Was driving through Alabama recently and we got off on an exit that confused my fiance, and I was like "Oh my god! It's a diverging diamond interchange! Like from the TH-cam video!" She told me to calm down and that I was being a nerd.
yup, just got my license a few months back, didn't realize up until that point how badly people mess up driving, but, well, there isn't anything I can do about it.
@@fulccrum2324 dude I just started driving too and it seems like most people don't understand that they have cruise control. People just can't be bothered to use the functions their car provides for them I guess.
@@total_kayhem5193 yeah, even insistently reminding those I carpool with to use blinkers... welp, I guess it wont be me in the accident and I cant say I didn't warn them
As a cities skylines player I can tell you with 100% confidence that it doesn't matter how well your road system, citizens will find some way to back it up for atleast two kilometers.
@@Cheesecannon25 Nah if you do your lane mathematics right and add like a bajillion roundabouts, shit flows mad easy. Or like, use public transit. But designing a good public transit system is also difficult.
Yeah, we have one of these where I live and it's always backed up. Without walkable neighborhoods or good public transportation, efforts to reduce congestion are just going to make more people drive.
just get mass transit right and get cities more walk able bike able, problem solved. Want proof? look at mayor EU cities mostly Netherlands ... On top of that make cities more compact and NOT build fuckton of suburbs. Let build bigblocks of apartment buildings for people who dont care to have a own house.
@@landaroon7793 of it's not the psychic blinker, then these people don't know how to use them, refill them with blinker fluid, or the blinker fluid reservoirs are too small. Then, there's the risk that using the wrong blinker fluid will damage the muffler bearing.
They also let pedestrians know what you're doing so they can better navigate how not to die while trying to cross a damn residential street. Also, that's not how roundabouts work, Susan.
As a trucker, I looooove these intersections. One of our entrances to our interstates from our hub has this. It’s never a place we sit at ever, and there are a lot of people going through there.
You want some meth we got some on both of those roads, and also the ones next to it, and McDonald's, oh actually just everywhere.... let me rephrase *you want some meth?*
Battle field road is right next or is in Battle field were 1000s of peeps died, some peeps believe it's even haunted with a few creepy crack heads and a tone of bloody murders here to top it off. Oh btw, the streets are filled with kidnappers and naked peeps on the streets. (In not even kidding at this point)
@showtime showtime yeah I have a friend who moved down there for work. He's since been back to our hometown but he said he never left the house after 9pm and he's a grown man lmfao we grew up and live in a town of 2,000 people so it was a big jump for him
There's a really cool thing in traffic study that they call "ghost accident". If, for example, a cat crosses the road, and the driver stops to allow it passage, the driver behind him needs to stop as to not get in an accident, then the driver behind that driver, and so on. Eventually the cat will be long gone, hunting birds in the park, but the ghost of her crossing the lane will still travel through the road, like a wave of sorts. Really interesting stuff.
@@ABArsenal Doesnt matter how quick you are when you have 15 people in front of you and it takes 5 seconds for each of them to register the colour of the light has changed, moving like a caterpillar not a train.
7:50 Very important: Use them *before* you started slowing down, turning, etc. You are *not* the only driver without Telepathic ability. 100% of all drivers have that issue.
Wouldn't that be wonderful!!!! There are 3 types of people who do not use signals; those who are to lazy, those who are simply ignorant, and the blatantly stupid. There is no guarantee that some don't fall into more than one of these categories.
Also worth knowing: 1: turn signals also work in car parks. Yes, in supermarket car parks - all car parks. So use them. 2: turn signals can be understood by pedestrians. Remember, that pedestrian in front of you may have just got out of a car and still has the part of his brain which understands turn signals!
yeah like i know you feel your testosterone dropping if you use the turn signal without being legally required to or without other motorists on the road bUt i'll straight up walk in front of you because i have no way of reading that you'll take this turn the 'i'm stopped midway through the turn please just pass' song and dance *now* helps nobody, it's become clear where your going and none of us want to slow you down specifically maybe i'm exaggerating but you know
@@herminator_arf_3329 The LAW says 100 Feet before the intersection. At least in my state.. But then again, who the heck reads the Driving manual or the Laws ?
bruh maybe I’m drunk but my city has a diverging diamond and the first time I drove it I thought I was British but I knew exactly where to go and when to stop, this shit is underrated asf
First time we went through one, my wife didn't even realize we had switched to the other side of the road. (Short car, high barrier, we couldn't see the other traffic.)
I had to drop off a Uhaul trailer in Reno, NV. I had never been there before so I come off the freeway where my gps directed. I ended up in a divergent diamond. Because I had watch this vid I breezed right through it. Kinda neat.
So are roundabouts. Now, I understand roundabouts aren't practical at all intersections; but the ones that generally don't exceed 30,000 or so cars a day will keep traffic moving with only 4 conflict points and no need for an expensive overpass and series of ramps. I'm all for anything that will stretch the taxpayer dollar and eliminate signal lights and the maintenance costs that come with them, not to mention increasing safety at intersections.
I drove through one of these that was recently installed. The funny thing is the first time you approach one of these is, “why the hell did they do this?” then you think, “well that went smoothly”, then you think to yourself, “ how did that just work, And was that really necessary?” But it works.
Well put. We got the first one in our county last year. Every time I use it, I think exactly those thoughts, in that order. "Yikes, what is the mess?" Then "Hm, this is pretty easy." Then "Okay, what just happened?"
As I didn't see those yet in my part of Europe, my first time with these was in game American Truck Simulator. I had exact same thoughts you wrote, and it really works. :)
My town has this under construction on a interstate over pass but they didnt remove enough of the ground markings. I have seen and experienced way more near-hit side swipes. I forwarded this to my apartment community manager, Fascinating science.
@@TRC2002 You would think so--I certainly have thought so--but it hasn't happened yet, lol. Probably a matter of time, but it's simultaneously hilarious and horrifying that he's done this for so long.
I can attest to the intersection not being confusing. I was visiting some family in Springfield about a month ago and came upon one of these intersections unknowingly. I was very confused as to why I ended up on the wrong side of the road, but the other cars were doing it and the white lines were guiding me, and eventually the lines guided me back to the other side of the intersection and I was on my way with no problems. It's really odd to go through and while you're doing it you have no idea why it works but in the end you get through with very little slowdowns.
3:53 "Before the new system..." Ah yes, I can see the problem right away! The bridge had melted onto the freeway. Definitely would understand why that's not good for the flow of traffic.
Laughed at the reminder to use indicators. As an Australian who moved to the USA, I was truly alarmed at how few US drivers use them. You get a fine in Australia if you don’t.
Did you even dice with the metal danger in Melbourne? Plenty of our Asian friends uninitiated with this amazing device on their BMW’s, Mercedes and Audi’s
Jason, I know exactly what YOU mean & years ago few people would violate the law this way, because the Police would definatly site YOU, but over the years the Police failed to enforce the law, because, (My Theory), The Police violate this law, all the time, just follow one for a while & YOU will see what I mean! They change lanes & never signal. The drivers see the Police NOT doing it, so "why do I have to"!?
Yeah, in the US the cops are too busy getting dudes to stop begging from the medians to actually watch for traffic violations. The cops wouldn't stop you here if you were playing a video game on your phone, smoking a fattie, and eating your lunch while driving. You have to be speeding like 20MPH over the limit even to attract the cops' interest.
I’m a truck driver that has mostly stayed out west for the last 20 years. The first time I saw one of these was in Salt Lake City in 2011. Like the traffic engineer in the video, I thought this was an abomination at first. Getting to my location was also very confusing the first time and I missed a turn. I found that since each one is designed slightly different based on nearby side streets, they’re only confusing the first time. Some were not designed properly for big trucks and a curb or two were ran over every time I or anyone else went through there. After getting used to seeing and using these interchanges, I learned to love them. Way more efficient than the standard intersections and like the video pointed out, easier for drivers like me to see and make safe merging decisions. I hope they spread everywhere. While this design is not perfect, it’s a huge improvement over the standard interchange.
Glad you posted this. I was wondering what real-life truckers thought of 'em. Have you happened to navigate one during rush hour? Does that design really keep things clipping along?
(truck driver too) seconded. They've been going up a lot in Chicago and Milwaukee. Anything to keep the 40 tons from having to stop is great. The hybrid roundabouts are nice too. Where there is a separate dedicated turn right lane so you don't even need to enter the roundabout.
But are they better than cloverleafs? Those don't have any traffic crossing at all, whereas the diverging diamond has almost all traffic cross. If you elevated one direction it would be much better.
@@MikeDCWeld Maybe cloverleafs are too big for some areas or generally cost more than a diverging diamond. Cloverleafs might be better but are not always applicable. Economics play a role too, you know.
@@MikeDCWeld Cloverleafs actually have a huge design flaw though. Each of the straightaway sections has a lane where people simultaneously enter at a low speed and must accelerate hard while at the same time others are entering going high speed and must slow down quickly. A lot of accidents occur on cloverleafs because of that. And not just fender benders, there are massive differences in speed which makes a lot of these cloverleaf crashes really severe. So cloverleafs don't have traffic cross but it does cause traffic moving 40+ mph relative to each other merge into one short lane which is demonstrably worse than traffic crossing each other using carefully controlled signalling (especially because what crashes do occur on a diverging diamond at the cross over point would tend to be lower speed. Diverging diamonds aren't magic but they are definitely better than 4 way or cloverleaf intersections.
As someone that lives in the UK I was confused as to how this could be better than an ordinary junction, but then I saw what the junction looked like before the change. Now it makes sense.
When I spent time in the UK a few years ago driving around, a similar intersection between two highways would had had a roundabout / traffic circle on each side of one highway with an overpass connecting the two roundabouts... In the US, we seldom do roundabouts...
@@UwU-235 i think, compared to the uk, no where in america can say they have a lot of roundabouts fr tho our interchanges are a lot better than american ones but we have a lot more rural interchanges than america which seems to have them right in the middle of cities
I wonder why he does this. It seems to be necessary ? So there are people not using them ? USA has the most cops per people in the world, if they give tickets on that, people get educated fast.
@@holger_p I don't know if it's a driver education issue but so many people are just too lazy to use them. Particularly annoying when traffic is waiting for someone to go straight at an intersection and they end up turning, probably without realizing they're wasting other people's time in addition to breaking the law. All cops do is make people try to drive perfectly when they're in sight.
@@holger_p Cops in the USA are mostly concerned with speed. Lots of rude people with expensive or modded cars that love to go over 15 above the speed limit.
@@tankmchavocproductions6907 Yes, cops love traffic, cause the rules are so well defined. But I hope you don't need a modded car to go over the speed limit. If your car doesn't allow to do so, I would be concerned, or it's an electric.
@@holger_p No, what I meant by that was that people who mod their cars are usually extremely arrogant, and ignore traffic laws. To my knowledge there isn’t any system inside a car physically preventing you from doing so. Sorry for any misunderstanding.
Can confirm after weird events of life had me sent to Kansas City for work. I drove across the original. It's magical. Had no idea what the fuck I was doing other than, "OH SHIT I SAW THIS IN THAT ONE TH-cam VIDEO." It's really way more simple than it seems.
Then you get the idiots in my city. They decide to use half the diverging diamond to replace a busy intersection. It did absolutely nothing to reduce wait times at the intersection. Taking the right turn lane still has a light to stop you, one you can't go through like a normal right on red. Then you have to merge, with no visibility of the lane you're merging into and no acceleration lane. Oh, and that traffic you're merging into now has 2 stop lights, 1 for cross traffic at the intersection then a second 100ft further for the left turn lane. It's a good example of how a good idea can be made horrible by people with degrees, but little understanding of concepts. It's not a surprise as we have a rapid growing population yet only put money into the roads long after they need it often leading to a new design being out of date due to planning for traffic today instead of years down the road.
One of the best ways to explain the advantages of this design is that nowhere in this interchange does any vehicle have to turn left across oncoming traffic. Whether you turn left or right, you are always merging directly into the flow of traffic, and never across oncoming traffic. Just think of how much easier right turns normally are than left turns (in the US, or in any country where you drive on the right). Well, this design makes every turn as easy as a right turn, even if it's actually a left turn.
