User.191]

And then there’s Mobile AL where they do shit like this:

View attachment 4840

They put them at intersections in neighborhoods where it’s difficult to go around them. Emergency vehicles have to actually go over them for the most part.

WTF is that nonsense about turning left????

 

[SuperMatt]

WTF is that nonsense about turning left????

Yeah that was what really stuck out to me. I want to be like the teacher in Mr. Mom and go tell them:

 

[User.191]

Best thing about roundabouts is using them wisely.

30 years ago the exit at the end of a long stretch of dual carriageway (back in England) was a roundabout where 98% of all traffic took the first exit (which was essentially a straight) that immediately went from 70 MPH before the roundabout to 40 MPH after.

This meant that during morning rush hour the left hand lane could be backed up easily 1/2 a mile (if not more) before the roundabout.

I only ever waited once - and that was my first day. From the 2nd day onwards I'd speed past everyone as I drove in the right hand lane and then looped around the roundabout doing a 540° - the benefit being that as I approached the 360° I then had the legal right of way.

In the 9 months I was on that contract I rarely saw anyone else pull the same maneuver.

I dud however see plenty of idiots take the right hand lane then barge in to the straight causing much honking of horns.

If you're gonna cheat, do it safely and use the right tool for the job...

 

[thekev]

I don't get it. It looks like a 3 way split of traffic otherwise flowing in one direction. Don't these make more sense when you actually have traffic flowing in both directions?

 

[Eric]

Also spotted in Kentucky.

 

[DT]

I like to drift around big ones at ~60MPH

(No, I wouldn't do that, even if there was noone around ... or would I ...)

We have this glorious monstrosity, affectionately known as the traffic peanut ...

 

[Alli]

WTF is that nonsense about turning left????

The thing is, they’re not really big enough to go around. They’re just little islands they stuck in the middle of intersections in residential neighborhoods.

 

[Edd]

I like to drift around big ones at ~60MPH

(No, I wouldn't do that, even if there was noone around ... or would I ...)

We have this glorious monstrosity, affectionately known as the traffic peanut ...


View attachment 4849

Mmm, that road cutting through the middle looks goofy. Not approved.

 

[DT]

Mmm, that road cutting through the middle looks goofy. Not approved.

It's asinine (they refer to it as a slip lane, that's not the standard definition ...), and apparently a part of the design was to accommodate a historical landmark that got removed anyway, the could've just made a big, regular intersection, so large trucks could drive straight through (like top to bottom in that pic), and had a northern yield lane (that would be turning left as the pic is oriented), to keep traffic flowing. This design also necessitates __two__ crosswalks for pedestrian north/south (at the top).

Also, the lights if you're headed south (to the right):

... allow straight through traffic, but stop the left turn sooner, and since the left turn light IS ON THE GROUND ACROSS THE STREET, people continue turning left on red all the time.