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(can of worms alert) Globe hasn't warmed in the last 16 years 76

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Do we really expect people who can't get the general idea of "keep to the inside lane unless overtaking or allowing to merge" to comprehend yield?

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Roundabouts are brilliant. The UK's road network is based on them. Most motorway (highway) junctions are based on roundabouts. Some may have a circumference of quarter mile because they raise up over the top of the 4-6 lanes below and feed in the entry and exits.

Once you realise how they work, which is not very hard, it is easy to follow. Approach the junction, if there is a car on the roundabout before you or is about to enter at high speed, then yield. Simple.
 
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KENAT, no we can't. We even have a "move over" law in my state. It is almost universally ignored and never enforced.

Regards,

Mike
 
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Some how I think many of these bad habits people have is because they are trying to get ahead, or a I don't care, and this may have developed in reaction to traffic control, and the process of controlling peoples driving habits. That maybe traffic calming is having the oposite effect.

While on this topic, will smart grid, and controlling peoples appliances, AC, and thermostats have a simular effect? Will it make people develop some nasty energy usage habits?
 
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people have bad driving behaviours 'cause they are inconsiderate of others. "me first"; for me Ontario drivers are notorious "lane hogs" ... cruising in the inside lane as a right.

people will have bad energy behaviours 'cause they don't feel any pain.

the last thing i want to see is some government agency setting my thermostat, but i will accept a pricing model that "encourages" me to be more energy efficient.

Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati
 
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Do we really expect people who can't get the general idea of "keep to the inside lane unless overtaking or allowing to merge" to comprehend yield?
Click to expand...

Well, I'm not sure what you mean by that, and yet I understand 'yield' and 'merge'. To me, 'inside' means 'near the middle', so the 'inside lane' would logically mean the one near the middle of the road, which is what I was taught was the passing lane.

 
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TenPenny, you are correct, although in practice the right-hand lane (asuming left-hand-drive vehicles) is often the "passing lane" out of necessity:)

Regards,

Mike
 
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It is my opinion that, as cars have become better & better, drivers have become worse & worse. Why? Nobody has to actually operate the car anymore, just point it and regulate the speed to some degree. Power everything, automatic everything, cruise control, traction control, stability control, great tires, great ride and handling, nobody has the faintest idea what's going on out there. It's like going down the road in your living room:)

Regards,

Mike
 
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We're a bit spoiled here in California as it's legal, with a few restrictions on large truck when there are 3 or more lanes, to cruise and/or overtake in any lane. But this of course can cause problems when driving in other states where there are lane and passing restrictions and you fall-back on your 'at-home' driving habits.

However, the one traffic rule which really drove us crazy when we first moved here 33 years ago was that which allows motorcycles to pass BETWEEN lanes of traffic as long as they stay off the shoulders and/or the median. This includes allowing them to move to the front of multiple lanes of traffic when stopped at a traffic signal, again, as long as they don't use the shoulders/median (driving on a shoulder or in the median is reserved for emergency vehicles only).

John R. Baker, P.E.
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Siemens PLM Software Inc.
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Cypress, CA
Siemens PLM:
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To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.
 
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Roundabouts can liven up many a boring journey. Getting the power down on exiting a roundabout is so much more fun than doing a standing-start from stop-lights. Many roundabouts even have super-grippy surfaces so you can really sling-shot off them.

When I did my motorcycle lessons, one of the things the instructor made clear to us was that roundabouts do not have a "racing line". Certainly not when doing the actual test. But we know they do. The national speed limit here (60 mph) can seem like quite a lot when you are doing it around a roundabout.

- Steve
 
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JohnRBaker - actually I don't think the being able to cruise/overtake in any Lane here in CA is beneficial overall - that was part of the inspiration for my comment. I'm inclined to think the traffic flow in the UK was generally a little better (though lot's of variables of course).

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Here's a link to a rotary that I used to pass through on a daily basis when I lived in Springfield, Massachusetts:


As far as I know, it is the only traffic circle to ever be featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not! It could be painful to drive through if you were dealing with motorists who didn't know how to navigate their way through it. One of my buddies who lived near Springfield refused to go through it for years. He would go out of his way to avoid it, and referred to it as the "circle of death". Apparently there were accidents in it quite often, although I never personally saw one happen.

Maui

 
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When the French introduced roundabouts, "priorité a droite" applied (or was assumed by French drivers), meaning that cars traveling counter-clockwise on the roundabout had to give way to cars entering (i.e. from the right). So they just filled up with cars and ground to a halt.

- Steve
 
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ah, easy-peasy ... google "swindon roundabout" ... we'd been driving in the UK for some months so we were used to the roundabout signs, then we say that one ... a central roundabout with satellite roundabouts, aptly nicknamed "magic roundabout" ... "what do we do now ? i don't know, but i'm going that way" ... made it out alive.

Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati
 
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Hit up Google maps for East Longmeadow, MA and it centers pretty much on the rotary. Streetview is pretty neat. I'm surprised at how low and small the yield signs are.
 
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