Is it just me, or do Mini Roundabouts NOT work??
Discussion
I like big normal roundabouts, they make traffic flow smoother and are fun when they are empty, but I think mini roundabouts just dont work, heres why:
1 The majority of people cut them (assuming they are big enough to get a car round) which has caused alot of close calls, or congestion because people cant get through while they wait for the traffic to clear.
2 if one person is turning right you end up with everyone stopping then all deciding to go then stopping etc until either a collision occours or someone gets away quicker than the other two
3 Some people dont even realise they are there and drive straight over them and collide with you as you try to turn right (unless you do an emergency stop!)
4 After 6 months the paint has worn away so you cant see them
And thats before I start with the drug induced comatosed idiot that came up with the double mini roundabout!!!
Interested to hear peoples opinions on this....
1 The majority of people cut them (assuming they are big enough to get a car round) which has caused alot of close calls, or congestion because people cant get through while they wait for the traffic to clear.
2 if one person is turning right you end up with everyone stopping then all deciding to go then stopping etc until either a collision occours or someone gets away quicker than the other two
3 Some people dont even realise they are there and drive straight over them and collide with you as you try to turn right (unless you do an emergency stop!)
4 After 6 months the paint has worn away so you cant see them
And thats before I start with the drug induced comatosed idiot that came up with the double mini roundabout!!!
Interested to hear peoples opinions on this....
Petrolhead_Rich said:
And thats before I start with the drug induced comatosed idiot that came up with the double mini roundabout!!!
Interested to hear peoples opinions on this....
Then , for sanity's sake ,steer clear of Hemel Hempstead and Swindon , which have both got a series of minis ,on a circle forming one large one .( Often refered to as "the magic " roundabout)- the Hemel one's at the junction of the A414 & A4146 , shows up well on Miltimap aerial ( Plough roundabout).Interested to hear peoples opinions on this....
Personally , mini ones ( locally placed to replace junctions ,where a right of way was well defined ) create a system of confusion and a higher accident risk .On locally makes me sympathise with learners -it's very close to a driving centre ,and for years the road out of the centre was the minor road with give way to other -so a lot of locals don't stop ,but learners will be expected to exercise their right of way -.
Again , a lot of drivers have read only the "give way to those on right ", but have missed the bit , "•watch out for all other road users already on the roundabout"
The thing with mini round-a-bouts is that people treat them as T junctions and assume a right of way just becasue they're driving faster on the straight-over section. If you pull onto the round-a-bout and casue a driver to slow up before he's at it, he'll go mad, even though the plonk is in the wrong. As I understand, you must give way to traffic already on the round-a-bout. Just today, I saw someone at a mini who was waiting even though I was some way from the round-a-bout, he waited for me to cross it when he should have gone first!! Perhaps they should have instructions on the aprroach roads to them!
I came across an elderly chap in a new black i30 trying to do a circuit of a mini roundabout and then having to stop and raise his arms before putting it in reverse to give himself more lock to get round it.
I'm not sure if he was test driving the car, or trying to confirm any suspicions that the mini roundabout was too small.
Miniroundabouts are one of the ways councils love to constrain traffic and pursue anti car agendads.
I'm not sure if he was test driving the car, or trying to confirm any suspicions that the mini roundabout was too small.
Miniroundabouts are one of the ways councils love to constrain traffic and pursue anti car agendads.
Petrolhead_Rich said:
4. After 6 months the paint has worn away so you cant see them
Yup - and the Hemel magic roundabout is basically 6 lumps in the ground as the paint has gone. Nobody ever drives "round" it properly, I try to steer clear of it because other people's reactions to it are so unpredictable.masermartin said:
Petrolhead_Rich said:
4. After 6 months the paint has worn away so you cant see them
Yup - and the Hemel magic roundabout is basically 6 lumps in the ground as the paint has gone. Nobody ever drives "round" it properly, I try to steer clear of it because other people's reactions to it are so unpredictable.Was driving with a mate who wasn't from the area and as we approached it I said "It's easy - just one large rounderbout in the middle, with six mini-rounderbouts around the edge. But the paint has worn off the minis, so they're a little hard to see. Oh, and you can go clockwise or anticlockwise around the central rounderbout - your choice." He didn't look particularly confident...
they are a complete and utter waste of paint. the local council round my part decided to go completly ape with the buggers about 4 years ago and they have been nothing but trouble ever since. there is a section of road that is perfectly straight and open in a light residential area. every 400 yards or so there is a t junction which heads into the houses where people wait to come out of, and that method has worked across the world for decades. then for no reason they thought, "ooh! maybe some lil dinky roundabouts would help traffic!". no. they dont . they are immpossible to notice until youv already driven over them and they seem to have given all joining traffic the right to pull straight out without giving a monkeys. crashes have since risen in the area by, and i jest thee not, 78%!!! and they still defend it as a good idea. silly buggers......