Instead of teaching people to drive, we have to re-invent an intersection? I have a glowing suggestion that would save tax payers millions and insurance companies billions: stop handing out a drivers license like it came from a crackerjack box!!
@@cheetoschrist5685 I don't agree. I've been driving 40 yrs and have never gotten into an accident making a left turn. It's pretty simple, pay attention when you drive!
@@lordraven2264 The two goals aren't mutually exclusive. We can implement better intersection designs to keep traffic flowing faster and more smoothly, while also advocating for higher standards for driver education and licensing.
@@Paul71H I can respect that answer. The 1 of these intersections I've been in always has a backup. Single point urban interchange is a very cool design though.
At this point I'm just grateful if they bother to turn their headlights on at night. Pretty much all newer vehicles have a light sensor that activates the headlights when it gets dark outside and yet some A-holes still override it and turn them off while driving at night. The reasoning for this is completely eludes and infuriates me.
@@articlevftw8920 i mean my car has really strong lights to the point that without brights/high beams it’s definitely good enough, so I just avoid the trouble of swapping by leaving it with the highs off. A lot of people flash their brights at me when I go by at night and I think they think my high beams are still on lol because it’s just that bright and they don’t see it drop brightness. Not exactly what you are talking about but related. The only reason I can think of not to put your lights on at night is to conserve electricity which just doesn’t make any sense anyway
I am a trucker. THANK YOU for the turn signal bit. Maybe people will notice that while they are rolling down the road watching youtube videos on their phone.....
I might be a complete idiot, but I thought that weird image was a poor Google Earth computer-generated projection of a bridge that was actually level like the new one, only incorrectly rendered to follow the surrounding topography. If that's how it really looked back then, then yeah that's one of the weirder overpasses I've ever seen.
I live in Austin and when they introduced this traffic pattern, people were upset. Now the traffic moves smoothly and people are happy. They have introduced this in few other spots in the city. This is a good innovation.
So the biggest advantage I'm understanding is making left hand turns are easier because the flow of traffic already puts you on the other side of oncoming traffic. Right hand turns aren't affected because you make them before you cross paths.
Yes but you also have a dedicated moving phase and stopping phase for each direction... which makes entering the other road easier coming off the highway etc and by the way is also more economic and environment friendly
@@XVeganDaveGodFreeX Everything they mentioned was said in the video, repeatedly. Plus, the main benefit, also unmistakably and extensively covered in the video,, is the reduction of potential collision points from 34 to merely 14.
Both left and straight turn left, then straight has to turn back onto the proper side of the road... so it didn't solve anything? Except that incoming traffic from the ramps can make left turns.
I remember when I first came across this exact intersection, I was confused. But you're right, you don't have an opportunity to mess up, follow the lane and it'll guide you right through it. I enjoy the intersection and find it a nice change and it's efficient too.
I've seen people go the wrong way before. If there's physically an opening, an idiot will manage to steer their car into it, no matter how clear the design of the medians and the paint on the road makes it.
The only time in my life ive driven against traffic (luckily nobody was coming) was thru one of these intersections. I was turning left into this intersection from a gas station on the corner. For some reason in my head I thought the side switch had already crossed when it hadn’t. Since this is the only time in 15 years I’ve driven wrong thru an intersection so the design wasn’t safer in my case.
its kinda fun too, theres a short one near me that is just swerve-swerve, wakes you up from any sort of mindless driving drone youve been in and adds a little fun.
People crossing in front of people going the opposite direction will always result in accidents. This design presumes sober non-distracted drivers. And it was originally oversold as "eliminating" accidents.
I first encountered one of these intersections by complete surprise near an airport. My first reaction was, "What lunacy is this?" Even though I was completely ignorant regarding the design, I navigated it without issue, aside from a bit of anxiety. I refueled the vehicle within sight of the interchange and watched traffic while doing so. After observing the flow for those few minutes, I realized it was some brilliant lunacy.
Meanwhile in Indiana, we just shove Roundabouts everywhere. No, like seriously EVERYWHERE. We put roundabouts, AFTER roundabouts, and it actually works pretty swell 👍 I think everyone hates, "Change" at first, but once they realize it's efficiency it's hard to live without! Makes cruising about so much more fun too, since it means more time driving and less time...well not driving. I don't get in a car to sit still after all!
Bladed Angel I live in Pennsylvania, and nobody knows how to use roundabouts. They take left turns and go on the truck runoff area😅. It’s not that complicated...it’s a circle ⭕️
Runabouts are more efficient than regular intersections, but are only effective upto a certain traffic flow. Try to research the runabout around the Arc the Triumph in France
We also got one a while ago in Columbia, MO! I called it “temporary England” because you drive on the left for a bit and I thought it was weird and confusing at first, so I didn’t know why they did it, but that area, which used to be backed up and one of the rare places you actually got bad traffic in Columbia Missouri, now it’s a pretty clear road.
America should have never abandoned British standards, they have that road thing figured out exactly how I'd want it, as with Japan. Those giant islands between two lanes in Michigan make me want to die
@@misakiyoshida I used to live near Detroit. Are you talking about not being able to make a left turn and having to instead make U turns if you want to go left? If so, you should know that the rest of the country, at least the places I've been, doesn't work like that. Most places have left hand turn lanes.
Encountered this in Ankeny, IA on one of their busiest streets that goes under I-35. I can't imagine how backed up it used to be before they changed this, but now even rush hour traffic doesn't back up much at all. It's a beautiful thing. Now we just gotta hope roundabouts become more popular in America one of these days.
My Dad HATES Diverging Diamond Interchanges here in Charlotte. "They are confusing! What If I go into the opposite side! "Dad there is a concrete barrier" "Yeah but you never know! This is so unsafe and slow. I could do better!" " Some guys spent years of their life doing math to make sure it was safe. I'm pretty sure they can do it fine"
Some guys spent years of their life doing math to come up with the cloverleaf with inadequate merge area for off and on to share with onners accelerating into offers' blind spots so I mean...
@@mennol3885 lol exactly. Apparently he forgot to carry the 1 and his professor was grading his paper while on vacation in the Philippines getting his dingles buried.
Concrete barriers *pfffft* I was leading (because I'd overtaken everyone!) a mass of cars on a three lane highway (each way) divided by a concrete barrier. There are lights where we have an intersection with a motorway (this is the UK). Two cars come off the motorway - ignore all the concrete barriers and lines and by taking a VERY tight line are now on MY side of the road with a combined closing speed of circa 80MPH. I notice that the occupants are both 'coffin dodgers' (grey hair aplenty) and are soon to be losing their 'dodger' status. So they do the most 'sensible' thing ie try turning around in the roadway with a horde of high speed traffic (green light is on) advancing on them, post haste. Some people are just fucking stupid.
Well, it means you need to know that while waiting in the interchange you are to light up your tires and do a burnout. When making turns, remember to pull that parking brake and go sideways! You need to keep the warmth in your tires for effective commuting and to challenge those traffic engineers :D
Just went on a diverging diamond outside of Tucson AZ. My parents were confused, but I found it easy to navigate as long as you know what lane to be in before you enter the Diamond. It was simple and efficient.
I lived in Joplin, MO for a couple years and was absolutely perplexed at what engineer thought it would be a good idea to make lanes cross each other for what seemed no good reason at all. I had no idea it was actually something with a name and a real purpose… all makes sense now.
This channel is one of my absolute favorites. Never know what I’m gonna get but it’s gonna be great Also didn’t know you only live a couple cities away, awesome!
I know what you mean. If I only would of known he lived so close to me I would of already been stalking him by now. Do you wanna team up and start doing it? We can become stalking buddies and hang out together following him or we can take turns and share notes with each other about his activities. I'm usually free from 11:am to 3:pm but I'm willing to do the nightshift from 11:pm to 6:am. Just let me know so our schedule can synchronize. Later bud.
They put in a diverging diamond at at freeway crossover near my hometown in Lacey, Washington, and after being away from the area for several years I returned to find this very odd road situation as I was driving from one side of the freeway to the other. And today, just by virtue of TH-cam's algorithm I have found out what this is called! Very interesting! Thanks Austin!
That looked convoluted at first but that quickly makes sense when you see it work. Making turns is what takes time, this makes it easy to get on off which solves the bulk of the problem.
Coloring the path as well as lines would help. It's about guiding the drivers eye along the correct path. I'd also like to see how these do at night and bad weather conditions.
ProgradeX And it's totally possible to get mad while trying it because tha AI probably just don't want to change the entire side of the road unless you script a mod for it XD
I'm in the North Atlanta suburbs. They built one at the intersection of I-85 and Pleasant Hill. The benefit was huge and immediate. It took about a week for the commuters to figure it out. But after that it was amazing. That intersection at rush hour could take four cycles for you to get through. Now it clears every green light. I cannot recommend one enough.
Yeah, the first time I drove through it was trippy, but I could immediately tell the benefit from it. Especially considering how developed that area is.
Funny thing I was about to comment about that SPECIFIC one at Pleasant Hill and you beat me to it 😂😂 it was definitely confusing and felt weird at first
Since most bikers, which I think you mean "bicyclists", don't follow the rules of the road (even though it's the law and they're riding ON THE ROAD, so they should)... I think they get what they deserve. You act like an idiot, you have idiotic stuff happen to you. That's logic.
@@bradfordsuby8064 Most people in real life that have had this complaint, saying “that cyclist isn’t following the rules of the road,” when the cyclists were following the rules of the road. Common ones, they’re suppose to keep to the right. Nope, it’s preferred by the government for them to be one metre from the curb, though they don’t have to be and they can be anywhere in the lane. They’re not suppose to pull past cars lined up, nope, they’re allowed to do that. The only one I see that is technically illegal is treating a stop sign as a yield, but that is actually a stupid law and studies have shown it is more dangerous for cyclists to come to a complete stop when they don’t have too. Plus, most police treat stops as yields for cyclists anyway.
@@Normal1855 You're falling foul of the infallible driver fallacy. It doesn't matter how safe a driver you are if the other driver involved in the potential collision is a dangerous driver. You being a good driver lessens the risk of that happening, but it can't eliminate it. The diverging diamond still has that possibility, however instead of there being 32 different ways 2 cars can crash utilising a normal 4 way intersection, that number has been cut down to 14. That doesn't mean you will never see a crash on a diverging diamond interchange, just that the risk has been mitigated by more than half; and that's without taking into account changes in behaviour encouraged by the changes in design.
@@Normal1855 And if they're getting a good night of sleep rather than staying awake all night thinking about potential accidents, they'd be able to pay attention better
@@jamielonsdale3018 again, if you're paying attention, you can avoid accidents. And by your analogy, no matter how an interchange is designed, there will still be accidents, no matter how the interchange is designed. Most accidents are caused by drivers, who think that the laws don't apply to them. No matter how safe you THINK an interchange is, you'll have this type of driver. I've been driving for about 35 years, and haven't been in an accident. That's because I'm always keeping my head on a swivel. You can avoid any accident, if you anticipate other drivers, and their actions. You can't design driving dangers out of an interchange, until you change the habits of the bad drivers.
LOL...I love the comment about turn signals! I'm a big time cyclist and what i (we) fine truly annoying is that cars are much more likely to NOT use signals when only a bike is around. Please folks...let the cyclist know your intentions please. I really enjoyed this you tube.
Let me save you some time: 1. Endless comments about Cities: Skylines 2. Endless comments bringing up roundabouts 3. Endless comments (rightfully) giving praise to his turn signal bit at the end.
Already found an improvement to the diverging diamond interchange at 1:00 after looking at it for 10 seconds. You're welcome. :) It would cost more to implement, but if the goal is maximum traffic flow without having to keep adding tons of extra lanes, then the traffic should pass over/under each other at the point where the "X" is. We don't want cars having to stop at a traffic light before and after the interchange. Thus, we DELETE THE TRAFFIC LIGHTS altogether and now you have cars that are able to go left, right, or straight as they enter the interchange without ever having to stop. Pause the video at 1:41 and look. The "X" would get enlarged, traffic in one direction goes over, traffic in the other direction goes under. Now they can't collide at the crossover points.
