Why the U.S. Hates Roundabouts (...kind of)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 22 พ.ค. 2024
- Try out Saily by going to saily.com/typeashton. By using my link you will support my channel! Roundabouts are extremely commonplace here in Europe, but why have they been slow to integrate into American infrastructure? And what does science say about their efficiency, safety and use?
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
02:42 An American Invention?!
05:46 Safety and Efficiency of Roundabouts
11:51 Hated or Loved?
Episode No. 145
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Try out Saily by going to saily.com/typeashton. By using my link you will support my channel!
As a dutch person we love our roundabouts but your numbers were inaccurate. According to various sources on google there's claims falling between 3000 and 5000, with one from 2023 claiming 3817 which is the most specific and roughly in the middle. Using that as a baseline, dividing by the surface area of the Netherlands (41 545 sqkm) you get 0.091 roundabouts per square kilometer. This is probably where your mistake came from, as it would be 91 roundabouts per *1000* square kilometers, not *one* square kilometer
Try facts with a fact resistant population!
@@marianandnorbert I agree, found the same error when checking the numbers for France. While Ashton didn't make this mistake herself but only copied the wrong numbers, she could have made a plausibilty check.
100 roundabouts per square kilometer would be one in every square of 100 x 100 meters, and that in average!
Lots of scammers posing as you on this one. I wish someone would put them on a roundabout with no exits.
kinda off-topic but it is funny that at minute 3:41 you put a photo from the early 1900s of my current office in Rome, I could literally see the window of my office, It is a weird sensation haha
Roundabouts also make it easier to turn around in a busy street.
That's especially useful at vacation when you are in an unfamiliar area maybe with an RV. Turning back without roundabouts is really difficult sometimes. With roundabouts you just drive to the next one. Or you do some circles until you know which exit is the correct one.
@@reinhard8053 exactly! We've once had to do 3 circles until I figured out which town we were aiming for. ( no navis at that time)
This is one of my biggest pet peeves with American road design, aside from the insanely unsafe stuff, but there's basically no room for error in American roads.
If you don't know where you're going and you make a wrong turn, sometimes it's a huge detour as you drive to the next signal, wait for a green arrow, bust a u-turn, wait for the next green arrow, etc. I once had to wait 20 minutes because I went one stoplight down the street just to turn around! It was crazy.
@@jamalgibson8139 In fairness that's true here in the UK too (except due to the difference in scale we rarely have to drive that far before the next turn).
Roundabouts only really help in that respect if you have two fairly close to each other (which certainly does happen but isn't guaranteed by any means) - otherwise if you take the wrong exit you still need to find a way to turn around (usually turn left into a minor road then a turn in the road - or "3 point turn" for we oldies :) - to turn right, back the way you came).
@@anonymes2884 the point is, if every intersection is a roundabout, you only have to go to the next intersection to turn around. If you're in the middle of nowhere with no intersections for miles and miles... yeah, right.
Roundabouts avoid traffic jam. So I prefer them. Traffic lights are stupid. Sometimes you have to wait at empty streets.
you dont support the US sport, to drive while red??
@@Arltratlo try that in EU. Especially in germany haha. loose your licence in no time.
@@zakiNBG i am GERMAN!
@@zakiNBG Germany's traffic signs are not that bad, that you have to do it. In most of the time, it's enough to go from let's say 60 to 70 to avoid Red Lights.
Not “sometimes” but often.
I'm in a suburb of Cincinnati, and they've been building a lot of roundabouts here lately, and they've been an improvement. It really doesn't take that long for people to get used to them.
Same goes around here, they're being built in rural areas because there's the space and not enough traffic to make traffic signals worthwhile. That being said, they just started a project near me that's on the literal city limits, so it's probably just a matter of time before they start working their way into the city. The problem is that there aren't many busy intersections with the time to build a roundabout without tearing anything down.
Another advantage of roundabouts, they supply an open space for some city art, which is what happens here in Dublin. BUT, you yanks will fill them with advertisements and then there will be more roundabouts in America than the rest of the World combined.
