Is it just me, or do Mini Roundabouts NOT work??

Is it just me, or do Mini Roundabouts NOT work??

Author
Discussion

Petrolhead_Rich

Original Poster:

4,659 posts

191 months

Monday 12th July 2010
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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....

Who me ?

7,455 posts

211 months

Tuesday 13th July 2010
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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).
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"

LewisR

678 posts

214 months

Tuesday 3rd August 2010
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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!

carinaman

21,224 posts

171 months

Saturday 7th August 2010
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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.

Ben Hughes

1,937 posts

178 months

Sunday 8th August 2010
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I encountered the 'Magic Roundabout' at 1AM last week. Absolute mindfk - it was empty so just drove straight across the bd thing bounce




Edited by Ben Hughes on Sunday 8th August 00:45

7mike

3,005 posts

192 months

Sunday 8th August 2010
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Petrolhead_Rich said:
4 After 6 months the paint has worn away so you cant see them
...
Have you also noticed how they paint the speed limit on the ground these days? Perhaps the real bad driving issue is drivers whose line of vision extends a couple of feet beyond their bonnet.

masermartin

1,629 posts

176 months

Monday 9th August 2010
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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.

wiffmaster

2,602 posts

197 months

Friday 13th August 2010
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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.
It's ridiculous now - you can barely even see the mini-rounderbouts any more. Fine if you're a local and know where they are, but must be baffling for people who aren't used to it.

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...

killsta

1,722 posts

227 months

Tuesday 24th August 2010
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I've just seen that 'Magic Roundabout' for the first time.

How the fk can you have a roundabout ON a roundabout?

Surely that defeats the point of the big roundabout, i.e. not stopping on it!



Edited by killsta on Tuesday 24th August 09:53

MidlandDan84

588 posts

177 months

Tuesday 24th August 2010
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Lived 50ft away from the 'Magic Roundabout' in Hemel for nearly 2 years, it works fine most of the time, and to be honest its pretty straight forward.

Though i can understand its a bit flustering for 'first timers'.

Edited by MidlandDan84 on Tuesday 24th August 09:57

Gazmiller

8 posts

190 months

Monday 30th August 2010
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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 smile. 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......

tomsimes

156 posts

190 months

Tuesday 31st August 2010
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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

Mostro

727 posts

206 months

Friday 3rd September 2010
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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!

s1rallyemark

151 posts

179 months

Friday 3rd September 2010
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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 conjested

nickwilcock

1,522 posts

246 months

Sunday 5th September 2010
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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......



Edited by nickwilcock on Sunday 5th September 08:22

Pints

18,444 posts

193 months

Sunday 5th September 2010
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The magic roundabout is a piece of piss for us locals. You can see the panic on the faces of visitors from 500 paces. smile

Political Pain

983 posts

167 months

Sunday 5th September 2010
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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!

Mostro

727 posts

206 months

Monday 6th September 2010
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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?

visual123

150 posts

164 months

Monday 6th September 2010
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Swindon's magic is actually pretty decent, unless some tt is sat on one of the 'keep clear' areas, then it all goes to pot as the traffic backs up.

Political Pain

983 posts

167 months

Tuesday 7th September 2010
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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.