@@taekwondotime I see how that would work, but the point you made about cost. Making roadways one above another would be near prohibitive for the return benefit. I would think, anyways.
@@mattjohnston2 Only at the two points where they crossover. The X would need to be made longer so there's enough room to build an underpass/overpass. Also, the traffic entering from the right should have a dedicated right lane so they don't have to stop when merging with straight traffic. With those two modifications (again, with no regard to cost), the result would be a free flowing highway interchange that doesn't require any traffic lights and where traffic can flow in all three directions (left, right, or straight) without ever stopping. So if money is no object, that might just be as good as it gets. :)
I live near Charlotte, NC and these interchanges have been popping up all over the region. They work great! Some even have traffic circles at the far ends. I worked Internationally for about a decade so I became very familiar with round abouts. When the closest one of these interchanges opened near me recently it was funny to watch people navigate the circle and was very slow. After a few weeks people are flying right on though with phone in hand.........Use your turn signals as suggested in the video and please put the phone down!
Where do you live in relation to Charlotte? I live south of Charlotte and I've never seen one. I even went into Charlotte last Thursday and only went through normal intersections (I passed by the Mecklenburg County Courthouse, if you need some perspective for where exactly I was). The only one of these I've ever seen in person was in Atlanta, Georgia.
Most people think that turn signals are only needed WHILE YOU ARE ACTUALLY TURNING and even then, they are optional. The concept of using them as a warning device and a request for clearance is completely foreign to most drivers. Please signal at least 3 seconds (5 preferably) BEFORE YOU TURN.
when i'm biking, i check, signal, check, and then change lanes. that way i know if someone was coming, then signal, then check if they saw me, then make my lane change safely.
If you count the subscribe card and video card, your endscreen has your face on it 4 different times haha. Anyway, great video. I've heard about this a few times, but I've never encountered it in person. Alas, I live in Boston, home to the worst road layouts in the country.
Our roads are all pre-car in New England. They have useless curves because they originated from cow paths and cows don’t tend to make nice orderly 90 degree turns. The confusing thing is that often times street names will change when a road curves. Combine our roads with some of the most aggressive drivers in the country, and you get an unpleasant driving experience.
As a New Englander I have to say it's preferable to learn driving here and then go somewhere else than it is to learn driving somewhere else and then get caught in this bullshit later
+ theblackscythe13 The problem with the roads in Boston is they are built like a rural town, but have the traffic of one of the biggest cities in the country.
+Brickertown I learned to drive in Miami, then lived in D.C. and now live in Boston. So I've experience terrible driving experiences everywhere I've lived so far.
Same! I'm pretty sure I drive through a diverging diamond in Cambridge, MA near Alewife - it's kind of a mindfuck to look at and drive in, but I guess it works! Thankfully I'm never usually around there lol
We just started to get some in Northern Kentucky at some of our notoriously bad interchanges. I didn't understand them...at all. BUT, now I do, and I can appreciate them! Thanks!
When I lived in Moorhead MN (suburb of Fargo ND), we had a diverging diamond put in where our busiest street interchanges with I-94, which had a ton of people needing left turns all the time. This installation was the best damn thing they could've done. Not to mention the trails/sidewalks were tunneled underneath the ramps so no pedestrians were put at risk, either. *chefs kiss*
I go through there all the time and it's so much better than the way that intersection used to be. (i-94 and Highway 75) The ONLY downside is that the diverging diamond is COMPLETELY dependent on the stoplights being operational. I also haven't had to try to navigate it during a snowstorm. Pedestrians in general are pretty stupid nowadays. "Hur Dur. State law sez I haz right of way." *Steps out in front of 18 wheeler.* I sometimes wonder if repealing those laws would improve pedestrian safety by making them actually engage the self preservation part of their brains. The roundabouts (Doughnuts of Death) that they have further south on Highway 75 are a lot less good. There too small and get slippery with even a moderate amount of snow.
@@Crosshair84 Don't be a fool. Roundabouts are great, better at every hour of the day, or night. The requirement to yield to pedestrian traffic has been universal law since before your grandmother was born, and it's stood for so long because YOU are the one who thinks 'Might Makes Right,' you fool, you. Don't shame yourself, nor your poor grandma! Secondly, it's not true what you say about the Double Diamond Interchanges requiring electricity to function. Not st all. Without electricity, treating each crossing as a 'Four-Way Stop" still makes the Double Diamond safer - and faster - while also maintaining the same increased visibility of foot traffic. It's an altogether superior design, fight me.
@@ezekielbrockmann114 Seems like I touched a nerve. The idea that roundabouts are "better at every hour of the day, or night" is so absurd as to be laughable. Staying on topic though, READ WHAT I SAID. I said that the ones in question are too small and get slippery with even a moderate amount of snow. "The requirement to yield to pedestrian traffic has been universal law since before your grandmother was born, and it's stood for so long because YOU are the one who thinks 'Might Makes Right,' you fool, you." You MIGHT want to be familiar with the law before claiming I'm wrong: 2021 Minnesota Statutes, 169.21 PEDESTRIAN. Read it, understand it. Pedestrians absolutely DO NOT and NEVER HAVE had universal right-of-way. Yet pedestrians are continually given the idea that they have universal right-of-way. Not only is that dangerous, but also incorrect as the law is written. This misguided belief results in them putting themselves into danger all the time. "Secondly, it's not true what you say about the Double Diamond Interchanges requiring electricity to function. Not st all. Without electricity, treating each crossing as a 'Four-Way Stop" still makes the Double Diamond safer - and faster." Absolutely not. The I-94/Highway 75 Diverging Diamond Intersection that I am familiar with would be almost as slow as the pre-upgraded intersection when the stoplights were out. It was literally faster to go a mile or so down to the next exit than try to navigate the pre upgrade intersection when the stoplights were out. That's how much traffic went through it. The upgraded one would be similarly backed up without the stoplights.
For the video of the guy who "called it an abomination" at 6:54, his complaint WASN'T that it wasn't good at preventing collisions and moving traffic, his complaint was that the Diverging Diamond was marketed as being "pedestrian friendly", when it clearly isn't. It wasn't designed to be pedestrian friendly, and they are never constructed in areas where walkability is a major concern anyways.
The entire United States feels like it's an area where walkability is not a major concern. (This is not me dissing the US because I'm from somewhere that's better. I'm from Canada and it's the same here.)
I was really surprised when Phoenix, OR got a Diverging Diamonds intersection, mainly because there didn’t seem to be enough traffic to justify its existence. I will say, however, that it’s absolutely better than what was there before. It’s a bit strange when you first go through it, but you quickly get over that confusion after going through the intersection a couple of times. It’s honestly a brilliant system, and I hope more of them will pop up in Southern Oregon. I think we also need more roundabouts/traffic circles.
Stl as well, make frequent trips to MSU. I had to drive to Springfield for the first time at 5 in the morning on very little sleep, I vaguely remember crying at the DDI because we don't have any in St. Louis, and it was confusing at first
O'Fallon MO here lol. We got our first one at 70 and Midrivers. Long story short I ended up a sedan sandwiched between the asshole MO pick up trucks and a confused minivan with a JoyFM sticker
lol, i just tought that what if you diverge the lines above and below each other, its more of a cost issue, more efficient to have the one like in Brasil, the cloverleaf design, not so familiar with skylines, in tropico helped to build the normal circulation but the cars had shortest road rule not right hand side rule, so was kinda weird
Fine Road Anarchy and Traffic Manager can do it. Since grades are less of a concern, you can also do the cousin intersection the Double Crossover Merging Interchange rather easily. The added benefit is that it is a continuous flow interchange.
I had a great city of 50,000 people (That was the most I ever got) and it when down to 20,000 in a week becuse of traffic. WE NEED THESE IN CITY SKYLINES!
The problem is people are so used to driving only on the right side of the road that I've seen people CROSS THE LANES to stay on the right side and into oncoming traffic. It's rare but it definitely happens, especially to older drivers. Regardless, as you said it's likely a rare enough occurrence that it pales in comparison with the issues with the more traditional intersection. If the biggest issues are it's "ugly" and people aren't used to it you're doing pretty good. Time will take care of those sentiments.
@@m1ch43ll5 even if u wait in a car for hours its still faster and less tiring than walking. I like my time and energy thank you. Sure maybe for medium distances but imagine walking 50km to work then back
Lived in LA. Live in Springfield now. When I sit in traffic in a town that has a smaller metro population than a single suburb of LA for comparable times, something is wrong lol Also. Fuck the 5
@@pepsimies3022 nope the literal translation of Autobahn, which itself is a shortening of Bundesautobahn, 'Federal Auto(mobile) Track' not 'Highway as you claim
this is a guy pretending to know stuff and is from the state i am from, nothing geneous about us, just put an old 4 way and itll do for me. seriosuly my town doesnt have any traffic, even during the big events of 8,000 people watching a movie at a old civil war mansion. but yopu get the point our old 4 way, is perfectly fine, because only the dumbasses of the newer generations dont know what one is, so all this new shit wouldnt exist, if people werent becomin big dumb
Illinois got the first one off of Rt59/I-88 and it was a little over a year long project. Once the construction was complete, the traffic flow was smoother than ever and cut down times for some commutes by 5 mins or more
As a truck driver, I can tell you, the first time I encountered these it was horrifying. Then, as I went through it and made the left onto I-85 towards Charlotte, I was able to see how much better it was. They're building one outside of Chicago, that fortunately I've only had to go through at night, because people just don't know how to read and follow signs. Thus, even at night there's been a bunch near misses. Now, circles, or round abouts as they call them in New England, are extremely dangerous and a major hazard for semi trucks, as they tend to be too small to accommodate a 70 foot truck that ends up having to use both lanes and sometimes the trailer has to run over the center. Which is all made worse by people thinking that they don't need to use their turn signals in them.
Im a otr driver that happens to be from Springfield MO so i was lucky to have a lot of experience with these interchanges before ever taking one in a big rig, im always relieved when I see one because i know nothing insane is going to happen
Joe Anzal seems like it should be, but no. A near miss is a miss that was nearly a hit. This is not usually how the formula works in English. If you quickly run, that was a quick run. If you work well, that’s good work. But if you are nearly hit, that’s a near miss. If there’s an actual reason why this is the case, I don’t know it, but that’s my explanation.
Ah, the bowl of spaghetti. I remember one from my youth, near Hartford Connecticut. Never completed, it towered multiple levels above the highway. I wonder why this type of interchange ceased being built. The amount of land typically used? The visual impact to the skyline? The cost?
The caveat prevents it from being a magic bullet. And not only are those designs expensive, they're also: * Noisy (high speed motor vehicles are super noisy due to air resistance and rolling friction) * Polluting to air (vehicle emissions) and the landscape's appearance (visual pollution) * Difficult to maintain (that 3rd dimension thing? You gotta reach ramps 6-8 storeys above the lower road's level) * They still occupy a lot of space horizontally and disrupt communities around (and formerly) below them
@@bearcubdaycare - The cost. That includes the cost of land. Spaghetti Junction in Atlanta is massive, and long slowdowns and backups still occur at rush hour.
I always thought BMWs came with ownership of the road when you bought one - there is no need for turn signals in a BMW because upon seeing one, every other driver on the road should yield.
I live in Cape Girardeau and they just added one of these at Kingshighway and the 55 freeway. It is very effective and makes so much sense! Coming from CA I can say CA needs these everywhere. Thanks for covering this!
Regular intersections: 32 possible accident points Diamond intersection: only 14 accident points American drivers: Not if i have anything to say about that
@@MalachiCo0 As a floridian we can turn 14 into 3,000 by doing sick stunt jumps on improperly dumped trash onto other cars because we're that crazy and fucking stupid.
to be honest, I think the most important improvement we can have is not designing car-centered cities and infrastructures but this interchange is probably the best among the all interchanges even though ideally we wouldn't need them or at least have them in our city centers.
