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Comment by Dalewyn | Hacker News Reader

I'll take a traditional cross with traffic signals or stop signs on all sides, it's simple and effective.

Roundabouts are a waste of space, disrupt traffic, and take more brain processing than I care to afford if I can help it. This particular example isn't even round.

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I vastly prefer roundabouts, with a single exception. If traffic is heavy and dominated by the same entry and exit points, it can be hard to get a turn if you're coming from the side. Our nearest roundabout is this way.

I once saw a roundabout with stop signs. I assume it was an attempt to address this situation.

In the UK, you get roundabouts with traffic lights at the entrances, sometimes only operational at peak times, and off most of the time. Works well

You do, but that means there is no roundabout when you need it the most.

The problem occurs mostly when the dominant flow is given multiple lanes.

A fairly common solution/workaround is blocking the view of the approaching traffic, forcing it to slow down. But again, this doesn't work well on large roundabouts that allow people to speed up to of 30+ mph.

This really is the big failure mode of roundabouts, it essentially becomes "live-locked"

I used to go to work past one like this. They replaced a light where you would always eventually get to go with a roundabout where the 99% of traffic going north/south meant the other two ways were effectively not part of the traffic network for a few hours a day.

How is a roundabout more disruptive than a 4 way junction with stop signs.

In terms of brain processing, you get used to it and it becomes second nature. It is a skill.

Agreed, with the condition that there is only one lane.

Ones with multiple layers stress me out, there are more ways to screw up and more demands on your defensive-driving attention.

I think the problem is not that they're impossible to figure out but you have about 2 seconds from when you see the sign to when you're entering the double roundabout.

That’s a very solvable problem of bad signage.

Yes. If there are 2 it should be a "dog bone" with a long straight bit so you have time to adjust. Like:

     |            |
    =O============O=

We have back-to-back round-a-bouts in Chattanooga (153 / Lake Resort / Access) which have two loops (concentric inner & outer round-a-bouts)... that can be quite confusing for anybody unfamiliar with the local pattern.

Like the Magic Roundabout in the UK? https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cdx9nlgk97eo

I would do everything possible to avoid this UK Round-a-bout — nothing Magical about it having three concentric lanes just in its inner loop! =P

Ours is much simpler, with a round-a-bout on either side of a regional highway. One of the difficult parts about it is everybody is already jacked the fuck up (on account of 2 of the 5 input/outputs being extremely steep grade to enter/exit a river-crossing, with speeds averaging 65-70mph ["55mph" posted, oklol).

Oh, I've re-read and you just mean there are two fast paced roundabouts that are close by and they both have two lanes around them.

That wouldn't raise an eyebrow here in the UK, it's very normal for highway junctions to have on/off ramps that end in 2-3 lane roundabouts, one each side of the highway.

> In terms of brain processing, you get used to it and it becomes second nature. It is a skill.

Yeah, if my driver’s ed class (both content and classmates) are any indication, a four way stop is anything but intuitive or brainless.

There’s a lot of time spent covering the right of way order, and a lot of people failing their driving test on it.

Roundabouts are only disruptive because of a lack of familiarity… the only way to build that familiarity is with practice. Sucks that you have to learn a new concept after a decade or two or four ~~in the industry~~ on the road, but seems necessary for progress.

If your stop signs don't disrupt traffic then they're not working properly. Roundabouts are designed to efficiently weave traffic streams together instead.

Your opinion here is at odds with the record for higher traffic throughput and better safety for roundabouts. They are better in pretty much every way, for appropriate situations.

Here the situation is uneven road size, through traffic on the highway and odd angles. Perfect roundabout application.

Roundabouts are faster, safer and more convenient. It sometimes needs additional traffic lights, since heavily congested roundabouts lose their effectiveness.

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