lucky to be here today

nice.. a european vacation quote!

and thanks.. glad to still be here

So, if you're going straight out the other side of a roundabout, and traffic is light, is proper procedure just to treat it as a high-speed chicane?

Because that's what I do....

Glad you are OK.

The local town put three of them in around here. I love them in the RX-7, not so much in the work van.

Not long after they installed them they had to redo them. They found out the ladder truck for the fire dept. couldn't make it through them without driving through the flower beds in the middle. Typical around here. They build everything (schools, roads, bridges) too small.

ClemSparks wrote: Look kids, there's Big Ben!

Parliament!

They just put three in a row here in front of Vassar college. My wife hates when we go that way because i put two wheels on the nicely painted angled curbing each time to try and straighten them out.

Toyman01 wrote: Not long after they installed them they had to redo them. They found out the ladder truck for the fire dept. couldn't make it through them without driving through the flower beds in the middle. Typical around here. They build everything (schools, roads, bridges) too small.

Around here there is always a small planter in the middle, surrounded by a broad apron of sloped pavers - low enough that trucks can edge the trailer up over them easily, but higher than you'd want to chicane-cut in street car. I like traffic circles / roundabouts. I think they work great in most cases.

Just maybe not this one:

Duke wrote:

Toyman01 wrote: Not long after they installed them they had to redo them. They found out the ladder truck for the fire dept. couldn't make it through them without driving through the flower beds in the middle. Typical around here. They build everything (schools, roads, bridges) too small.

Around here there is always a small planter in the middle, surrounded by a broad apron of sloped pavers - low enough that trucks can edge the trailer up over them easily, but higher than you'd want to chicane-cut in street car. I like traffic circles / roundabouts. I think they work great in most cases. Just maybe not this one:

They had to put in the band of pavers and a lower curb, shrinking the original beds by about 8 feet. The fire trucks destroyed the original curbs and the flower beds. They do seem to help with the flow of traffic. They would have helped more if they had made them larger to start with.

Roundabouts are everywhere in Oz, the thing is to actually understand them and have local laws that follow the correct theory.

The way the work in simple terms is, The roundabout is its own road, entering or leaving the roundabout means you would comply with the rules of entering any other roadway.

As you approach the road you will exit the roundabout onto, indicate right to advise other road users which exit you intent to use.

People who indicate the road they intend to use before entering the roundabout are always wrong.

Not sure why local cities find that so hard to understand.

Next up: the vortex junction!

the vortex junction looks like fun.

The problem with NJ's traffic circles is the laws regarding them. Most people cite one or the other.. either yeild to cars on the right (which means that if you are in the circle, you HAVE to yeild to all entering traffic, or that the traffic in the circle has right of way.

of course there is the one about traffic on a primary roadway having right of way over secondary roads... which does not work when most circles are on roads that can be considered a "primary" roadway. mix all that in with our booming tourist trade during the summer, and the circles can get just plain dicey

In reply to mad_machine:

interesting. theres a traffic circle in ft. worth that on one side of the circle, traffic in the circle has to yield, and on the other side, traffic entering has to yield. its a complete clustermess

Strizzo wrote: In reply to mad_machine: interesting. theres a traffic circle in ft. worth that on one side of the circle, traffic in the circle has to yield, and on the other side, traffic entering has to yield. its a complete clustermess

Yes...that's stupid.

My favorite spot in Ft Worth is an industrial area over off Henderson that has a whole series of traffic circles. I rarely didn't go two or three times around if I went that way to lunch at Pedro's Trailer Park or such.

ClemSparks wrote: I don't see how any self respecting car guy (especially autocross and/or roadrace types) could not be thrilled with the prospect of a public skidpad at any given intersection... What I can't stand is morons who can't figure out how to use one.

This for the win. I grew up in a small southern town, with a traditional town square that was effectively a roundabout. So I could never figure out why people couldn't figure them out. Not the place to take a car fast, but once they started installing them other places- it is a full on public access skidpad to test adhesion and steady-state handling when traffic flow is low. Two times around minimum, more preferred.

Back on topic, glad you're ok man!

On to the roundabout discussion, I like smaller roundabouts (on like two lane roads). However on larger intersections I think they get too complicated for easy use.

In reply to ClemSparks:

I drive one every day going to work, once my summer tires are back on and I get out of work real late...

mad_machine, which circle was it? I'm tempted to drive over just to see the nice ruts on the lawn, lol.

Otherwise, NJ seems to like traffic circles and clover leafs.

Andrew

glad you are ok...

I like circles, especially once the locals finally figure them out, but you need to pay a lot of attention. Folks don't always grasp the obvious.

OTOH - I got a not so funny look when a cop noticed my 1960 TR3 blitzing through a new two lane circle near home, but he didn't move, so I continue to move. . . away and as fast as possible. I can picuture it But officer, this car has horribly antiqutated steering goemetry, reverse Ackerman, that combined with my older tires causes that horrible tire squeal.

Jack