I'm south of you, near Lexington. Roundabouts are...rarely built. In true Kentucky form, I guess we'll be one of the last states to really get on board.
In the states on roundabouts void of traffic lights who has the right of way: the cars on the circle or the cars entering the circle?
@@user-ds2yw2ct9n Cars on the roundabout have the right of way.
I love roundabouts! The whole idea about driving a car is to move, not to stop and wait on a red light to shift to green!
Yes, I personally think that as time goes by and drivers have more experience with them that the resistance will fade. The first experiences that I've had driving with actual roundabouts, as opposed to traffic circles, was in the suburbs where they were being used to reduce t-bone crashes from drivers not bothering to stop at uncontrolled intersections. But, you drive through a few of the one lane roundabouts and they really aren't that big of a deal.
Specially at night when you might be the only one at an intersection waiting for the green light.
I worked in Northern California (Central Valley) years ago. One of my colleagues told me a story of city council wanting to build a roundabout in a residential neighborhood with some busy streets. Some of the Karens and NIMBYs went to the council meeting to protest its construction, calling it "European" and "un-American." The council's proposed solution? Planting a little more landscaping and an American flag in the roundabout. The neighborhood became less restless as a result and the roundabout was ultimately built.
😂👏👏👏
That made the roundabout just even more European xD
In my city, most roundabouts do have some art on the middle. Like the one on the exit from the Autobahn has the coat of arms of every suburb of the city arranged on it in circular form, another one has a statue of a famous farmer and grower of a specific sort of vine grape. I saw roundabouts with some artwork depicting local stuff, or just nicely arranged flower beds. But also a few ones that were just flat, so that bis trucks can pass straight trough them.
@@danielastarly5803 "That made the roundabout just even more European xD"
You're right, though the people in that (at the time) very conservative city rarely traveled even to San Francisco, Silicon Valley or Sacramento, never mind Europe. They would have lost their minds if they'd known that they were doubling down on being anything like "them damn French."
@@danielastarly5803
Around here mostly a mound in the middle planted with flowers, depicting crests of the town or village, maybe referencing a local festival, hardly ever any art.
Most of the mounds are low enough so one can see across if cars are coming, but not all.
un-American -> add a flag
That is so hilarious 🤣
I live in Indiana, near Carmel (the city with the most roundabouts) and my town is putting them in as fast as possible.
I love them. They prevent the worst accidents, and they help keep the traffic moving. Install more please!
So true!
They increase the number of MINOR accidents tremendously.
@@RacistobamaOk, sucks for minor dents. They decrease the amount of fatal and severe crashes, by fatal I mean people actually dying . But no these suck because my car might get some more dents
@@RacistobamaThat’s also the stupidest thing you could have said because that is literally survivor bias. Like how in ww1 helmets increase the amount of head injuries because the helmets stoped the bullets from killing people. A roundabout turns high speed t-bones into low speed side to side collision. No new minor crashes are actually generated just what would have been a lethal crash is now a minor one.
Uh, now you just need some bike lanes and you go full woke pro-bike anti-american car lifestyle liberal ! /s
Americans cherish convenience - some might even say "lazyness" - above all else. Drive in a straight line looking straight ahead, react to red or green lights. Eat and drink, or text, while doing so...a roundabout is an inconvenience that requires steering and your attention. Communism!
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
And in some Areas maybe: It's not in the Bible! - Therefore Satanic.
And a roundabout requires you (the driver) to judge the situation and act accordingly.
While at a signaled intersection the lights do it for you.
Is it red, you stop
Is it green, you go
While at a roundabout you have to look at others, caculate if you're able to go, keep in mind which exit you have to take etc.
That's apparently way to much thinking for a lot of (US) American drivers.
It's also why they love using stop signs instead of yield sings, no thinking required, just following what the signs say.
In The Netherlands some roundabouts have bicycle lanes with two-way traffic. (The bicycles come frome right and left side)
@@ChristiaanHW ,
And numerous different speed limit signs.