I've just a look for the magic roundabout - what a piece of road! Looks utterly pointless to me though.
For others who haven't yet seen it:
magic roundabout link
For others who haven't yet seen it:
magic roundabout link
tomsimes said:
I've just a look for the magic roundabout - what a piece of road! Looks utterly pointless to me though.
It's actually clever - you only use the bit of the main roundabout that you need, so if you need to turn right you don't have to queue all the way round the main circuit.The Swindon one is the same principle but scarier as there's no green central island!
tomsimes said:
I've just a look for the magic roundabout - what a piece of road! Looks utterly pointless to me though.
For others who haven't yet seen it:
magic roundabout link
Passed my test on the Swindon one and its bloody easy, if you're clever you can skip out loads of traffic and it never seems to be that conjestedFor others who haven't yet seen it:
magic roundabout link
I certainly agree that the Hemel Hempstead system is vastly easier than Swindon's Magic Roundabout:
The double mini roundabout in Chipping Norton at the north end of the Horsefair is total mare as well! Yet where they really NEED a roundabout (or traffic lights) at the junction of the A44 and A361 opposite the Marketplace, there is just a dangerous T-junction......
The double mini roundabout in Chipping Norton at the north end of the Horsefair is total mare as well! Yet where they really NEED a roundabout (or traffic lights) at the junction of the A44 and A361 opposite the Marketplace, there is just a dangerous T-junction......
Edited by nickwilcock on Sunday 5th September 08:22
Mini-roundabouts are infinitely preferable to the "moron default" of traffic lights.
They work and they work well.
Some drivers are the problem as it does require them to be alert rather than an automaton activated/deactivated by various coloured lights.
Lights form a 'standard', put them up anywhere and they work in a universal way no matter what the location, mini-roundabouts are not standardised and are adapted for each location and the driver has to do the same.
Over the years I have come to the conclusion that driving needs to be treated not as some anti-social necessity but as a skill to be developed, sadly with the adoption of the 'FPN culture' has removed the desire for some to improve upon an acquired skill.
Can't cope with a mini-roundabout? Then improve your driving by improving your tolerance and foresight!
They work and they work well.
Some drivers are the problem as it does require them to be alert rather than an automaton activated/deactivated by various coloured lights.
Lights form a 'standard', put them up anywhere and they work in a universal way no matter what the location, mini-roundabouts are not standardised and are adapted for each location and the driver has to do the same.
Over the years I have come to the conclusion that driving needs to be treated not as some anti-social necessity but as a skill to be developed, sadly with the adoption of the 'FPN culture' has removed the desire for some to improve upon an acquired skill.
Can't cope with a mini-roundabout? Then improve your driving by improving your tolerance and foresight!
Political Pain said:
Mini-roundabouts are infinitely preferable to the "moron default" of traffic lights.
They work and they work well.
Some drivers are the problem as it does require them to be alert rather than an automaton activated/deactivated by various coloured lights.
Lights form a 'standard', put them up anywhere and they work in a universal way no matter what the location, mini-roundabouts are not standardised and are adapted for each location and the driver has to do the same.
Over the years I have come to the conclusion that driving needs to be treated not as some anti-social necessity but as a skill to be developed, sadly with the adoption of the 'FPN culture' has removed the desire for some to improve upon an acquired skill.
Can't cope with a mini-roundabout? Then improve your driving by improving your tolerance and foresight!
Very good post. Have you noticed how much better traffic flows when traffic lights are out?They work and they work well.
Some drivers are the problem as it does require them to be alert rather than an automaton activated/deactivated by various coloured lights.
Lights form a 'standard', put them up anywhere and they work in a universal way no matter what the location, mini-roundabouts are not standardised and are adapted for each location and the driver has to do the same.
Over the years I have come to the conclusion that driving needs to be treated not as some anti-social necessity but as a skill to be developed, sadly with the adoption of the 'FPN culture' has removed the desire for some to improve upon an acquired skill.
Can't cope with a mini-roundabout? Then improve your driving by improving your tolerance and foresight!
Mostro said:
Have you noticed how much better traffic flows when traffic lights are out?
Constantly.A vast majority should only operate during high flow times and then simply switched off.
You often see people taking a census at these places and I wonder if they note the time as well as the rate of traffic [I would like to think they do] and that should give enough info to put in a timer similar to the one in your central heating system.
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