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Re: Alternate Traffic control that is attractive



John Reece writes:

>>>      ADVANTAGES OF ROUNDABOUTS
>>>
>>>1. Safety
>>>   
>>>Roundabouts in the USA and other countries have achieved a 50 to 90
>>>percent reduction in collisions compared to intersections using 2- or
>>>4-way stop control or traffic signals.  Pedestrian/vehicle and
>>>bicycle/vehicle coll
>>>isions at roundabouts are rare.
>>
>>[...]
>>
>>When I was young, roundabouts (or traffic circles) were a commonplace
>>in the USA. Since then, most have been replaced by grade separated
>>interchanges or simple intersections. I must assume that traffic
>>studies have shown them to be a problem of some kind.
>>
>>My own observation was that a roundabout, like a true cloverleaf, has a
>>point on its traffic density curve where it abruptly gridlocks.


>I recently spent two weeks in an English town (Swindon) about 
>the same size as Santa Cruz,CA.  Virtually every junction was
>either a roundabout or a mini-roundabout, where the circle
>is dictated by a manhole-sized bump.  I noticed
>that at lighter traffic densities one could zip across
>town with a lot less needless stopping.  Where traffic
>densities were regularly higher stoplights would
>be installed, sometimes on the connecting roads,
>sometimes in the roundabout itself.  The latter
>situation seemed to work no worse than a conventional +
>intersection.

>I think there is another benefit to roundabouts.
>British drivers have to 'read' the  junction
>far in advance, and carefully observe certain 
>position-keeping rules while in the roundabout.
>As a consequence they seemed to drive around
>in less of a trance than American drivers, who
>generally only pay enough attention to notice
>a red light coming on in front of them.

>On the other hand, how are you going to
>educate American drivers about roundabout driving?
>I had one of the few roundabouts in California
>at the entrance to an apartment complex I once
>lived in.  I had numerous near-misses with
>people who took the wrong way around, despite
>several one-way signs and arrows.

I spent a week in Dunton, England (western suburb of London) a couple of years 
ago, and I was very impressed by the roundabouts.  To me, they seemed to exist 
at intersections where, in the U.S., we would have a 4-way stop or traffic 
light.  The best part about the roundabouts, IMHO, was that if everyone was 
paying attention, NO ONE had to come to a stop!  The 4-way stop requires 
everyone to stop; the roundabout requires no one to stop.  You simply yield 
('give way') to the car that is already in the roundabout.  It seemed much 
more efficient to me.  

Of course, the roundabout can be carried to extremes.  There was a nearby town 
(Romford?) that had FIVE roundabouts, all interconnected to form a giant, 
rounded pentagon!  Talk about confusing.  But maybe it's just because I was 
not a local.  And there are certainly confusing intersections in this country 
as well.

I think I've stated the very reason why these devices can't be used in the 
U.S. -- "if everyone was paying attention!"  It was my experience that the 
drivers in England were much more attentive and _courteous_ than those in the 
U.S.  Here in the U.S., people seem to think that "yield" means either "stop" 
or "proceed at any speed you like with no regard for the traffic that you 
should be trying to merge with."  In England, I saw people passing on B-roads 
(2-lane blacktops) that were really almost 3-lanes wide, and both the cars 
being passed and the oncoming traffic moved toward the shoulder to let them 
through!  Just try that in this country!


John Oliver
Canton, MI

'94 Probe GT
'92 Trek 2100

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All opinions expressed above are my own and in no way represent the views of
Ford Motor Co. 
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