I mean true but interchanges are for the interstates so it kind of requires a vehicle there lol can't really de-car an interstate interchange but I do get your point and agree the usa is a cluster fk of car centrism with either garbage or just no public transportation at all
@@cptmiller132 yeah yeah I was only trying to say that it isn't suitable for city centers but obviously, there will be highways and they will require interchanges that of which the diverging diamond interchange is probably on of the best.
Fuck that. Im not riding a non climate controleld bike and Ill will set fire to every bus in existence before I ever footstep in public transportation. I hate other people. I don't want to be near other people. I want my own private space. You the 200 other car haters can fuck off and make your own god damn city. No one wants that. everyone has cars and you people aren't even statistically relevant for a fucking reason.
I remember when one of these was installed in Branson at the Branson Landing Blvd and Hwy 65 interchange. I had no idea what it was but it became a normal part of driving through that area. Now here I am watching a video about it and learning what it actually is!
Juan Miguel Delgado and that's exactly why she posted the comment, expand your demographic and you get to advertise whilst seeming cool at the same time.
bruv i made the same comment and i hadnt even see your comment,untill i looked at the comment section again after getting notified about a reply on my comment and i got only five likes and you a hundred this is favouritism its because i'm indian isnt it??
There's a diverging diamond getting built here in Georgia connecting I-75 and H-20 making me return back to this vid. Constructions been going on for a while now, but it's starting to take shape. Traffic has been horrible over that bridge, and it can backup H-20 East for nearly a mile during rush hour. Faster to take 25 mins of backroads to cross the bridge heading East than it is to go through that quarter of a mile of average traffic. Proud of McDonough and Henry County because they've been really going hard at solving the traffic issues. Lots of roundabouts have been being built as well, and the few that have been built have relieved so much traffic or at least made traffic so much faster. The 4-way stop at the intersection between Mount Carmel Rd and Mill Rd use to back up all the way to the school, and it would take 25-40 mins to get through on the weekends or rush hour. Replaced it with a roundabout, and now even when it does get backed up half a mile, you're through in 5-10 mins.
I really wish this showed video of rush hour to see how much better it is. All the footage shown has at most 8 cars waiting at the light, I wanna see the bridge working at 5pm on a Tuesday!
Hello fellow Missourian! I have one of these plus a roundabout at one end next to my house and drive it everyday. It is a smooth and easy method to get onto the highway and I want to thank you for spreading the word on this great road design!
I remember running into a diamond interchange in Cedar City, UT. I was screaming in confusion the whole way but somehow made it out unscathed 😂 it works nice when you follow the dotted lines
That was the exact one that came to mind during this video! With the lighthouse right next to it, you'd figure that you had accidentally driven into crazy town, but the intersection actually makes a whole lot of sense.
I saw this video like a month ago. 3weeks ago TH-cam recommend me "im having heart operation" And today post operation video. Didn't understand that this is the same channel and out of nowhere remembered this video and decided rewatching. Man, i hope you will get better and will be waiting for some obscure intersection video from you! Fr9m Russia with love ❤
If intersections like this are too complicated for you. Pull your car over, exit tour vehicle, take out your license, and set it and your car on fire. Problem solved
You mentioned Charla Mahron and said it reduced car accidents, but didn't address the pedestrian concerns. Anyone who used this area to walk and bike before will be even more discouraged to.
Michael Echeverria. It loads so much slower than google maps. I would use google maps any day over apple maps but since it takes up 5 gigabytes and basically steals all my iPhone’s memory, I’m forced to use Apple Maps. But yeah, google maps is way better.
3:56 well there's the problem, the bridge melted onto the highway below.
LOL! XD
Lmao
Bruh
Bruh lol
Bruh x3
Was driving through Alabama recently and we got off on an exit that confused my fiance, and I was like "Oh my god! It's a diverging diamond interchange! Like from the TH-cam video!" She told me to calm down and that I was being a nerd.
Spanish Fort in Baldwin County? That's the only one I've ever used and I love it
The only one I've ever seen was the Gatlinburg exit in Tennessee.
We have one 5 minutes from my house, I'm too nerdy about it as well. My bf isn't a fan 😂
They built one near where I lived and I was geeking about it to my friends.
We have one in our town and I can't stand it
"these are turn signals". Now i know that nearly 3 million people have been informed. My anger is now justified.
xD
yup, just got my license a few months back, didn't realize up until that point how badly people mess up driving, but, well, there isn't anything I can do about it.
@@fulccrum2324 dude I just started driving too and it seems like most people don't understand that they have cruise control. People just can't be bothered to use the functions their car provides for them I guess.
@@total_kayhem5193 yeah, even insistently reminding those I carpool with to use blinkers... welp, I guess it wont be me in the accident and I cant say I didn't warn them
@@total_kayhem5193 Cruise control is any expensive feature, it's an additional $1,000. So a lot of people rather pass on the control of the cruise
As a cities skylines player I can tell you with 100% confidence that it doesn't matter how well your road system, citizens will find some way to back it up for atleast two kilometers.
"Just one more lane bro"
@@Cheesecannon25 Nah if you do your lane mathematics right and add like a bajillion roundabouts, shit flows mad easy.
Or like, use public transit. But designing a good public transit system is also difficult.
Well said
Yeah, we have one of these where I live and it's always backed up.
Without walkable neighborhoods or good public transportation, efforts to reduce congestion are just going to make more people drive.
just get mass transit right and get cities more walk able bike able, problem solved. Want proof? look at mayor EU cities mostly Netherlands ...
On top of that make cities more compact and NOT build fuckton of suburbs. Let build bigblocks of apartment buildings for people who dont care to have a own house.
"These are turn signals. They let other drivers know what you're doing. You should use them."
Half the people in my town dont know this
@@benhorner3707 Half?!? You live in turn signal heaven. I live in a city of about 200,000 and I almost never see a turn signal.
BMW drivers: 👀
I thought that was a Brazil thing but apparently it's global. Most humans are stupid.
I was just reading this comment not knowing what you’re saying until second later
"Also while I have you here, these are "turn signals"... Use them." Best part of the video.
Reply to Brad not Landa
But SO MANY seem to have the "psychic blinker option"!
Agreed!
@@landaroon7793 of it's not the psychic blinker, then these people don't know how to use them, refill them with blinker fluid, or the blinker fluid reservoirs are too small.
Then, there's the risk that using the wrong blinker fluid will damage the muffler bearing.
They also let pedestrians know what you're doing so they can better navigate how not to die while trying to cross a damn residential street.
Also, that's not how roundabouts work, Susan.
@Tom Hewitt sadly, the idiots will speed up just enough that you can't change lanes safely, and then they just hang out right there.
Everyone: this is boring who would watch this
Cities skylines players: This is the best video I’ve ever seen
Traffic is my favorite part of Cities Skylines. I'm gonna try this diverging diamond thing and see how the AI freaks out.
Update: the AI doesn't freakout with the Diverging Diamond. It just works very well.
@@TheRonin508 lol
I'm not a Cities Skylines player, or any sim that requires any traffic, but I found this anything but boring.. I refer you to @0:03.
Now I wonder if it works 😄
As a trucker, I looooove these intersections. One of our entrances to our interstates from our hub has this. It’s never a place we sit at ever, and there are a lot of people going through there.
Your city is so adorable, Chestnut Expressway and Battlefield Road sound like Mario Kart courses
You want some meth we got some on both of those roads, and also the ones next to it, and McDonald's, oh actually just everywhere.... let me rephrase *you want some meth?*
showtime showtime I love seeing so many people from my city in the his comments
Battle field road is right next or is in Battle field were 1000s of peeps died, some peeps believe it's even haunted with a few creepy crack heads and a tone of bloody murders here to top it off. Oh btw, the streets are filled with kidnappers and naked peeps on the streets. (In not even kidding at this point)
@showtime showtime yeah I have a friend who moved down there for work. He's since been back to our hometown but he said he never left the house after 9pm and he's a grown man lmfao we grew up and live in a town of 2,000 people so it was a big jump for him
people like to drive them like mario kart courses too
There's a really cool thing in traffic study that they call "ghost accident".
If, for example, a cat crosses the road, and the driver stops to allow it passage, the driver behind him needs to stop as to not get in an accident, then the driver behind that driver, and so on. Eventually the cat will be long gone, hunting birds in the park, but the ghost of her crossing the lane will still travel through the road, like a wave of sorts.
Really interesting stuff.
@Andrew Lind I've heard it called "caterpillar".
I've seen it many times and it's a PITA!!
Humans process information very slowly.
@@MrWackozacko don't generalize. some of us are quicker to respond than others.
@@ABArsenal Doesnt matter how quick you are when you have 15 people in front of you and it takes 5 seconds for each of them to register the colour of the light has changed, moving like a caterpillar not a train.
7:50 Very important: Use them *before* you started slowing down, turning, etc.
You are *not* the only driver without Telepathic ability. 100% of all drivers have that issue.
Fake news.
What if i do lol
Also, they do not give you priority!
ride a motorbike, you either get very good at reading the cars around you....or get hit by one. good times:D still does not make us telepathic sadly
Wouldn't that be wonderful!!!! There are 3 types of people who do not use signals; those who are to lazy, those who are simply ignorant, and the blatantly stupid. There is no guarantee that some don't fall into more than one of these categories.
Also worth knowing:
1: turn signals also work in car parks. Yes, in supermarket car parks - all car parks. So use them.
2: turn signals can be understood by pedestrians. Remember, that pedestrian in front of you may have just got out of a car and still has the part of his brain which understands turn signals!
I don't drive and i rely on turn signals to know if i should be on the road
Also pulling into driveways, waiting in a designated turn lane, even when theres barely anyone around, IT HELPS
yeah like i know you feel your testosterone dropping if you use the turn signal without being legally required to or without other motorists on the road
bUt i'll straight up walk in front of you because i have no way of reading that you'll take this turn
the 'i'm stopped midway through the turn please just pass' song and dance *now* helps nobody, it's become clear where your going and none of us want to slow you down specifically
maybe i'm exaggerating but you know
in general its a good habit to indicate 3 seconds before turning
@@herminator_arf_3329 The LAW says 100 Feet before the intersection. At least in my state.. But then again, who the heck reads the Driving manual or the Laws ?
bruh maybe I’m drunk but my city has a diverging diamond and the first time I drove it I thought I was British but I knew exactly where to go and when to stop, this shit is underrated asf
First time we went through one, my wife didn't even realize we had switched to the other side of the road. (Short car, high barrier, we couldn't see the other traffic.)
I had to drop off a Uhaul trailer in Reno, NV. I had never been there before so I come off the freeway where my gps directed. I ended up in a divergent diamond. Because I had watch this vid I breezed right through it. Kinda neat.
So are roundabouts. Now, I understand roundabouts aren't practical at all intersections; but the ones that generally don't exceed 30,000 or so cars a day will keep traffic moving with only 4 conflict points and no need for an expensive overpass and series of ramps. I'm all for anything that will stretch the taxpayer dollar and eliminate signal lights and the maintenance costs that come with them, not to mention increasing safety at intersections.
I drove through one of these that was recently installed. The funny thing is the first time you approach one of these is, “why the hell did they do this?” then you think, “well that went smoothly”, then you think to yourself, “ how did that just work, And was that really necessary?” But it works.
Well put. We got the first one in our county last year. Every time I use it, I think exactly those thoughts, in that order. "Yikes, what is the mess?" Then "Hm, this is pretty easy." Then "Okay, what just happened?"
As I didn't see those yet in my part of Europe, my first time with these was in game American Truck Simulator. I had exact same thoughts you wrote, and it really works. :)
My town has this under construction on a interstate over pass but they didnt remove enough of the ground markings. I have seen and experienced way more near-hit side swipes. I forwarded this to my apartment community manager, Fascinating science.
Had to hit em with the “AND these are turn signals, use them” some people I swear forget they exist
Some people deliberately choose not to. My father constantly says he "doesn't want the enemy to anticipate my next move."
@@TRC2002
You would think so--I certainly have thought so--but it hasn't happened yet, lol. Probably a matter of time, but it's simultaneously hilarious and horrifying that he's done this for so long.
