Roundabouts - What they are and what they aren't (1 of 5)

[Marmosette]

They completely fail to say what makes these different from the "rotaries" in the UK. They're actually called roundabouts there too, and they work the same way as in the US, so I'm finding this video hard to trust.

[UrukEngineer]

WTF is a vee-hickle?

[HunterstonB]

The first modern roundabout's were introduced in 1966 in the UK and had replaced about 90% of intersections by 1980. They rapidly spread to the rest of the world. The USA is the last major country in the world to introduce them.

The British have been the world leaders in highway design for the last 50 years, the philosophy being to 'engineer' road accidents out of the system, Their accident rate is 30% that of the USA.

Look up 'cats eyes' instead of 'bot's dots'

[danger2615]

So that's what these are!? I have been driving over them for years.. damn.

[leapoffaith20]

So its EXACTLY like the ones we have in the UK? Good to know. (aside from the whole driving on the other side of the road thing, you crazy Yanks you)

[shmuli9]

@leapoffaith20 I found out the reason why there IS a difference of driving on the left or right! It has something to do with the fact that in North America and France, distances travelled by wagon were QUITE a bit longer than distances travelled in Britain.

[SamuraiClinton]

roundabouts rule!

[garry1004]

it's different from those traffic circles you see in Europe << Erm i think you'll find we pretty much invented the roundabout you're refering to in the video...

[Seattlecarnut]

I live in Gig Harbor, Washington, and we have two roundabouts. It's easy to navigate. Why more cities don't have roundabouts is beyond me.

[shmuli9]

@Seattlecarnut Supposedly the reason given is "people aren't used to them", which doesn't make much sense. That would have been sort of (in the 19th century) "we're not going to install electric lights because people are used to having kerosene lamps to gas-fade the wallpaper or blow up" or "we're not going to install water mains becasue people are used to getting typoid from drnking contaminated well water".

[Seattlecarnut]

@shmuli9 It doesn't make sense. There are places here in Washington state I've visited that have roundabouts. Gig Harbor, Monroe, Issaquah. If I missed any other places, please let me know.

[shmuli9]

@Seattlecarnut Yes, there ae other places in WA State that have them. Lacey, Kennewick, Whatcom County, Yakima, Woodinville, Lynnwood, Tulalip, University Place, Olympia, North Bend, and Clark Count are a few more places...

[Seattlecarnut]

@shmuli9 Ah. Ok. I rarely visit Lacey, and I've never visited Kennewick, I've visited parts of Whatcom County.

[shmuli9]

@Seattlecarnut Yes, there are 3 or 4 on the "Guide Meridian" (SR 539) in between Whatcom County and the Lower Mainland. At first, the farmers who used the Guide were predicting gloom and doom, but after the roundabouts were installed, they LOVE them.

[adrianroam95]

@shmuli9 The SR539 roundabouts piss me off.

[lornaration]

Yeah thats the same as Britains... although we dont like to call ourselves European.. but technically we are.

[04smallmj]

that's cus the rest of Europe is gay.

[ekspertti1]

that doesn't differ at all from finnish roundabouts/traffic circles (and Finland is in Europe)

[Duiss]

It's the same here in Germany and the Netherlands. No difference at all. Although there are some "advanced" roundabouts which feature lanes which can only be exited at specific exists. The Netherlands have quite a lot of them.

[NOMeasureA2008]

"Refuge for pedestrians"?!? They did not teach us in Engineering School that intersections had refugees.

[NipkowDisk]

Glad to see these roundabout videos finally posted. Excellent.

It's a shame there seems to be such reluctance to their construction- roundabouts usually have a considerably longer usable life than a signalized intersection because traffic backups on each leg remain low(er) for a greater number of years (or at least they should).