MizIndependent
Drama Llama
Quit your bullpoop.
Posts: 5,836
Jun 25, 2014 19:43:16 GMT
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Post by MizIndependent on Apr 25, 2016 23:22:53 GMT
Check out this mass of confusion:
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Post by justkat on Apr 25, 2016 23:36:33 GMT
It's a round-about (sp) and much easier to use than it appears. :-)
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MizIndependent
Drama Llama
Quit your bullpoop.
Posts: 5,836
Jun 25, 2014 19:43:16 GMT
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Post by MizIndependent on Apr 25, 2016 23:57:13 GMT
Yeah, I did know it's a round-about, but it's some kind of Inception level round-about, lol.
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Post by Basket1lady on Apr 26, 2016 0:00:03 GMT
By no means is that a normal round about. That's crazy!
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Post by **GypsyGirl** on Apr 26, 2016 0:06:14 GMT
Any idea where that is? I wish I had an aerial photo, but we have some small roundabouts (they call them traffic circles) that also have 4-way stop signs at the same intersection! Total confusion. I avoid them if at all possible. As for other driving rules, here in the US it is allowed to turn right on red (after stopping of course) unless otherwise posted. Imagine my surprise when I moved to Johannesburg and found out turning left on red was not allowed! ( ScrapsontheRocks - is that still the rule?) I got honked at when I tried it. Finally got used to not going, then came back to the US and people honked at me for NOT turning right on red.
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Post by bc2ca on Apr 26, 2016 0:18:17 GMT
I think it looks more confusing than it is, especially to those of us used to driving on the right side of the road. Roundabouts are less congested and more efficient than intersections. Can you imagine never having to stop for a red light! This is an interesting read The Case for More Traffic Roundabouts.
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Post by ScrapsontheRocks on Apr 26, 2016 4:43:09 GMT
Any idea where that is? I wish I had an aerial photo, but we have some small roundabouts (they call them traffic circles) that also have 4-way stop signs at the same intersection! Total confusion. I avoid them if at all possible. As for other driving rules, here in the US it is allowed to turn right on red (after stopping of course) unless otherwise posted. Imagine my surprise when I moved to Johannesburg and found out turning left on red was not allowed! ( ScrapsontheRocks - is that still the rule?) I got honked at when I tried it. Finally got used to not going, then came back to the US and people honked at me for NOT turning right on red. Hi there! It is still as you described; if there is no additional static sign combined with the robot/traffic light, or an additional flashing red arrow (signifies stop, check, then proceed with caution) you must wait for green. Unless you are one of our minibus taxis, which is a whole 'nother thread altogether
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Post by AussieMeg on Apr 26, 2016 5:46:42 GMT
We've got a gazillion roundabouts here but nothing like that crazy-arse thing!! That looks positively frightening. The worst one near me is this triple roundabout known as 5 Ways: It's not that bad once you get used to it, but the first time you see it, it's very confusing. It's right near the licence testing centre so the week before DD went for her licence we drove there every night and just kept going back and forth through the roundabout over and over, every possible direction, until she was confident.
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Post by ExpatBackHome on Apr 26, 2016 5:55:14 GMT
Here in Poland trucks must stay in the right lane on the highway and they have a slower posted speed limit. I've never had a big truck zoom past me which I love. I also don't get stuck behind a truck in the left lane which isn't going much faster than the truck in the right lane
Also, if you have a green light to turn right, watch out for pedestrians. They have a green to cross the street and have the right of way.
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LeaP
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,939
Location: Los Angeles, CA where 405 meets 101
Jun 26, 2014 23:17:22 GMT
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Post by LeaP on Apr 26, 2016 6:01:10 GMT
**GypsyGirl** no right on red in NYC. But then many consider that NY values
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wellway
Prolific Pea
Posts: 9,012
Jun 25, 2014 20:50:09 GMT
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Post by wellway on Apr 26, 2016 6:05:07 GMT
Pretty sure that is a picture of The Magic Roundabout in Swindon,UK more info here en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Roundabout_%28Swindon%29When I passed my driving test in London, I booked a motorway lesson as learner drivers are not allowed on motorways and I needed the experience. My driving instructor had me drive up the M1 out of London and to another of those five in one roundabouts in Hemel Hampstead. I needed a strong cup of tea after that lesson! ETA That large building in the bottom left corner of the picture is Wiltshire Fire and Rescue!
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Post by pjaye on Apr 26, 2016 6:12:06 GMT
The worst one near me is this triple roundabout known as 5 Ways: ha! I was almost going to post that! Mum is really close to there. She's freaking out about the all the town houses on the old school site at the top of the photo. I think there's like 70 new apartments there and they will all feed into that round-a-bout. Still being built so no one is living there yet, but she's not looking forward to the traffic chaos when they are fully occupied. I used to have friends visit or drive me home and it would scare them going through there.