In fairness, some people do speed up to purposefully block you when you turn your blinker on. But still.
@@AlbinosaurusR3X there's also the people that brake late, start their turn and only then put on their turn signal.
They must be from LA.
I can attest to the intersection not being confusing. I was visiting some family in Springfield about a month ago and came upon one of these intersections unknowingly. I was very confused as to why I ended up on the wrong side of the road, but the other cars were doing it and the white lines were guiding me, and eventually the lines guided me back to the other side of the intersection and I was on my way with no problems. It's really odd to go through and while you're doing it you have no idea why it works but in the end you get through with very little slowdowns.
"Wait you mean I'm already on the other side?"
"...Intersection not being confusing" "I was very confused as to why..." "really odd to go through" bruh
It's trusting those around you and process
So, is it confusing or not confusing? Lol
@@Fawke85 it looks confusing but if you just follow the lines on the ground with respect to the traffic lights, it's simple
3:53 "Before the new system..." Ah yes, I can see the problem right away! The bridge had melted onto the freeway. Definitely would understand why that's not good for the flow of traffic.
Ye, They all have to exit on The ramp to then etter on The ramp onto The highway again.
I can see an almost exact copy comment that is 9 months older right above yours
@@qm230 Very cool.
@@rsethc I'm glad you enjoyed my presentation
It didn’t melt. It collapsed! Good thing they rebuilt it out of diamonds so it doesn’t happen again!
Laughed at the reminder to use indicators. As an Australian who moved to the USA, I was truly alarmed at how few US drivers use them. You get a fine in Australia if you don’t.
Did you even dice with the metal danger in Melbourne? Plenty of our Asian friends uninitiated with this amazing device on their BMW’s, Mercedes and Audi’s
Jason, I know exactly what YOU mean & years ago few people would violate the law this way, because the Police would definatly site YOU, but over the years the Police failed to enforce the law, because, (My Theory), The Police violate this law, all the time, just follow one for a while & YOU will see what I mean! They change lanes & never signal. The drivers see the Police NOT doing it, so "why do I have to"!?
Yeah, in the US the cops are too busy getting dudes to stop begging from the medians to actually watch for traffic violations. The cops wouldn't stop you here if you were playing a video game on your phone, smoking a fattie, and eating your lunch while driving. You have to be speeding like 20MPH over the limit even to attract the cops' interest.
As a US resident i too am alarmed by how few of us use them. :'(
@@TimothyMcAleeSrGeD what's with all the capitalising of "YOU"?
I’m a truck driver that has mostly stayed out west for the last 20 years. The first time I saw one of these was in Salt Lake City in 2011. Like the traffic engineer in the video, I thought this was an abomination at first. Getting to my location was also very confusing the first time and I missed a turn. I found that since each one is designed slightly different based on nearby side streets, they’re only confusing the first time. Some were not designed properly for big trucks and a curb or two were ran over every time I or anyone else went through there. After getting used to seeing and using these interchanges, I learned to love them. Way more efficient than the standard intersections and like the video pointed out, easier for drivers like me to see and make safe merging decisions. I hope they spread everywhere. While this design is not perfect, it’s a huge improvement over the standard interchange.
Glad you posted this. I was wondering what real-life truckers thought of 'em. Have you happened to navigate one during rush hour? Does that design really keep things clipping along?
(truck driver too) seconded. They've been going up a lot in Chicago and Milwaukee. Anything to keep the 40 tons from having to stop is great.
The hybrid roundabouts are nice too. Where there is a separate dedicated turn right lane so you don't even need to enter the roundabout.
But are they better than cloverleafs? Those don't have any traffic crossing at all, whereas the diverging diamond has almost all traffic cross. If you elevated one direction it would be much better.
@@MikeDCWeld Maybe cloverleafs are too big for some areas or generally cost more than a diverging diamond. Cloverleafs might be better but are not always applicable. Economics play a role too, you know.
@@MikeDCWeld Cloverleafs actually have a huge design flaw though. Each of the straightaway sections has a lane where people simultaneously enter at a low speed and must accelerate hard while at the same time others are entering going high speed and must slow down quickly. A lot of accidents occur on cloverleafs because of that. And not just fender benders, there are massive differences in speed which makes a lot of these cloverleaf crashes really severe. So cloverleafs don't have traffic cross but it does cause traffic moving 40+ mph relative to each other merge into one short lane which is demonstrably worse than traffic crossing each other using carefully controlled signalling (especially because what crashes do occur on a diverging diamond at the cross over point would tend to be lower speed. Diverging diamonds aren't magic but they are definitely better than 4 way or cloverleaf intersections.
As someone that lives in the UK I was confused as to how this could be better than an ordinary junction, but then I saw what the junction looked like before the change. Now it makes sense.
When I spent time in the UK a few years ago driving around, a similar intersection between two highways would had had a roundabout / traffic circle on each side of one highway with an overpass connecting the two roundabouts... In the US, we seldom do roundabouts...
@@seanseoltoir depends on where in the us. Some places there’s a lot of them, some places they are an urban myth.
@@UwU-235 i think, compared to the uk, no where in america can say they have a lot of roundabouts
fr tho our interchanges are a lot better than american ones but we have a lot more rural interchanges than america which seems to have them right in the middle of cities
@@ThatOneCrow3 you’d be surprised
In reality they are absolutely horrible. We have a number of them in Colorado Springs.
7:49 BMW drivers: "I"m gonna pretend I didn't see that"
Audi driver: *are you challenging me!?*
Nah Nissan drivers
😢 sorry I drive a bmw
Nah, it's every type of car driver. You just think it's more BMW drivers because BMW's catch your eyes for whatever subjective reasons.
Wait where are the turn signals I still can’t find them
I love the passive-aggressive way he tells people to use their turn signals.
I wonder why he does this. It seems to be necessary ? So there are people not using them ? USA has the most cops per people in the world, if they give tickets on that, people get educated fast.
@@holger_p I don't know if it's a driver education issue but so many people are just too lazy to use them. Particularly annoying when traffic is waiting for someone to go straight at an intersection and they end up turning, probably without realizing they're wasting other people's time in addition to breaking the law. All cops do is make people try to drive perfectly when they're in sight.
@@holger_p Cops in the USA are mostly concerned with speed. Lots of rude people with expensive or modded cars that love to go over 15 above the speed limit.
@@tankmchavocproductions6907 Yes, cops love traffic, cause the rules are so well defined.
But I hope you don't need a modded car to go over the speed limit. If your car doesn't allow to do so, I would be concerned, or it's an electric.
@@holger_p No, what I meant by that was that people who mod their cars are usually extremely arrogant, and ignore traffic laws. To my knowledge there isn’t any system inside a car physically preventing you from doing so. Sorry for any misunderstanding.
Can confirm after weird events of life had me sent to Kansas City for work. I drove across the original. It's magical. Had no idea what the fuck I was doing other than, "OH SHIT I SAW THIS IN THAT ONE TH-cam VIDEO."
It's really way more simple than it seems.
Then you get the idiots in my city. They decide to use half the diverging diamond to replace a busy intersection. It did absolutely nothing to reduce wait times at the intersection. Taking the right turn lane still has a light to stop you, one you can't go through like a normal right on red. Then you have to merge, with no visibility of the lane you're merging into and no acceleration lane. Oh, and that traffic you're merging into now has 2 stop lights, 1 for cross traffic at the intersection then a second 100ft further for the left turn lane.
It's a good example of how a good idea can be made horrible by people with degrees, but little understanding of concepts. It's not a surprise as we have a rapid growing population yet only put money into the roads long after they need it often leading to a new design being out of date due to planning for traffic today instead of years down the road.
One of the best ways to explain the advantages of this design is that nowhere in this interchange does any vehicle have to turn left across oncoming traffic. Whether you turn left or right, you are always merging directly into the flow of traffic, and never across oncoming traffic. Just think of how much easier right turns normally are than left turns (in the US, or in any country where you drive on the right). Well, this design makes every turn as easy as a right turn, even if it's actually a left turn.
Instead of teaching people to drive, we have to re-invent an intersection? I have a glowing suggestion that would save tax payers millions and insurance companies billions: stop handing out a drivers license like it came from a crackerjack box!!
@@lordraven2264 "teaching people to drive" doesnt fix traffic. it's not a matter of individual failure
@@cheetoschrist5685 I don't agree. I've been driving 40 yrs and have never gotten into an accident making a left turn. It's pretty simple, pay attention when you drive!
@@lordraven2264 The two goals aren't mutually exclusive. We can implement better intersection designs to keep traffic flowing faster and more smoothly, while also advocating for higher standards for driver education and licensing.
@@Paul71H I can respect that answer. The 1 of these intersections I've been in always has a backup. Single point urban interchange is a very cool design though.
“These are turn signals and you should use them”
The entire state of Texas: how bout I don’t
hA ha vEry FuNNy
At this point I'm just grateful if they bother to turn their headlights on at night. Pretty much all newer vehicles have a light sensor that activates the headlights when it gets dark outside and yet some A-holes still override it and turn them off while driving at night. The reasoning for this is completely eludes and infuriates me.
@@articlevftw8920 i mean my car has really strong lights to the point that without brights/high beams it’s definitely good enough, so I just avoid the trouble of swapping by leaving it with the highs off. A lot of people flash their brights at me when I go by at night and I think they think my high beams are still on lol because it’s just that bright and they don’t see it drop brightness. Not exactly what you are talking about but related.
The only reason I can think of not to put your lights on at night is to conserve electricity which just doesn’t make any sense anyway
@@willmungas8964 you just get your headlights aligned maybe that will help.
And Florida
I am a trucker. THANK YOU for the turn signal bit. Maybe people will notice that while they are rolling down the road watching youtube videos on their phone.....
99% of truckers are better drivers than most car drivers. I'm saying that as a car driver too. Good work to you all!
3:57
No wonder it didn’t work, the bridge is like a soggy noodle!
The bridge was feeling tired that day. Poor thing...
I might be a complete idiot, but I thought that weird image was a poor Google Earth computer-generated projection of a bridge that was actually level like the new one, only incorrectly rendered to follow the surrounding topography.
If that's how it really looked back then, then yeah that's one of the weirder overpasses I've ever seen.
Lmaoooo
@@BeatYourHeadIn no shit
BeatYourHeadIn I'm pretty sure that's what it was. If you look closer the trees and buildings are either flattened out or crudely rendered in 3D.
I live in Austin and when they introduced this traffic pattern, people were upset. Now the traffic moves smoothly and people are happy. They have introduced this in few other spots in the city. This is a good innovation.
So the biggest advantage I'm understanding is making left hand turns are easier because the flow of traffic already puts you on the other side of oncoming traffic. Right hand turns aren't affected because you make them before you cross paths.
That's a classic blitz play Madden would be proud.
TOUCHDOWN!!!
Yes but you also have a dedicated moving phase
and stopping phase for each direction... which makes entering the other road easier coming off the highway etc and by the way is also more economic and environment friendly
Wow, your comment was more educational than the entire video! I think you are right that that is the only real benefit though.
@@XVeganDaveGodFreeX Everything they mentioned was said in the video, repeatedly. Plus, the main benefit, also unmistakably and extensively covered in the video,, is the reduction of potential collision points from 34 to merely 14.
Both left and straight turn left, then straight has to turn back onto the proper side of the road... so it didn't solve anything? Except that incoming traffic from the ramps can make left turns.
I remember when I first came across this exact intersection, I was confused. But you're right, you don't have an opportunity to mess up, follow the lane and it'll guide you right through it. I enjoy the intersection and find it a nice change and it's efficient too.
Yeah, try that up north in the winter and see how many folks you get driving on the opposite side against traffic.
I've seen people go the wrong way before. If there's physically an opening, an idiot will manage to steer their car into it, no matter how clear the design of the medians and the paint on the road makes it.
The only time in my life ive driven against traffic (luckily nobody was coming) was thru one of these intersections. I was turning left into this intersection from a gas station on the corner. For some reason in my head I thought the side switch had already crossed when it hadn’t. Since this is the only time in 15 years I’ve driven wrong thru an intersection so the design wasn’t safer in my case.
