Signs should read "DANGER ROUNDABOUT AHEAD"

[SlickRick]

Hello out there. Who has "Roundabouts in their states? Well if you don't consider yourself lucky. They are to control traffic and make things safer, except they are very confusing and not a friend to motorcyclist. How do you roll on and stop at the same time. Just ruins a good bike ride. Anyhow, how do you other people feel about them that have them?

Thanks

 

[Lou Ranger]

They are starting (finally) to build quite a few of them in Wellington and Waterloo counties and I love them since you never have to come to a stop - especially when no one else is coming. I hate 4 way stops and rural traffic lights.

Was first introduced to roundabouts in Scotland in 1986, and even though I was driving backwards around them on the wrong side of the road, they were terrific. We went all the way through the city of Aberdeen (right through the downtown) at noon on a business day and never had to stop once.

Another great thing over there is the almost total absence of stop signs. Unless an intersection is blind (i.e., a stone wall or the corner of a building) they use yield signs. If you can see and there's no one coming, the sign is a yield and you can just go. Takes all the stress out of driving through town. You don't feel you have to rush in between "traffic calming" stop signs at every corner to make up lost time. Such a pleasure.

Even the motorways out in the country use giant roundabouts instead of grade-separated crossings. No bridges to build and maintain. No black ice on bridges on cold nights - wonderful. As I recall, we would have to slow down from 70 mph to about 50 and then back up to 70 in a few seconds. Way easier, smoother and faster than off and on ramps or full-fledged clover-leafs.

I don't think we will ever see such an enlightened approach over here though. Our engineers are too entrenched in their bridge-building ways and the traffic light lobby owns too many politicians.

 

[bcXS400-81]

I'm a big fan of roundabouts. Much safer than proceeding through an intersection, especially on a bike.

 

[drewpy]

roundabouts are great for getting the knee down!

As youths we used to use the kerbing as a mini wall of death as you could lean the bike right over.

they also have a lot of debris and diesel oil on them due to the fact that everybody goes fast round them (too much fun you see)

 

[PT_247]

yup, love roundabouts UK stylee... knee down shenanigans a plenty and no stopping unless its busy

 

[xs400neophite]

Wow! Are those sparks by your knee? Krazy!

 

[SlickRick]

Hi. We must be talking about about two different kinds of roundabouts. Ours you cannot go anywhere near fifty, it's more like 5-10 mph and yield signs everywhere. That's what I meant about rolling and stopping "yielding at the same time. Ours is a mass of confusion on cars, ect. trying to find the correct lane they need to be itn to continue to go in the direction they want. So I just bang my head.

 

[ThePsuedoMonkey]

Big roundabouts =
small roundabouts =

 

[PT_247]

Wow! Are those sparks by your knee? Krazy!

titanium knee sliders are the future!

 

[frwinks]

awesome pics PT, looks like we need more of them over here, they look like a blast

 

[bentwrench]

A proper roundabout always gives right of way to the people on the circle. It seems that here in North America, they often screw that part up...

 

[drewpy]

A proper roundabout always gives right of way to the people on the circle. It seems that here in North America, they often screw that part up...

it makes sense really, but in other European countries you have to give way whilst you are on the roundabout.

Imaging PT247 giving way to a milk cart whilst doing that!

Priorité à droite
In France you have to give way on the main road to traffic coming onto the road from the right. great when your battling down an empty country road at 80 and a tractor pulls out!

 

[DanMach]

Theres a few around here. One up on happy valley road and the I17, a few small ones in private business property, stuff like that.

Love em all! Tons of fun, and IMO safer. No chance of me being blind to someone tboning me. I'll see them moving towards the roudabout and I'll make a call if they're gonna keep moving or not. So its a bit more control for me.

 

[vectra]

it's fun to see roundabouts till you hit the mini roundabouts in England (small raised circle painted ) worst idea ever i think
but get on the b roads and your good

 

[JARichmond]

Yeah, we have one that's been constructed between Woodstock and London. I don't mind it too much as I've reviewed the driver's handbook numerous times. To others it just seems intimidating to not be able to continue in a straight line. That's what concerns me. I was nearly hit moving through a stop sign by a soccer mom in her minivan. I'm concerned that throwing a motorcyclist into an already volatile "I don't know what to do when there's a circle" situation would be a bad idea. When there's nobody there I just hit the apexes like it's nobody's business.

 

[PT_247]

it's fun to see roundabouts till you hit the mini roundabouts in England (small raised circle painted ) worst idea ever i think
but get on the b roads and your good

we have a mini roundabout near my house, it is just nicely raised enough for when I was on my supermoto or KTM when I had them to get about a foot of air if I hit it right I miss those silly bikes!

 

[vectra]

i kinda miss roundabout's now i'm in missouri .... don't have any around this neck of the wood's

 

[drewpy]

here's the largest roundabout in the world

(Putrajaya - Malaysia) Putrajaya is in the south of Kuala Lumpur. It is a new political center, the loop length of it is 3,4 km. The roundabout is situated around a beautiful hill and green parks.

then the most confusing

The Magic Roundabout in Swindon, England was constructed in 1972 and consists of five mini-roundabouts arranged in a circle. In 2009 it was voted the fourth scariest junction in Britain

 

[Travis]

Now what the hell is the point in that? How is that better then just a regular roundabout?

 

[Lou Ranger]

Now what the hell is the point in that? How is that better then just a regular roundabout?

It would seem to be the traffic engineering equivalent of the manual mechanism permitting (theoretically) the soft-top on an MGB to be raised.

When 2 of its experienced road-testers, working together in an attempt to avoid an impending deluge, had difficulty raising it, Road&Track magazine (a late sixties issue) attributed the piece of mechanical wizardry to "typical British blacksmithery".