When "roundabouts" first appeared in Maryland, 20 odd years ago, they were called "traffic circles." Now "roundabout" has become the common term. There are more all the time. It has taken some time, but we here in Maryland are mastering driving on them. And they are becoming the favored intersection control method. This lament can now be heard all over the state, by more and more people, "I wish they would put in a roundabout." Stuart Bonning - Maryland
Wait until you hear about "gyratory systems" 😀
The first place I ever ran into one of those stupid things was in semi-rural Maryland about 25 years ago. It was a shit idea then and its a shit idea now.
@@Racistobama Or maybe you are just shit at understanding it and driving?
They shouldn't have been roundabouts and traffic circles operate very differently. Roundabouts are yield to the traffic in it and traffic circles are more ore less just all way stops that forceably prevent people from blowing through them by making them divert around the circle.
I grew up near one of the deadliest intersections in my state a 2 lane hwy meeting a 4 hwy at a t intersection and only stop signs on the 2 lane i forget how many fatal crashes were recordee there i as a kid witnessed one. it was replace with a roundabout when was in middle school and no fatal crashes have happened
you had highways crossing???
we had none and we started to build our Autobahn in 1929!
i assume, you only drove like 30mph on them... because we drive 200mph sometimes! or even faster!
@@Arltratlo When was the last time you drove 200mph?
He’s probably German. They have parts of their motorway system with no speed limit. I did drive above 200km/h when I visited Germany in the padt.
@@ArltratloHighway bedeutet nicht überall Autobahn. In einigen Gegenden wird jede Landstrasse 'highway' genannt.
@@Arltratlo They're not talking about what we refer to as an interstate highway or freeway, which is what most closely resembles the autobahn in Germany. What they're referring to is a local highway, which generally has higher speed, but still has intersections.
I'm not saying it's right that they have intersections, and as this video notes those intersections should likely be roundabouts rather than stop signs, but it's nowhere near similar to the autobahn.
I was also sceptical about roundabouts at first. When I made my driving license in Germany in the 70s, roundabouts were basically unheard of. I cannot recall that we ever talked about them in the driving school, let alone practiced on one in a car.
But in the 90s they became the hot s**t in German road planning. Today you find them all over the country (but not 100+ per km² - that figure cant be right), and I must admit: they are great! Useless waiting time is greatly reduced, as is the risk of accidents. And if there is a accident because someone didn't act senseably, it usually only results in some dents in the car, not in severe crashes.
This being said, its mainly valid for the smaller and medium size junctions. Those huge roundabouts like you find them in Paris for example, are no improvement unless you know exactly where to go and how to get there. For strangers they are lethal traps. Which hinders the fraffic flow for everybody again. But such mega junctions make perhaps 0,1% of all junctions in a country, so they are no reason not to adopt roundabouts.
I'm from Spain. I just wrote a comment that is almost a 100% match of yours. From remembering when roundabouts began popping up everywhere to thinking more than 2 lanes is too much, more than 3 terrible.
Even then they can help. We have a bit roundabout where the highway meets the city (2 directions) and goes into 3 different directions (into the city) there with several lanes. They even use traffic lights on all roads (including inside the roundabout). I was very sceptical about that, but it works great. You will have to wait at least at one light, but there are no traffic jams even at peak hours. And the signs tell you which lane to choose and it will then lead you to your exit.
@@reinhard8053 Which says that a many-line roundabout works very differently from a normal modern roundabout. Which is fine, but it does demonstrate that while the basic idea can be scaled, the actual design of a modern roundabout scales badly.
@petebeatminister 100+ per km² sure sounds large. I have no feeling for how many intersections you can have in that area in a densely populated place, but I suspect that means that every intersection is a mini-roundabout (which you can mostly do by making the sidewalk edges slightly less sharp and putting a blob of road marking in the center). (Google mini-roundabout for pictures.)
