| View Blog
|
| Roundabouts - Suburban Circles of Hell
|
|
|
Who was the genius that decided Americans were capable of driving roundabouts? It was probably someone who ironically died in a twelve car roundabout pileup. For those of you who aren't quite sure what I am referring to, a roundabout is a giant circle in the middle of an intersection, usually decorated with greenery and 800 traffic signs, in which you have to drive around instead of just turning left. They are usually put in intersections that are considered "dangerous" and it's meant to alleviate traffic woes. How they reached that conclusion is beyond me.
The mentality of a roundabout is as such: There are at least two lanes of one-way traffic, three or more for busier intersections. When you come up to one, you need to make sure you are in the correct lane. You use the right lane if you want to turn right or go "straight" through the intersection. You use the left lane if you want to "turn left" at the intersection, or if you have to do a complete 180 and go the opposite direction from where you came. You reach a yield sign, something most Americans either don't think is an actual sign, or simply don't know what it means (I think they get thrown off because it's an upside-down triangle). In a roundabout, you must yield to cars coming from your left. If it's clear, you veer to the right and go around the roundabout until you reach the right street you want to take. Now, here is where it seems to get complicated for most Americans. YOU NEED TO STAY IN YOUR OWN LANE ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE ROUNDABOUT! That's why you pick the correct lane before you even enter the damn thing. Yes, it takes just the slightest bit of cognitive thought to figure out which lane you need to be in (and to use your turn signal if you need to change lanes).
Roundabouts are supposed to alleviate traffic problems, when I've only seen them make matter worse. The one close to my house is in between a four-lane highway and a set of railroad tracks. The trains that go on those tracks are ridiculously slow and ridiculously long. They have to go slow because Madison City Ordinances make it that way. So if you're lucky enough, you could be waiting for this train to go by while sitting in the middle of a roundabout! Now technically, you are not supposed to stop in a roundabout, but most people don't seem to realize that when they're waiting for a train. So traffic in all directions pretty much gets held up, and blood pressure goes through the roof and my road rage starts to show.
Roundabouts are very common in Europe. You know, where there are decent drivers. They are used to such things as roundabouts, we Americans are not. It's hard for figure out how to merge into traffic properly, and then you throw something like a concrete circle in the middle of an intersection. Something like that makes Americans think, and they don't like that. It makes their heads hurt. Roundabouts are just another one of those blatantly stupid Suburban additions to life that we should obviously do without. But no one said people who live in pre-fab townhouses off of a cul de sac in a gated community were smart. They just can't help it. If only we could permanently lock them in their gated communities. Hmmm...that's a thought for another time.
|
|
Posted by Pencil_Revolution on 2008-07-13 15:06:55 | Rating: | Views: 25
|
| |
|
|
| Blog Comments
|
|
|
|
|
You know, I live in Michigan where we have the infamous "Michigan Left" it's not quite as wonky as the roundabout but almost as stupid.
|
|
Posted by Nerdnutt
on 2008-07-13 15:20:30
|
|
|
|
|
|
