Roundabouts in Arizona (Home Depot, compensation, design)

[Cloudy Dayz]

Originally Posted by Mking17

The problem is red light cameras and I am not even talking on a legality sense cause more issues. If you are going but can't stop in time for a yellow, you get ticketed. If you inch towards the line, you get ticketed. I'm sorry but your proposal is wrong.

Everybody has time to stop. If they have time to hit the accelerator when they see the yellow light, then they have time to hit the brake as well.

[rcarbuilder]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

I don't know where you got that from as quite the opposite is true. They are rapidly gaining in popularity. They cut down fatal intersection accidents by 90% and save drivers time to boot. I was in Wisconsin recently and they have roundabouts everywhere with construction of new ones going full blast. The people there seem to know how to use them possibly reflecting the greater experience with them.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/busin...affic-circles/

They were on RT 23 in NJ and removed because they caused too many wrecks.

[RomulusXXV]

Originally Posted by Sno0909

The problem with roundabouts is that people using them need to be paying attention and have an IQ above 70. So really the roundabout is not the problem, it's the people using them.

Correct! We have had roundabouts for as long as I can remember here in Australia. The roundabouts, when used wisely, keep traffic moving but their purpose is also much misunderstood by many drivers ...even here in Australia where, as I say, they have been in use forever. Many drivers still use these roundabouts as an intersection where they will see an approaching car from the right and stop to give way rather than continuing on to the roundabout thereby giving them the right of way. On the other hand, the driver coming in from the right may be barreling down the highway believing that they have the right of way over the guy on the left who is there ahead of them about to enter the roundabout even before they (the one on the right) arrives at the roundabout. The driver who was there first has to therefore let the guy approaching at speed from the right have the right of way to avoid a collision.

Roundabouts, in and of themselves, are NOT a problem. Idiots and ignoramuses are.

[Cloudy Dayz]

Originally Posted by RomulusXXV

Correct! We have had roundabouts for as long as I can remember here in Australia. The roundabouts, when used wisely, keep traffic moving but their purpose is also much misunderstood by many drivers ...even here in Australia where, as I say, they have been in use forever. Many drivers still use these roundabouts as an intersection where they will see an approaching car from the right and stop to give way rather than continuing on to the roundabout thereby giving them the right of way. On the other hand, the driver coming in from the right may be barreling down the highway believing that they have the right of way over the guy on the left who is there ahead of them about to enter the roundabout even before they (the one on the right) arrives at the roundabout. The driver who was there first has to therefore let the guy approaching at speed from the right have the right of way to avoid a collision.

Roundabouts, in and of themselves, are NOT a problem. Idiots and ignoramuses are.

What you describe is a problem with roundabouts themselves. They are not intuitive. Even in your country, where you say they have been in use forever, they are misunderstood and not used correctly.

Yet here in the US, traffic engineers want to keep forcing this defective concept on road users. Like American drivers will somehow magically be able to make roundabouts work, when they do not and never have worked in other countries. But the traffic engineers will make a lot of money designing them, and that is all they care about.

[KurtAZ]

Originally Posted by Mking17

The problem is red light cameras and I am not even talking on a legality sense cause more issues. If you are going but can't stop in time for a yellow, you get ticketed. If you inch towards the line, you get ticketed. I'm sorry but your proposal is wrong.

1) You should know if the yellow has been on for too long that you aren't going to make it. Blowing a red because you can't be "inconvenienced" to stop for a minute is no reason to risk anyone else's life.

2) "inching toward the line" isn't a thing in AZ. The intersections in AZ are defined as curb to curb. The crosswalks and any painted white lines are well outside the actual intersection. If you look at an intersection with traffic cameras, there is a red line painted about 5' past the the crosswalk...that is the intersection and what triggers the cameras. If you are THAT far over (i.e. blocking the crosswalk with your front end well over the last line) then you SHOULD get ticketed.

[Suesbal]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmZoQFYYx8U

[Sno0909]

Originally Posted by Cloudy Dayz

What you describe is a problem with roundabouts themselves. They are not intuitive. Even in your country, where you say they have been in use forever, they are misunderstood and not used correctly.

Yet here in the US, traffic engineers want to keep forcing this defective concept on road users. Like American drivers will somehow magically be able to make roundabouts work, when they do not and never have worked in other countries. But the traffic engineers will make a lot of money designing them, and that is all they care about.

How does that work? Do traffic engineers get paid on commission or something? I don't understand.

[Cloudy Dayz]

Originally Posted by Sno0909

How does that work? Do traffic engineers get paid on commission or something? I don't understand.

Commission or salary, I'm not sure which. They get paid. If they say, no you don't need a roundabout here, then they don't get paid for designing it. What do you think they are going to say?

[RomulusXXV]

Before the driver hits the road, he/she familiarizes themselves with the road rules and with the designs of the roads/streets/highways that they are likely to encounter. Roundabouts are designed to keep traffic flowing as well as allowing drivers to use their own abilities to navigate themselves from A to B without relying on traffic lights to do their thinking for them. If there are multiple lanes you choose the correct lane prior to your arrival at the roundabout. You then approach the roundabout with caution. If you arrive before others and cautiously enter the roundabout in the lane that you've chosen, YOU have the right of way and others from the left or the right understand this and allow you to complete your maneuver. It's really not that difficult as long as everyone is tuned into the road rules. If they are not, then this can lead to negative consequences. Roundabouts just sit there and expect drivers to do the right thing by them.

[RomulusXXV]

Originally Posted by rcarbuilder

They were on RT 23 in NJ and removed because they caused too many wrecks.

No, they (the roundabouts) didn't 'cause' any such thing. The wrecks were caused by 'pilot error'. They were removed to accommodate the continued ignorance of the incompetent driver.