07-03-2011, 06:52 AM
[quote]Originally posted by PaulW
Story on roundabouts:
"The simpler British version is thought to have first arrived in the US in 1990..."
I thought this was funny bc I grew up in Washington, D.C., where roundabouts go back to L'Enfant's original 1789 design. I was told as a kid it was meant to confuse the enemy in an attack, but methinks it's to keep traffic flowing. Of course, once traffic gets to a certain density, it can quickly turn to mayhem. Add to that tourists who aren't used to them... We used to joke in DC that it must be summer bc the circles were nuts. (i.e., the tourists were in town)
Unless you are used to them, they can be quite confusing, as people unfamiliar with them often stop before entering, or worse, stop and wait until traffic has cleared the circle. There's etiquette about how to enter, move over a lane if you're not "getting off" at the next spoke, etc.
Good God, there are people here who assume other drivers are trying to cut them off when they are trying to zipper merge (see other threads) -- I fear they'll think someone entering a roundabout from, say, Ainaloa, is butting in.
Personally, I like them, but I'm just sayin'... YOU HAVE TO BE MORE ALERT to deal with them.
Story on roundabouts:
"The simpler British version is thought to have first arrived in the US in 1990..."
I thought this was funny bc I grew up in Washington, D.C., where roundabouts go back to L'Enfant's original 1789 design. I was told as a kid it was meant to confuse the enemy in an attack, but methinks it's to keep traffic flowing. Of course, once traffic gets to a certain density, it can quickly turn to mayhem. Add to that tourists who aren't used to them... We used to joke in DC that it must be summer bc the circles were nuts. (i.e., the tourists were in town)
Unless you are used to them, they can be quite confusing, as people unfamiliar with them often stop before entering, or worse, stop and wait until traffic has cleared the circle. There's etiquette about how to enter, move over a lane if you're not "getting off" at the next spoke, etc.
Good God, there are people here who assume other drivers are trying to cut them off when they are trying to zipper merge (see other threads) -- I fear they'll think someone entering a roundabout from, say, Ainaloa, is butting in.
Personally, I like them, but I'm just sayin'... YOU HAVE TO BE MORE ALERT to deal with them.