@@KnuckleHunkybuck well...Natural selection will eventually take care of that... Darwin can't save them all...
its kinda fun too, theres a short one near me that is just swerve-swerve, wakes you up from any sort of mindless driving drone youve been in and adds a little fun.
"No opportunity to mess up"?
Challenge accepted.
Malcolm Arnold: "I'm simply saying that traffic...uh.....finds a way."
People crossing in front of people going the opposite direction will always result in accidents. This design presumes sober non-distracted drivers. And it was originally oversold as "eliminating" accidents.
If there's a way to screw it up, Springfield drivers will find it. Yes, there have been a few people who messed it up, but not many.
@@karlrovey: Those from Springfield, Oregon... like... where the Simpsons (of TV fame) live?
@@HelloKittyFanMan. Springfield, MO. That said, Tulsa and OKC drivers are much worse.
I first encountered one of these intersections by complete surprise near an airport. My first reaction was, "What lunacy is this?" Even though I was completely ignorant regarding the design, I navigated it without issue, aside from a bit of anxiety. I refueled the vehicle within sight of the interchange and watched traffic while doing so. After observing the flow for those few minutes, I realized it was some brilliant lunacy.
Meanwhile in Indiana, we just shove Roundabouts everywhere.
No, like seriously EVERYWHERE. We put roundabouts, AFTER roundabouts, and it actually works pretty swell 👍
I think everyone hates, "Change" at first, but once they realize it's efficiency it's hard to live without! Makes cruising about so much more fun too, since it means more time driving and less time...well not driving. I don't get in a car to sit still after all!
Bladed Angel I like the roundabouts because if you mess up... Try that in one of these crazy intersections, when Google navigation screws you up.
Fellow Hoosier here, I understand all too well. Some of those "dog bone" roundabouts are still dumb if you ask me, but as a whole, not too bad.
Bladed Angel I live in Pennsylvania, and nobody knows how to use roundabouts. They take left turns and go on the truck runoff area😅. It’s not that complicated...it’s a circle ⭕️
We have a diverging diamond in Ft Wayne now. Dupont and i69. I still am not sure what to think of it.
Runabouts are more efficient than regular intersections, but are only effective upto a certain traffic flow. Try to research the runabout around the Arc the Triumph in France
We also got one a while ago in Columbia, MO! I called it “temporary England” because you drive on the left for a bit and I thought it was weird and confusing at first, so I didn’t know why they did it, but that area, which used to be backed up and one of the rare places you actually got bad traffic in Columbia Missouri, now it’s a pretty clear road.
America should have never abandoned British standards, they have that road thing figured out exactly how I'd want it, as with Japan. Those giant islands between two lanes in Michigan make me want to die
@@misakiyoshida I used to live near Detroit. Are you talking about not being able to make a left turn and having to instead make U turns if you want to go left? If so, you should know that the rest of the country, at least the places I've been, doesn't work like that. Most places have left hand turn lanes.
@@misakiyoshida seems like you need to travel more.
I hate that bridge.
Hey, I’m from there! Thanks for visiting our (admittedly still congested) roadways!
That turn signal jab at the end. Classic.
Encountered this in Ankeny, IA on one of their busiest streets that goes under I-35. I can't imagine how backed up it used to be before they changed this, but now even rush hour traffic doesn't back up much at all. It's a beautiful thing. Now we just gotta hope roundabouts become more popular in America one of these days.
My Dad HATES Diverging Diamond Interchanges here in Charlotte.
"They are confusing! What If I go into the opposite side!
"Dad there is a concrete barrier"
"Yeah but you never know! This is so unsafe and slow. I could do better!"
" Some guys spent years of their life doing math to make sure it was safe. I'm pretty sure they can do it fine"
Some guys spent years of their life doing math to come up with the cloverleaf with inadequate merge area for off and on to share with onners accelerating into offers' blind spots so I mean...
@@dchawk81 Lol. Spending years doing math only guarantees spending years. The rest depends on the guy spending years.
@@mennol3885 lol exactly. Apparently he forgot to carry the 1 and his professor was grading his paper while on vacation in the Philippines getting his dingles buried.
Concrete barriers *pfffft*
I was leading (because I'd overtaken everyone!) a mass of cars on a three lane highway (each way) divided by a concrete barrier.
There are lights where we have an intersection with a motorway (this is the UK).
Two cars come off the motorway - ignore all the concrete barriers and lines and by taking a VERY tight line are now on MY side of the road with a combined closing speed of circa 80MPH.
I notice that the occupants are both 'coffin dodgers' (grey hair aplenty) and are soon to be losing their 'dodger' status.
So they do the most 'sensible' thing ie try turning around in the roadway with a horde of high speed traffic (green light is on) advancing on them, post haste.
Some people are just fucking stupid.
Menno van Lavieren
Love that .
I love how you make videos about literally anything (and you make them so hilariously entertaining at the same time). Mad respect!
Business Casual
He reminds me of CGP Grey a lot. I love this style of video.
He's being himself. Similar to how you were doing things BC. It's what enticed me to sub to both of yall.
Dude
What are you doing?????
Shouldnt you make intretainment to the masses?
"literally anything" == "anything"
Fuck you, ruined the entire landscape of youtube
The moment when you realize this TH-camr is from your hometown and that now you get to watch a video that's basically all about your morning commute.
Bruh
Well, it means you need to know that while waiting in the interchange you are to light up your tires and do a burnout.
When making turns, remember to pull that parking brake and go sideways! You need to keep the warmth in your tires for effective commuting and to challenge those traffic engineers :D
@@0megalul309
NIICEEE... *NANII*
Just went on a diverging diamond outside of Tucson AZ. My parents were confused, but I found it easy to navigate as long as you know what lane to be in before you enter the Diamond. It was simple and efficient.
Wait wait wait, so you're saying the little yellow blinky lights have a purpose??
I NEVER KNEW!
ahh yes the BMW driver. Dont worry the rules dont apply to you
Yes, they let everyone around you know what you want to do so they have a chance to cut you off!
3 Series BMW drivers have optional yellow blinky lights.
@@johnyoung9649 you don't say... :O
Gotta stop using it then . :P
But yeah people suck , some, in every way possible ...
I lived in Joplin, MO for a couple years and was absolutely perplexed at what engineer thought it would be a good idea to make lanes cross each other for what seemed no good reason at all. I had no idea it was actually something with a name and a real purpose… all makes sense now.
Ha
This channel is one of my absolute favorites. Never know what I’m gonna get but it’s gonna be great
Also didn’t know you only live a couple cities away, awesome!
cbb88dragonborn I know right, hes always making topics I never would be interested in, interesting af. Hes truly a talented content creator.
I know what you mean. If I only would of known he lived so close to me I would of already been stalking him by now. Do you wanna team up and start doing it? We can become stalking buddies and hang out together following him or we can take turns and share notes with each other about his activities. I'm usually free from 11:am to 3:pm but I'm willing to do the nightshift from 11:pm to 6:am. Just let me know so our schedule can synchronize. Later bud.
They put in a diverging diamond at at freeway crossover near my hometown in Lacey, Washington, and after being away from the area for several years I returned to find this very odd road situation as I was driving from one side of the freeway to the other. And today, just by virtue of TH-cam's algorithm I have found out what this is called! Very interesting! Thanks Austin!
That looked convoluted at first but that quickly makes sense when you see it work. Making turns is what takes time, this makes it easy to get on off which solves the bulk of the problem.
I live in st George Utah and we have one of these. Causes more accidents then anything. It’s literally the worst
Coloring the path as well as lines would help. It's about guiding the drivers eye along the correct path. I'd also like to see how these do at night and bad weather conditions.
So what happens if you're trying to turn around and go the other way on the highway below?
@@milkwalkerjones633 in st George there’s a right turn to go south before it goes on the wrong side of the road
We have one in Atlanta by our airport. Love it.
I'll have to try this in _Cities: Skylines._
I think this is available as a prefab in a mod. Traffic management IMO has always been the biggest challenge in city sims.
David Loewen nah. I guess the AI will just burn out XD Unless you have or make a mod for it to work
its totally possible to try it in cities skylines
ProgradeX And it's totally possible to get mad while trying it because tha AI probably just don't want to change the entire side of the road unless you script a mod for it XD
The first time i saw this interchange was in a cities skylines video! and im sure it was a vanilla game
I'm in the North Atlanta suburbs. They built one at the intersection of I-85 and Pleasant Hill. The benefit was huge and immediate. It took about a week for the commuters to figure it out. But after that it was amazing. That intersection at rush hour could take four cycles for you to get through. Now it clears every green light. I cannot recommend one enough.
Yeah, the first time I drove through it was trippy, but I could immediately tell the benefit from it. Especially considering how developed that area is.
There is one in Dunwoody by perimeter mall and it works great!
Funny thing I was about to comment about that SPECIFIC one at Pleasant Hill and you beat me to it 😂😂 it was definitely confusing and felt weird at first
R u talking about the one with Global Mall closeby
"If left hand turns are such an issue, why not turn them into right hand turns?"
"Pierre, you are a genius "
Not just drivers, but bikers and pedestrians; They're people who'd prefer not to be hit just as much as you, so use your dang blinker.
Sorry, out of fluid.
BLT Player hello fellow person who says blinker
Since most bikers, which I think you mean "bicyclists", don't follow the rules of the road (even though it's the law and they're riding ON THE ROAD, so they should)... I think they get what they deserve. You act like an idiot, you have idiotic stuff happen to you. That's logic.
@@bradfordsuby8064 Sorry, I meant bicycles. Not motorbikes
@@bradfordsuby8064
Most people in real life that have had this complaint, saying “that cyclist isn’t following the rules of the road,” when the cyclists were following the rules of the road.
Common ones, they’re suppose to keep to the right. Nope, it’s preferred by the government for them to be one metre from the curb, though they don’t have to be and they can be anywhere in the lane. They’re not suppose to pull past cars lined up, nope, they’re allowed to do that. The only one I see that is technically illegal is treating a stop sign as a yield, but that is actually a stupid law and studies have shown it is more dangerous for cyclists to come to a complete stop when they don’t have too. Plus, most police treat stops as yields for cyclists anyway.
People dont know what a turn signal is.
where I live you are gonna lose your license if you dont use it every time.
I use my turn signal on empty roads with no cars in sight, why people can't do that on busy roads I will never understand,
I literally didn't know what one was before this. Always wished people would use their indicators though
Where I live 60%of people don't use them especially when changing lanes
People forget they're also useful for pedestrians.
"there are 32 potential accident spots at a regular interchange" thanks man, now I'll be wide awake at night thinking about this
If you're paying attention, there would be no potential accident spots.
@@Normal1855 You're falling foul of the infallible driver fallacy. It doesn't matter how safe a driver you are if the other driver involved in the potential collision is a dangerous driver.
You being a good driver lessens the risk of that happening, but it can't eliminate it.
The diverging diamond still has that possibility, however instead of there being 32 different ways 2 cars can crash utilising a normal 4 way intersection, that number has been cut down to 14. That doesn't mean you will never see a crash on a diverging diamond interchange, just that the risk has been mitigated by more than half; and that's without taking into account changes in behaviour encouraged by the changes in design.
@@Normal1855 And if they're getting a good night of sleep rather than staying awake all night thinking about potential accidents, they'd be able to pay attention better
@@jamielonsdale3018 again, if you're paying attention, you can avoid accidents. And by your analogy, no matter how an interchange is designed, there will still be accidents, no matter how the interchange is designed. Most accidents are caused by drivers, who think that the laws don't apply to them. No matter how safe you THINK an interchange is, you'll have this type of driver. I've been driving for about 35 years, and haven't been in an accident. That's because I'm always keeping my head on a swivel. You can avoid any accident, if you anticipate other drivers, and their actions. You can't design driving dangers out of an interchange, until you change the habits of the bad drivers.
@@9nikola what does that have to do with the design of interchanges? No matter how safe you make a road, if you're tired, you're a danger on the road.