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Post by AussieMeg on Apr 26, 2016 6:31:12 GMT
The worst one near me is this triple roundabout known as 5 Ways: ha! I was almost going to post that! Mum is really close to there. Yes I thought of you (or rather, your mum) when I posted that. It's going to be a nightmare with all that extra traffic from the townhouses.
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Post by AussieMeg on Apr 26, 2016 6:33:18 GMT
From the wikipedia link above: If that's the fourth scariest junction, I'd hate to see the other 3 ahead of it!!!
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Post by gar on Apr 26, 2016 7:29:41 GMT
That Swindon roundabout is pretty famous for it's fear factor but I've no idea where the 3 scarier ones are! It's not far from me but I've managed to avoid it so far
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wellway
Prolific Pea
Posts: 9,012
Jun 25, 2014 20:50:09 GMT
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Post by wellway on Apr 26, 2016 9:11:02 GMT
From the wikipedia link above: If that's the fourth scariest junction, I'd hate to see the other 3 ahead of it!!! gar AussieMegWell, of course, I had to find out what was ahead of it so I found a 2016 Daily Telegraph article where the Magic Roundabout has been pushed down to 7th Scariest junction. Here you go... www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1572297/Britains-ten-scariest-road-junctions-named.htmlI noticed Marble Arch, London is in third place, my driving instructor made me drive around that too.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Sept 29, 2024 10:21:46 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Apr 26, 2016 9:28:43 GMT
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Post by bessieb on Apr 26, 2016 9:42:46 GMT
Those roundabouts are great- particularly when you figure out how to use them- Iove them.
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Post by **GypsyGirl** on Apr 26, 2016 14:00:58 GMT
Hi there! It is still as you described; if there is no additional static sign combined with the robot/traffic light, or an additional flashing red arrow (signifies stop, check, then proceed with caution) you must wait for green. Unless you are one of our minibus taxis, which is a whole 'nother thread altogether Thanks for verifying that. One of my favorite words there was calling a red light a robot! Such a fun way to describe them! Now those minibus taxis are a whole 'nother thread. Hopefully they look better than they did while I was there. One thing that I saw there that I've never really seen elsewhere were bodies in the road from being run over. There seemed to be a higher number of pedestrian deaths. In one year we saw at least 6 people who'd been run over, on various roadways. Several times one of the dreaded minibus taxis was involved. Because we had just the one car, I drove DH to and from Cedar Lakes to Rosebank almost daily, so I was on the road a good bit. Might be one reason I saw more, but even when I commuted here in the US I never encountered that. Hopefully things have improved on that front!
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Post by pastlifepea on Apr 26, 2016 14:05:55 GMT
OMG...that pic in the original post looks like the 7th circle of roundabout hell. I'm okay with regular roundabouts and actually have decided they are actually pretty useful. My first experience with them was as a twenty something southern girl trying to navigate them with a car full of drunk Boston people in downtown Boston, which probably would have made for a pretty hilarious youtube video if we had had that back in the day.
As far as other countries driving rules, if you travel to Italy and plan to drive, beware the ZTL. They're areas where you are ONLY allowed to drive if you are a resident or have some sort of sticker. There are cameras and they check license plates of all vehicles going in. Don't think being in a rental car will get you out of it either. They WILL track you down via the rental company (usually several months later) and by then, you will be in for an even heftier fine. I refused to drive in Italy but had the job of helping look for ZTL signs when my two friends were driving. Fortunately, it's been almost two years since our trip and no tickets have showed up.
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Post by Darcy Collins on Apr 26, 2016 14:30:22 GMT
I wish the US had more roundabouts - than people would be forced to learn how to merge.
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Post by Darcy Collins on Apr 26, 2016 14:32:01 GMT
OMG...that pic in the original post looks like the 7th circle of roundabout hell. I'm okay with regular roundabouts and actually have decided they are actually pretty useful. My first experience with them was as a twenty something southern girl trying to navigate them with a car full of drunk Boston people in downtown Boston, which probably would have made for a pretty hilarious youtube video if we had had that back in the day. As far as other countries driving rules, if you travel to Italy and plan to drive, beware the ZTL. They're areas where you are ONLY allowed to drive if you are a resident or have some sort of sticker. There are cameras and they check license plates of all vehicles going in. Don't think being in a rental car will get you out of it either. They WILL track you down via the rental company (usually several months later) and by then, you will be in for an even heftier fine. I refused to drive in Italy but had the job of helping look for ZTL signs when my two friends were driving. Fortunately, it's been almost two years since our trip and no tickets have showed up. How funny - I used this as my example on the other thread about knowing the rules in other places. And I will absolutely confirm that they will track your rental car down. Our traveling companions paid $100+ a few months later.