@@KaiHenningsenI think most do not realise when they enter a roundabout. Basically they choose the road to follow. And that is exactly the beauty of it, go right, go strait or left, form follows function. 😂 And yeah, the Netherlands have many of them too, those were initially instrumental to prevent cycling fatalities but in the 80's most were built along 80 km/hrs roads. And that made a world of difference.
Addendum
Those 80km/hrs roads have another trick up their sleeve: Turbo Roundabout. It is interesting to see those working for through roads.
I used to live in Chapel Hill/Carrboro, NC. When I was leaving a few of years ago they were finishing turning one of the most congested intersection to a roundabout. When I came back last year not only was that intersection not congested any more (despite having one extra bike lane connected) there are plenty of new roundabouts in recently build apartment building district. It was so cool to see how the infrastructure went to prefer more dense, walkable and safe options.
That's not surprising, there's really only 2 reasons why they aren't more common. One being space and the other being a lack of familiarity. Space is likely to always be an issue in cities that weren't designed for them. Familiarity though is less of an issue. As more are built, especially the one and two lane varieties, people get used to them relatively quickly.
Honestly, I find intersections much more stressful than roundabout. With roundabout you can easily always squeeze in. But with an intersections, if you do a mistake, if you are too late, you have make a full stop right in time, or else a train of car traffic will hit you. Always, with really big intersections it can be stressful and disorienting to find the right lane and not accidentally slip into the next traffic lane.
Really?
@@urlauburlaub2222 Yes
@@martinbruhn5274
You never should 'sqeez in' on a roundabout.
@@xFD2x yes, that is exactly how you get on a roundabout. When there is always movenment on a roundabout, meaning there is always a car in front of you, how else would you call it?
Yes, but then there is 3 lane roundies with worn out lane paint, so people swirl form their lanes, stressing me out.
As a German I would recommend to keep it simple at the beginning. Almost all of our roundabouts are single lane and easier to manage than multi lane roundabouts. When multiple lanes are necessary go for a turbine design - the video had an impressive 3 lane turbine roundabout and at least one conversion from a regular two lane to a turbine. While turbines still might need some gezting used to you quickly learn that as long as you pick the correct entry lane you can't make any mistakes.
You'd struggle keeping it simple and one lane only in a place that practically only ever has 2 lanes per direction as a minimum. And they don't know yet that with more efficient roundabouts instead of traffic light, they wouldn't need as many lanes (to wait for the light to change in).
I know them only as 'turbo'-roundabouts and I really love these. If they are implemented with raised dividers (not just road marks), they become really simple and safe to use because inexperienced drivers won't suddenly divert into another lane on the roundabout itself.
As someone from Swindon, I say that view lacks ambition.
@@88d4ce They've just recently started constructing a pair of those near me to help deal with traffic coming and going from the freeway. Previously you couldn't use the left lane going west because it was always clogged with the much too short left turn lane to get on the freeway.
From what I understand, the pair of roundabouts shouldn't require knowing that ahead of time. You get in the left turn lane to eventually turn left or go straight. You get in the right lane to eventually turn right or go straight. Much less confusing than being hit with traffic in just one lane and have to worry about waiting it out or changing lanes to one that's going 40mph from a stop.
Total area of The Netherlands, 41.850 km2 and 5585 roundabouts(2019) makes 1 every 7,5 km2 (0,13/km2)
I was already thinking that the number of 113 is way too high. That would mean in a grid of 100 m(300ft) spacing there would be a roundabout at every corner. All over the netherlands. That would just be ridiculous
Thanks. 113.4 roundabouts per km² seems too much
@@thijsstavenga4350 ah, good to see I wasn't the only one reasoning that exact way 😅
@@thijsstavenga4350 It would realy take the speed out of traffic.
might be a misunderstanding - try the same with counting per km² of roads... its likely that the numbers line up then
because lets be real - we dont really care about how many roundabouts are in a forest or a lake... so going by total land area is a pretty useless figure
Traffic circles still exist too, and I think part of the hate is thinking a roundabout is the same thing.