LOL...I love the comment about turn signals! I'm a big time cyclist and what i (we) fine truly annoying is that cars are much more likely to NOT use signals when only a bike is around. Please folks...let the cyclist know your intentions please. I really enjoyed this you tube.
u never fail to surprise with your content man good job
Love how I'm supposed to be studying right now but instead I'm watching videos of traffic and intersections
I guess it can count as studying. Probably not in the good fields, but still, studying.
Same here, it is supposed that I should study Japanese right now,but here I am.
I was watching City Skylines videos and I thought that that it was a video about how to solve traffic in cities Skylines no joke
SCP 1471 wolf same
@@yeeted9466 I just watched the full video again
same
Same
Same
"There's no magic bullet to stopping traffic jams"
Public transport: is that a challenge?
Let me save you some time:
1. Endless comments about Cities: Skylines
2. Endless comments bringing up roundabouts
3. Endless comments (rightfully) giving praise to his turn signal bit at the end.
Yep
Yeah, but all the other comment are a way funnier than this comment.
Already found an improvement to the diverging diamond interchange at 1:00 after looking at it for 10 seconds. You're welcome. :)
It would cost more to implement, but if the goal is maximum traffic flow without having to keep adding tons of extra lanes, then the traffic should pass over/under each other at the point where the "X" is. We don't want cars having to stop at a traffic light before and after the interchange. Thus, we DELETE THE TRAFFIC LIGHTS altogether and now you have cars that are able to go left, right, or straight as they enter the interchange without ever having to stop.
Pause the video at 1:41 and look. The "X" would get enlarged, traffic in one direction goes over, traffic in the other direction goes under. Now they can't collide at the crossover points.
@@taekwondotime I see how that would work, but the point you made about cost. Making roadways one above another would be near prohibitive for the return benefit. I would think, anyways.
@@mattjohnston2 Only at the two points where they crossover. The X would need to be made longer so there's enough room to build an underpass/overpass. Also, the traffic entering from the right should have a dedicated right lane so they don't have to stop when merging with straight traffic.
With those two modifications (again, with no regard to cost), the result would be a free flowing highway interchange that doesn't require any traffic lights and where traffic can flow in all three directions (left, right, or straight) without ever stopping.
So if money is no object, that might just be as good as it gets. :)
I live near Charlotte, NC and these interchanges have been popping up all over the region. They work great! Some even have traffic circles at the far ends. I worked Internationally for about a decade so I became very familiar with round abouts. When the closest one of these interchanges opened near me recently it was funny to watch people navigate the circle and was very slow. After a few weeks people are flying right on though with phone in hand.........Use your turn signals as suggested in the video and please put the phone down!
Where do you live in relation to Charlotte? I live south of Charlotte and I've never seen one. I even went into Charlotte last Thursday and only went through normal intersections (I passed by the Mecklenburg County Courthouse, if you need some perspective for where exactly I was). The only one of these I've ever seen in person was in Atlanta, Georgia.
The newest 485 exchanges and a few on I77 and I40
I know people in Cornelius (just north of Charlotte) and they have a couple of these interchanges as well!
Cool, something new everyday!
Neat, I live in the east of NC, maybe we see them come in Wilmington?
Hey Austin,
What are those Blinky flashy things at the back and front of my car? I can't really seem to find a use for them...
They are to let you check your blinker fluid levels.
RadicalOne1912 niiice
Damodara Damodara you’re running out of headlight fluid
you must drive a bmw
Damodara Damodara ROFL!!!'
Hey, that was the best demonstration of WHY we should follow the new traffic designs. 60% reduction in accidents is HUGE! Thank you!
Most people think that turn signals are only needed WHILE YOU ARE ACTUALLY TURNING and even then, they are optional. The concept of using them as a warning device and a request for clearance is completely foreign to most drivers. Please signal at least 3 seconds (5 preferably) BEFORE YOU TURN.
And indicate before slowing down! Nothing worse than a driver who basically stops in the middle of the road, and then indicates.
when i'm biking, i check, signal, check, and then change lanes. that way i know if someone was coming, then signal, then check if they saw me, then make my lane change safely.
They must not know the meaning of ‘signal’, nor ‘indicate’, since those are also indicators.
Ok TH-cam, yesterday it was some black balls on a lake and today this!
SHAPE BALLS :D :D: D
@@EnjoyCocaColaLight But can you swim in them?
@@kyzer42 Is very very hard to do, almost impossible, would not recommend.
That blackball video is brilliant though
Glad someone else got the same recommendation😂
If you count the subscribe card and video card, your endscreen has your face on it 4 different times haha. Anyway, great video. I've heard about this a few times, but I've never encountered it in person. Alas, I live in Boston, home to the worst road layouts in the country.
Our roads are all pre-car in New England. They have useless curves because they originated from cow paths and cows don’t tend to make nice orderly 90 degree turns. The confusing thing is that often times street names will change when a road curves. Combine our roads with some of the most aggressive drivers in the country, and you get an unpleasant driving experience.
As a New Englander I have to say it's preferable to learn driving here and then go somewhere else than it is to learn driving somewhere else and then get caught in this bullshit later
+ theblackscythe13
The problem with the roads in Boston is they are built like a rural town, but have the traffic of one of the biggest cities in the country.
+Brickertown
I learned to drive in Miami, then lived in D.C. and now live in Boston. So I've experience terrible driving experiences everywhere I've lived so far.
Same! I'm pretty sure I drive through a diverging diamond in Cambridge, MA near Alewife - it's kind of a mindfuck to look at and drive in, but I guess it works! Thankfully I'm never usually around there lol
We just started to get some in Northern Kentucky at some of our notoriously bad interchanges. I didn't understand them...at all. BUT, now I do, and I can appreciate them! Thanks!
When I lived in Moorhead MN (suburb of Fargo ND), we had a diverging diamond put in where our busiest street interchanges with I-94, which had a ton of people needing left turns all the time. This installation was the best damn thing they could've done. Not to mention the trails/sidewalks were tunneled underneath the ramps so no pedestrians were put at risk, either. *chefs kiss*
I also lived in Moorhead MN and absolutely love those interchanges. They're so darned fast and easy, I wish they were everywhere!
They put in several in the Atlanta area and it definitely makes traffic better.
I go through there all the time and it's so much better than the way that intersection used to be. (i-94 and Highway 75)
The ONLY downside is that the diverging diamond is COMPLETELY dependent on the stoplights being operational. I also haven't had to try to navigate it during a snowstorm.
Pedestrians in general are pretty stupid nowadays. "Hur Dur. State law sez I haz right of way." *Steps out in front of 18 wheeler.* I sometimes wonder if repealing those laws would improve pedestrian safety by making them actually engage the self preservation part of their brains.
The roundabouts (Doughnuts of Death) that they have further south on Highway 75 are a lot less good. There too small and get slippery with even a moderate amount of snow.
@@Crosshair84 Don't be a fool. Roundabouts are great, better at every hour of the day, or night.
The requirement to yield to pedestrian traffic has been universal law since before your grandmother was born, and it's stood for so long because YOU are the one who thinks 'Might Makes Right,' you fool, you. Don't shame yourself, nor your poor grandma!
Secondly, it's not true what you say about the Double Diamond Interchanges requiring electricity to function. Not st all. Without electricity, treating each crossing as a 'Four-Way Stop" still makes the Double Diamond safer - and faster - while also maintaining the same increased visibility of foot traffic.
It's an altogether superior design, fight me.
@@ezekielbrockmann114 Seems like I touched a nerve.
The idea that roundabouts are "better at every hour of the day, or night" is so absurd as to be laughable. Staying on topic though, READ WHAT I SAID. I said that the ones in question are too small and get slippery with even a moderate amount of snow.
"The requirement to yield to pedestrian traffic has been universal law since before your grandmother was born, and it's stood for so long because YOU are the one who thinks 'Might Makes Right,' you fool, you."
You MIGHT want to be familiar with the law before claiming I'm wrong: 2021 Minnesota Statutes, 169.21 PEDESTRIAN. Read it, understand it. Pedestrians absolutely DO NOT and NEVER HAVE had universal right-of-way. Yet pedestrians are continually given the idea that they have universal right-of-way. Not only is that dangerous, but also incorrect as the law is written. This misguided belief results in them putting themselves into danger all the time.
"Secondly, it's not true what you say about the Double Diamond Interchanges requiring electricity to function. Not st all. Without electricity, treating each crossing as a 'Four-Way Stop" still makes the Double Diamond safer - and faster."
Absolutely not. The I-94/Highway 75 Diverging Diamond Intersection that I am familiar with would be almost as slow as the pre-upgraded intersection when the stoplights were out. It was literally faster to go a mile or so down to the next exit than try to navigate the pre upgrade intersection when the stoplights were out. That's how much traffic went through it. The upgraded one would be similarly backed up without the stoplights.
Well of course the old intersection caused problems - look at how it's resting on the motorway at 3:56. How is anyone supposed to drive beneath that?
Cute :)
Nice
Whoever designed that freeway never played Cities: Skylines.
Really is just a rendering error but I get the joke
at that moment the bridge had a break.
For the video of the guy who "called it an abomination" at 6:54, his complaint WASN'T that it wasn't good at preventing collisions and moving traffic, his complaint was that the Diverging Diamond was marketed as being "pedestrian friendly", when it clearly isn't. It wasn't designed to be pedestrian friendly, and they are never constructed in areas where walkability is a major concern anyways.
The entire United States feels like it's an area where walkability is not a major concern. (This is not me dissing the US because I'm from somewhere that's better. I'm from Canada and it's the same here.)
"No Roads , No Car Crashes"
-Sun Tzu, The Art of Traffic Accidents
I was really surprised when Phoenix, OR got a Diverging Diamonds intersection, mainly because there didn’t seem to be enough traffic to justify its existence. I will say, however, that it’s absolutely better than what was there before. It’s a bit strange when you first go through it, but you quickly get over that confusion after going through the intersection a couple of times. It’s honestly a brilliant system, and I hope more of them will pop up in Southern Oregon. I think we also need more roundabouts/traffic circles.
that exact intersection is the first diverging diamond I ever drove through. I might have nerded-out a little bit when I saw it the first time.
Crazy, I was sitting here thinking, oh we have these here also, then realized you were in Springdield MO Also. Hello 👋
www.GPcarAudio.com St.Louis here!
Stl as well, make frequent trips to MSU. I had to drive to Springfield for the first time at 5 in the morning on very little sleep, I vaguely remember crying at the DDI because we don't have any in St. Louis, and it was confusing at first
O'Fallon MO here lol. We got our first one at 70 and Midrivers. Long story short I ended up a sedan sandwiched between the asshole MO pick up trucks and a confused minivan with a JoyFM sticker
Hello from west plains Missouri
What's up, Ozark/Springfield. I like them once you get the hang of them.
The only reason I’m watching this video is city skyline traffic chaos. 😅
Unfortunately, I don't think these can be built in an effective manner in Skylines.
lol, i just tought that what if you diverge the lines above and below each other, its more of a cost issue, more efficient to have the one like in Brasil, the cloverleaf design, not so familiar with skylines, in tropico helped to build the normal circulation but the cars had shortest road rule not right hand side rule, so was kinda weird
You can with Move It and Traffic Manager. Also Road Anarchy might be helpful
Fine Road Anarchy and Traffic Manager can do it. Since grades are less of a concern, you can also do the cousin intersection the Double Crossover Merging Interchange rather easily. The added benefit is that it is a continuous flow interchange.
I had a great city of 50,000 people (That was the most I ever got) and it when down to 20,000 in a week becuse of traffic. WE NEED THESE IN CITY SKYLINES!
The problem is people are so used to driving only on the right side of the road that I've seen people CROSS THE LANES to stay on the right side and into oncoming traffic. It's rare but it definitely happens, especially to older drivers. Regardless, as you said it's likely a rare enough occurrence that it pales in comparison with the issues with the more traditional intersection. If the biggest issues are it's "ugly" and people aren't used to it you're doing pretty good. Time will take care of those sentiments.
Peak carbrain. Build railways instead
Waiting 25mins because of an accident*
Los Angeles: “First time?”
