Legistlature to take up banning right turns on red (Kennewick: car insurance, transfer)

[Transmition]

You'd think that the "stop taking my freedom!" crowd would be against a law that means you can't cross an empty street, but oddly they are not.

[texasdiver]

Originally Posted by Diana Holbrook

While this is apparently going on.... in our neck of the woods they're putting in more and more traffic circles, where you don't stop at all....

So go figure. Turns out, people hardly ever really make sense.

Traffic circles are both SAFER and MORE EFFICIENT than traditional stop lights. There are loads of studies that confirm both points. They are safer for both pedestrians and drivers.

And they are more efficient because no one is ever stopped unless there are cars in the right of way. If you watch a regular traffic light intersection there are always lines of cars stopped at a red light even if there are no cars coming from the other direction. So on average you always wait longer at traffic light intersections than traffic circles.

Some new cities are installing nothing but traffic circles for this reason. Parts of suburban Bend are like that if I remember.

[pnwguy2]

Yes many here in Kennewick. They do function quite well and probably result in fewer collisions. Everyone simply slows down but don’t usually come to a complete stop. Europe got this right a half decade or more ago. However it does take a little attention to learn when you can merge in. But I am so used to them here it is definitely a better road system.

[pnwguy2]

Correction: Europe half century ago, not decade.

[Diana Holbrook]

I agree traffic circles can make sense in a lot of intersections.

I was just comparing them to wanting to ban right-hand turns and finding that juxtaposition ironic :-)

[rantiquity]

Originally Posted by pnwguy2

Yes many here in Kennewick. They do function quite well and probably result in fewer collisions. Everyone simply slows down but don’t usually come to a complete stop. Europe got this right a half decade or more ago. However it does take a little attention to learn when you can merge in. But I am so used to them here it is definitely a better road system.

Originally Posted by Diana Holbrook

I agree traffic circles can make sense in a lot of intersections.

I was just comparing them to wanting to ban right-hand turns and finding that juxtaposition ironic :-)

I hear the WOT is considering a traffic circle at the west end of the Hood's canal bridge...do you think with the heavy traffic especially during the summer months this is a good or a bad idea?

How about a traffic circle at the intersection of highway 104 and highway 19?
I kind of like traffic circles in low traffic areas but high traffic areas not so much.

I wish people would drive around the circle instead of across them. I also like the traffic circle in PT better than Sequim because they have an actual curb preventing driving across them.

Having drove in traffic circles in both the UK and France. It was hard to get use to them in the UK because the traffic is coming from the right in the circle and I had to pay more attention when entering. In France (Paris) getting caught in some of the very large traffic circles was sometimes a night mare trying to get out..(arc of Triumph for one of the worst). At least they drove on the right side of the road. It was strange driving form either France or the UK through tunnel under the English channel and having to change sides of the road when exiting.
I found the traffic circle in Gig Harbor annoying because they seem to be on every corner and to me it slows traffic down.

[Diana Holbrook]

I will say that I think the proposed traffic circles down here on Highway 12 are a good idea. This is an undivided highway with cross streets, and people are getting killed turning left across 50 mph traffic. A traffic circle will slow everyone down at these intersections, so there isn't a conflict between the high speeds and those stopping or turning in the highway.

[Arcos]

Originally Posted by rantiquity

I wish people would drive around the circle instead of across them. I also like the traffic circle in PT better than Sequim because they have an actual curb preventing driving across them.

You mean, not like this?

https://tenor.com/bJHwR.gif

[rantiquity]

Originally Posted by Arcos

You mean, not like this?

https://tenor.com/bJHwR.gif

Yes like that....wait not the car flying through the air of course (drunk driver maybe) ....not only stops the majority of traffic from driving straight across (well except that car) they add some beauty in the center which Sequim traffic circles don't have. Maybe the city of PT can bronze the car and leave in the middle as a reminder to other drivers to drive around.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

Originally Posted by Arcos

You mean, not like this?

https://tenor.com/bJHwR.gif

There doesn't seem to be much that can be done about drunk drivers. Of course there are laws against it but those laws just get ignored and drunks don't seem to stopped very often with rolling violations and when they do they are simply released to do it again and again.

Ditto for excessive speed. That guy had to have been really rolling to get that far airborne.

I'm not a fan of traffic circles. They work fine when there is very little traffic but they don't work well at all where traffic is heavy and they tend to push traffic out onto surface streets which were never designed to handle heavy through traffic.

Nice photo, by the way.