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Post by Linda on Apr 26, 2016 15:31:43 GMT
don't know if it's still true but my mum tells stories of roundabouts in Belgium when she was there in the late 60s - Belgium had a priority from the right traffic rule that mean traffic coming INTO the roundabout had priority (right of way) over traffic already IN the roundabout. She said that every day during rush hour, the roundabouts would fill up and come to a stand-still and then the gendarmes would come and sort it all out.
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Post by **GypsyGirl** on Apr 26, 2016 16:24:58 GMT
don't know if it's still true but my mum tells stories of roundabouts in Belgium when she was there in the late 60s - Belgium had a priority from the right traffic rule that mean traffic coming INTO the roundabout had priority (right of way) over traffic already IN the roundabout. She said that every day during rush hour, the roundabouts would fill up and come to a stand-still and then the gendarmes would come and sort it all out. This is how it was in Kinshasa (former Belgian Congo). It would be the biggest mess at rush hour, and probably explains why there was a gendarme stand in the middle of the major roundabouts. It was the first time I had dealt with roundabouts, so that was how I learned to navigate them. Imagine my surprise when I encountered roundabouts in other places that didn't follow that!
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iluvpink
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,370
Location: Michigan
Jul 13, 2014 12:40:31 GMT
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Post by iluvpink on Apr 26, 2016 16:38:07 GMT
My first experience with roundabouts is one about a half hour from me. I hate them as there are three roundabouts very close to one another on a road right by the exit/entrance ramps of the freeway. This is a town I go to for shopping and I had never experienced a roundabout before. Now they are becoming more common here in MI so I've experienced a few more. NONE of them are nearly as scary as those three that were my first experience. I still have to take a deep breath and hope for the best when I exit the freeway and head through them. Thankfully on the way home it's much easier as I just turn right out of the shopping center and then enter the freeway.
DD laughs as she knows how much I hate it and I always tell her as we approach the exit "NO TALKING TO ME".
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Anita
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,702
Location: Kansas City -ish
Jun 27, 2014 2:38:58 GMT
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Post by Anita on Apr 26, 2016 17:13:46 GMT
I despise roundabouts (or traffic circles as I call them), and I see more close calls on those than I do at four-way stops. I don't think they are any safer.
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Post by gar on Apr 26, 2016 17:34:56 GMT
I despise roundabouts (or traffic circles as I call them), and I see more close calls on those than I do at four-way stops. I don't think they are any safer. That's a strong word for a traffic feature. Why do you think you see more close calls there than other places? Are people less familiar with them....I understand they're not as common in the US as they are here?
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Anita
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,702
Location: Kansas City -ish
Jun 27, 2014 2:38:58 GMT
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Post by Anita on Apr 26, 2016 17:40:44 GMT
I despise roundabouts (or traffic circles as I call them), and I see more close calls on those than I do at four-way stops. I don't think they are any safer. That's a strong word for a traffic feature. Why do you think you see more close calls there than other places? Are people less familiar with them....I understand they're not as common in the US as they are here? I think it's less familiarity. They just seemed to start popping up out of nowhere, and no one seems to understand that they have to yield to traffic that is already in the circle. But then I live in an area that seems filled with a bunch of entitled, idiot drivers, so that might have more to do with it than ignorance of the rules! I am filled with anxiety anytime I come across one, unless it's empty, because then I don't have to worry about someone plowing into me.
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Post by crimsoncat05 on Apr 26, 2016 17:48:08 GMT
I wish we had MORE of them in the US, actually!! That way people would have to learn the correct way to drive through them!! (hopefully, at least.)
I go thru one every morning on my way to work (it's a residential area near a couple resorts) that I think only has four streets feeding it; most of the traffic comes through it from only one or two of the streets. Even still, at least every second or third day I get stuck behind some car whose driver has obviously never gone through a roundabout before: they stop like it's a 4-way stop and when they finally DO decide to go they creep forward at a snail's pace, inching their way slooooowwwwwly into it as all the traffic to their left zips into it, past them, and heads on around. It's so annoying!!!
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Post by cade387 on Apr 26, 2016 17:55:27 GMT
One of my first driving experiences in Europe was the 12 lane roundabout in Paris at the Arc de Triomphe (etoile). That was fun I love driving over there - but Italy is nuts. They started adding roundabouts in the Detroit area and I love them, but people still don't use their left turn signal as they should
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