Long Beach, California built the first traffic circle in the 1930s at the southern end of the city.
Yes. In Massachusetts they refer to them as rotaries. There's a sort of famous one in Chelmsford called the Drum Hill Rotary. It's two lanes, terrible visibility, and cars traveling at over 40 mph. Just terrible...and nothing like a roundabout.
They are essentially the same, though roundabouts are smaller and force traffic to reduce speed.
@@Bobrogers99 Similar, but not the same. Very different set of rules.
@@Bobrogers99 As previously stated, they have different rules. A roundabout generally is designed so that everybody can keep moving and that you yield to those already in. A traffic circle is essentially just a four way stop that permits a rolling stop rather than a full stop and mandates it by having a tree blocking you from just ignoring it. For residential streets they work quite well. But, they fail miserably when you've got larger streets with more lanes of traffic and higher speed limits.
The main advantage of a traffic circle is that they can be installed pretty much anywhere, if you had a 4 or 5 way stop, you can usually install the traffic circle, the only real restriction is that they break badly with more than one lane of traffic being allowed through the intersection.
I don't drive a car. I do everything by bike. And left turns in car traffic is THE most terrifying thing to do on a bicycle.
I love roundabouts for the single fact, that there are no left turns. It's only right turns.
UK calling.
And the traffic is slow. Bicycles share lane with cars. No overtaking in this style of roundabout.
😮 Why risk anything by making a left turn like that? Here in Denmark we stop at the corner
Bad news for you, according to German statistics roundabouts are more dangerous to cyclists, than regular crossroads.
@@TheWampam Can you point us at the source of those statistics? I am aware of one very small scale study of 11 roundabouts in an Austrian town over 32 years that came to that same conclusion by comparing the number of bicycle accidents before and after the conversion of regular crossings to roundabouts. BUT the study did not account for the increase in bicycle traffic. There were 7 accidents involving bicycles before and 15 accidents afterwards. That's not statistically significant at all.
The secret of the efficiency of the roundabout is that anyone approaching has to give way to only one direction, left. That is easily manageable compared to having to monitor up to three directions, left, right and front, in a regular intersection. So when approaching a roundabout monitoring the left side only, it is not only easier to avoid collisions but you can also control your approach speed in such way that you can insert into the traffic fluently without having to stop most of the time. As a result there are no traffic jams and no waiting lines at all on roundabouts almost all of the time, and everyone gets through smoothly without stopping. 👍🏻
"but you can also control your approach speed in such way that you can insert into the traffic fluently without having to stop most of the time."
I follow a few German Dashcam-Channels and funnily enough drivers overlooking cars while they enter a roundabout is a common theme in their videos. This often happens because the car already in the roundabout was hidden behind the A-pillar. So, you still have to be careful before entering a roundabout but nevertheless they are much, much safer.
@@hansmeiser32 Compared to an intersection at right angles, where the traffic from the left comes at almost 9 o'clock, the traffic you yield to in a roundabout will often be visible at 10 or 11 o'clock. In Denmark, the entries will often be slightly angled, pointing right, towards the driving direction, this means you have a good and unobstructed view of most of the roundabout. Also, you don't have to make a 90° turn onto the roundabout, but drive more tangentially onto it, which means if you don't need to stop, the sideways force is less.
For those that might find themselves driving here in the UK, priority is to the right, not the left. Whichever way you should give priority, it is always wise to check the traffic in all directions. Finding out the vehicle that just passed in front of you has suddenly slowed or stopped by running in to them probably isn't a pleasant experience. 😂
@@another3997 And your roundabouts also go clockwise and not counter-clockwise as in the rest of Europe, right?
@@hansmeiser32 It's not so much about the A-pillar. That's just an excuse. It's about peaple driving into roundabouts too fast.
I'm in Canada and we were late to the roundabout party as well, but they are popping up all over the place now and it's great
They're a lot growing here too in the United States but saying we were later to the party. * Unless you count Savannah, Savannah squares kind of act similarly to roundabouts. But the squares, but they do have a traffic calming effect.
