Posts: 1,779
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ourdoc,
understood -- t-o-t-a-l-l-y!!
about the directing traffic from behind the steering wheel.
years ago, I did this and the result was a crash for the poor sap I was trying to help.
...never again.
on roundabouts, the roundabout signage, the yield signs, the on-street painting, and the curbs do the job.
Posts: 299
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Roundabouts work if people don't stop, pay attention, and use common sense. But that's asking people to do 3 things at once, and that's 3 opportunities for failure.
I agree that given enough time most people will adapt but then again a Right-of-Way here in Puna is frequently a Left-of-Way because the intersections were designed by gerbils (in Honolulu). If something can go wrong it surely will, because life is a little different here and many people are too poor to pay attention.
Can't you just see someone stopping to park an wait for someone 100 yards away to go through the intersection before them.
In order to do it right maybe they should be renamed Huli-Hulis here, and all signs leading into the intersection should be "Please Keep Moving" (do not stop!)
Also, can't wait to see how long it takes someone with oversize tires to drive over (through) the center island rather than around it as designed. If I was a gambler I would give it less that a month unless they seriously barricade it, and trees don't count as barricades.
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Terracore, You have a serious writing gift. One of the best posts on this site I have ever read. I too was Leary when the put in a roundabout in Fairbanks, Alaska. Amazing results at one of the worst intersections ever. I hold my breath to see how Puna accepts same. Could work, could bomb!
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Thanks for the clarification regarding my question, James. I wasn't sure if you meant the roundabout would create aloha or aloha was needed to negotiate it.
I'm curious to see how it works out in the end since it seems it's going to happen no matter what. I grew up in a place in the UK which is infamous for the number of roundabouts it has, and as I discovered last year, the number is increasing dramatically (for an amusing and tongue-in-cheek short article about the place, see
http://www.trousers.co.uk/bracknell/about.html). The town now has traffic lights on all the major roundabouts and although not directly related to Puna it's interesting to see how things have developed over the years.
One thing about roundabouts is that they generally work best when traffic flow is equal in all directions (the video is a demonstration of this). It'll be interesting to see how it works out in the morning and evening commute.
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quote:
Originally posted by robguz
Would love to see the test repeated with at least half the drivers unlicensed, drunk, stoned, and/or mentally ill. Would be much more representative.
Don't worry , for the most part these people don't have driver's licenses or insurance....so we're safe !!!