Only 25 mins?
Atlanta makes you wait hours for no reason
@@DeltaLimaDelta Did you consider walk to home, since you already lose hours by standing in one place?
@@m1ch43ll5 even if u wait in a car for hours its still faster and less tiring than walking. I like my time and energy thank you. Sure maybe for medium distances but imagine walking 50km to work then back
Lived in LA. Live in Springfield now.
When I sit in traffic in a town that has a smaller metro population than a single suburb of LA for comparable times, something is wrong lol
Also. Fuck the 5
4:00 no wonder why they needed a new bridge
All these cars on the freeway are like, "People need to quit stopping in the middle of the GD freeway."
Lol I really like this comment...
Yeah I saw that as well.. Why wouldn't they raise it up and turn it into a bridge?
Josh Robbins it’s a visual glitch, it was a bridge.
Daeshona Williams r/woooooooosh
„Highways are high speed“
Autobahn: hold my beer
Well, Autobahn is literally highway in german
@@pepsimies3022 nope the literal translation of Autobahn, which itself is a shortening of Bundesautobahn, 'Federal Auto(mobile) Track' not 'Highway as you claim
this is a guy pretending to know stuff and is from the state i am from, nothing geneous about us, just put an old 4 way and itll do for me. seriosuly my town doesnt have any traffic, even during the big events of 8,000 people watching a movie at a old civil war mansion. but yopu get the point our old 4 way, is perfectly fine, because only the dumbasses of the newer generations dont know what one is, so all this new shit wouldnt exist, if people werent becomin big dumb
Autobahn is motre like Interstate.
@@pepsimies3022 hoch means high in German auto means car there may be other translations for high but I'm pretty sure bahn isn't one of them
Illinois got the first one off of Rt59/I-88 and it was a little over a year long project. Once the construction was complete, the traffic flow was smoother than ever and cut down times for some commutes by 5 mins or more
Howdy neighbor, I drive this everyday, insanely smooth
I drive there often and also the one recently completed on I-55 and Weber Road. The improvements in the flow of traffic are noticeable.
As a truck driver, I can tell you, the first time I encountered these it was horrifying. Then, as I went through it and made the left onto I-85 towards Charlotte, I was able to see how much better it was. They're building one outside of Chicago, that fortunately I've only had to go through at night, because people just don't know how to read and follow signs. Thus, even at night there's been a bunch near misses.
Now, circles, or round abouts as they call them in New England, are extremely dangerous and a major hazard for semi trucks, as they tend to be too small to accommodate a 70 foot truck that ends up having to use both lanes and sometimes the trailer has to run over the center. Which is all made worse by people thinking that they don't need to use their turn signals in them.
Jim Kaufman for Congress but what’s your gender tho???
Im a otr driver that happens to be from Springfield MO so i was lucky to have a lot of experience with these interchanges before ever taking one in a big rig, im always relieved when I see one because i know nothing insane is going to happen
Joe Anzal seems like it should be, but no. A near miss is a miss that was nearly a hit. This is not usually how the formula works in English. If you quickly run, that was a quick run. If you work well, that’s good work. But if you are nearly hit, that’s a near miss. If there’s an actual reason why this is the case, I don’t know it, but that’s my explanation.
Joe Anzal a near miss is a miss that was very close to being a hit.
Joe Anzal maybe' but I bet that phrase has existed for much longer than airlines. I don’t know that for sure though.
There is a magic bullet with a caveat. That is the 3rd dimension, it is possible to achieve no-stop interchanges but they are expensive.
Ah, the bowl of spaghetti. I remember one from my youth, near Hartford Connecticut. Never completed, it towered multiple levels above the highway.
I wonder why this type of interchange ceased being built. The amount of land typically used? The visual impact to the skyline? The cost?
@@bearcubdaycare The stack in Los Angeles.
The caveat prevents it from being a magic bullet. And not only are those designs expensive, they're also:
* Noisy (high speed motor vehicles are super noisy due to air resistance and rolling friction)
* Polluting to air (vehicle emissions) and the landscape's appearance (visual pollution)
* Difficult to maintain (that 3rd dimension thing? You gotta reach ramps 6-8 storeys above the lower road's level)
* They still occupy a lot of space horizontally and disrupt communities around (and formerly) below them
@@LucarioBoricua And inefficient - many of the options are simply not used often enough to justify the cost.
@@bearcubdaycare - The cost. That includes the cost of land. Spaghetti Junction in Atlanta is massive, and long slowdowns and backups still occur at rush hour.
I had to pay extra for turn signals on my BMW so I decided not to get them. Sorry.
blinker fluid is expensive!
I always thought BMWs came with ownership of the road when you bought one - there is no need for turn signals in a BMW because upon seeing one, every other driver on the road should yield.
+Debbiebabe69 and if you buy the super deluxe model, other drivers have to give you head AND make you a ham sandwich.
How can that be legal?
Ajmal Najath Try and buy some horn fluid....outrageous!😊
I live in Cape Girardeau and they just added one of these at Kingshighway and the 55 freeway. It is very effective and makes so much sense! Coming from CA I can say CA needs these everywhere. Thanks for covering this!
i bet he is going to release a video about sewage systems some time in the future
One word fatbergs.
Relevant username?
Well, there's a poo map.
That would be awesome
I’d love to see that.
Regular intersections: 32 possible accident points
Diamond intersection: only 14 accident points
American drivers: Not if i have anything to say about that
I think you mean Florida drivers
@@MalachiCo0 No, he got it right. Come to Europe. You can see for yourself.
@@frankvandendool882 Which European country? It cannot be Germany, as their licenses are difficult to obtain.
@@MalachiCo0 As a floridian we can turn 14 into 3,000 by doing sick stunt jumps on improperly dumped trash onto other cars because we're that crazy and fucking stupid.
American female drivers*
8:08. My favorite line of this video. “I will pretend to consider it”.
to be honest, I think the most important improvement we can have is not designing car-centered cities and infrastructures but this interchange is probably the best among the all interchanges even though ideally we wouldn't need them or at least have them in our city centers.
🤓
Bro shut up
I mean true but interchanges are for the interstates so it kind of requires a vehicle there lol can't really de-car an interstate interchange but I do get your point and agree the usa is a cluster fk of car centrism with either garbage or just no public transportation at all
@@cptmiller132 yeah yeah I was only trying to say that it isn't suitable for city centers but obviously, there will be highways and they will require interchanges that of which the diverging diamond interchange is probably on of the best.
Fuck that. Im not riding a non climate controleld bike and Ill will set fire to every bus in existence before I ever footstep in public transportation. I hate other people. I don't want to be near other people. I want my own private space. You the 200 other car haters can fuck off and make your own god damn city. No one wants that. everyone has cars and you people aren't even statistically relevant for a fucking reason.
I remember when one of these was installed in Branson at the Branson Landing Blvd and Hwy 65 interchange. I had no idea what it was but it became a normal part of driving through that area. Now here I am watching a video about it and learning what it actually is!
I think that interchange was the first one I ever saw and it was confusing at first but now seems so normal and nice.
My first diamond was in Branson, too!
the first time i had to drive through one of these i had a dream the night before that i managed to take a wrong turn and drive down the wrong exit😭
this is SO interesting! Your editing is on point, btw
Probably VERY FEW people follow simultaneously austinmcconnell and superholly on TH-cam. I'm glad to be one of them.
wow is it SOOOO interesting???????????????//???????
Juan Miguel Delgado and that's exactly why she posted the comment, expand your demographic and you get to advertise whilst seeming cool at the same time.
holly I love your channel
Almost expected you to pull an Odd1sout reference at the end and say "don't forget to wear your seat belt"
Lewex haha I see what you did there
Yeah xD
Well going by the amount of likes I got, i'd say you're wrong.... but I agree the channels aren't related xD
bruv i made the same comment and i hadnt even see your comment,untill i looked at the comment section again after getting notified about a reply on my comment
and i got only five likes and you a hundred
this is favouritism
its because i'm indian isnt it??
NotAftab Mud or because you posted it later...
There's a diverging diamond getting built here in Georgia connecting I-75 and H-20 making me return back to this vid. Constructions been going on for a while now, but it's starting to take shape. Traffic has been horrible over that bridge, and it can backup H-20 East for nearly a mile during rush hour. Faster to take 25 mins of backroads to cross the bridge heading East than it is to go through that quarter of a mile of average traffic. Proud of McDonough and Henry County because they've been really going hard at solving the traffic issues. Lots of roundabouts have been being built as well, and the few that have been built have relieved so much traffic or at least made traffic so much faster. The 4-way stop at the intersection between Mount Carmel Rd and Mill Rd use to back up all the way to the school, and it would take 25-40 mins to get through on the weekends or rush hour. Replaced it with a roundabout, and now even when it does get backed up half a mile, you're through in 5-10 mins.
I really wish this showed video of rush hour to see how much better it is. All the footage shown has at most 8 cars waiting at the light, I wanna see the bridge working at 5pm on a Tuesday!
How much are they increasing all forms of public transportation and increasing physically separate bike paths?
There’s a few here in ga along 85 in Duluth/Gwinnett
@@theultimatereductionist7592 I’ve wondered if Light Rail could be put in the median of a Diverging Diamond set-up.
All they likely needed was a traffic light rofl... notice how they put this shit WITH a traffic light... notice how these vids show NO real traffic?
This channel sure is a *diamond* in the rough.
Bronzewarrior doo doo tsssss
Oh, you...
Hello fellow Missourian! I have one of these plus a roundabout at one end next to my house and drive it everyday. It is a smooth and easy method to get onto the highway and I want to thank you for spreading the word on this great road design!
I remember running into a diamond interchange in Cedar City, UT. I was screaming in confusion the whole way but somehow made it out unscathed 😂 it works nice when you follow the dotted lines
Where at? I used to live there 20 years ago. Obviously new construction.
@@countmeout4153
The south end of town on Cross Hollow road. It goes underneath the southern exit of the freeway
Yeah, Salt Lake City, at least the southern part out towards Lehi, is full of these.
I love dotted lines, couldn't drive without em 😅
That was the exact one that came to mind during this video! With the lighthouse right next to it, you'd figure that you had accidentally driven into crazy town, but the intersection actually makes a whole lot of sense.
I saw this video like a month ago. 3weeks ago TH-cam recommend me "im having heart operation" And today post operation video.
Didn't understand that this is the same channel and out of nowhere remembered this video and decided rewatching.
Man, i hope you will get better and will be waiting for some obscure intersection video from you!
Fr9m Russia with love ❤
Love your PSA on turn signals ;-)
Mine only work half the time
My car didn't come with turn signals standard. It was either them or heated seats, and it was obvious which one was more important.
well you could fart in the direction you are going to turn
I'm pretty sure that might be illegal.
so you have a BMW :-)
avfusion are you serious? Is this even legal in the US?
Israel Raizer Cruvinel its not , turn signals are mandatory
If intersections like this are too complicated for you. Pull your car over, exit tour vehicle, take out your license, and set it and your car on fire.
Problem solved
Make sure after setting your car on fire you get back in it(!)
looooolz!
You mentioned Charla Mahron and said it reduced car accidents, but didn't address the pedestrian concerns. Anyone who used this area to walk and bike before will be even more discouraged to.
3:56 the reason there are backups is because the bridge is collapsed
Lol. I see that on eht map xD
too soon
lmfao
More like Apple Maps in a nutshell.
Michael Echeverria. It loads so much slower than google maps. I would use google maps any day over apple maps but since it takes up 5 gigabytes and basically steals all my iPhone’s memory, I’m forced to use Apple Maps. But yeah, google maps is way better.
"these are turn signals, you should use them" *PRAISE*
Traffic is a dance. Sadly, some people can't hear the music.
A Nihtgenga that’s a decent metaphor
Some people can't hear the music. Literally
A Nihtgenga I like that nice metaphor there I'll try to remember it.
A Nihtgenga ....and some drive to the sound of heavy metal!
...and have two left feet.
The "Starfox" SNES "Good Luck!" takes me back... and immediately shows how old I am. lol.