My city changed a traffic light intersection to a roundabout as an experiment. Accidents went down but the anti-roundabout people were so loud it was switched back. The very first day as a traffic light intersection again there was a bad accident and accidents have increased. But don't confuse the anti-roundabout people with facts, their mind is already made up.
As a UK expat in Canada: it's great we're getting them now, but people need to be taught how to use them, specifically with regards to signalling. The amount of times I see people signal left going into a roundabout but then use the second exit i.e. continue straight ahead 🤦
Japan still hasn't made it. So it is not so bad
@@nicemandan Without really knowing exactly, it sounds like you need to be taught.. How/if one signals going into a roundabout should have nothing to do with their going out of it. You should signal right before exiting. Nothing else matters. If what you signal going in matters, then everyone have to know where you came from. They only know where you are, not where you came from.
Jim Brainerd sounds like a benevolent dictator, single-handedly creating a livable utopia in a sea of asphalt....
He deserves national recognition for showing how people's lives can be dramatically improved.
...and a republican no less!
@@K__a__M__I it is perhaps a somewhat interesting observation that the political affiliation is completely irrelevant to the citizens if a mayor and his city council decide to improve traffic in Denmark. We expect them to make socially sensible decisions, regardless of which party they belong to.
@@K__a__M__I goes to show that mayors are often way better for a town or city than "professional politicians" on national scale. They see what's needed in their city and can have an immediate impact on their citizens. No matter what political party, they are responsible for how the city is run. Even Giuliani was a beloved mayor once....
Yeah, being surprised that a republican would do such a good job to improve and modernize an important aspect of life says a lot about the sorry state of politics and society in America these days. Some things should be just done the best way they can be, no matter the political affiliation. You can debate trans rights and slavery reparations, but basic things should be a given.
I live in western Poland and in my city of 25.000 we have 5 of them with plans for several more. And they really do improve traffic flow.
In Nowy Sacz we used to had one proper roundabout (Rynek) and two other were signal controlled. Today they are popping out almost everywhere and we have tens of them throughout the city.
driver education is key to actually drive safely
True it helps, but road design is probably more important.
@@stephenlee5929 well, if people don't even understand traffic signs and road markings, that only helps partially ;)
@@stephenlee5929 There are a lot of factors that go into it, but the one that's absolutely necessary is driver education. You need to get them to use those features correctly. Otherwise, they're pretty worthless.
@@kailahmann1823 well if you don't know these things you're not educated
That's the crux of the issue. The US attitude seems to be "why change", even then it is proven to be safer (and quicker).
Funny subject today, thanks Ashley 😉.
I'm from Berlin and when I got my driving licence in the late 70's there were three or four giant multiple lane wide roundabouts in the city (Großer Stern, Theodor-Heuss Platz usw.) and they were are nightmare for beginner drivers. But then I went to France for holidays and there were roundabouts everywhere and I started to love them. When you get used to them, and that happens very quickly, you'll love them - even the big ones. The key is to learn how they work, where to watch (indicators !) and how to plan your exit in multiple lanes. Thank god we have mandatory driving schools, that helps a lot 👍🏻
Yeah, 90%+ of the resistance to roundabouts is just not being used to them IMO. Otherwise they're extremely simple to use and if well designed (good visibility etc.) very safe.
They also naturally adapt to traffic ebbs and flows (up to a point, past which you need traffic light controlled roundabouts) - when one direction is busier roundabouts automatically favour traffic moving from that direction (because you give way before entering).
(and it's similar in the UK BTW - we have a separate theory test and then a pretty rigorous practical and I think largely as a consequence of that, despite having much tighter roads, higher population density etc. our _rate_ of traffic accidents is way lower than e.g. the US)
Großer Stern is an unusual roundabout due to the traffic lights on the entry and even inside the circle. But there's so much traffic there that it would get congested otherwise.
@@hypatian9093 I'm not sure, but I think the traffic lights were installed in the mid 80s. So when I was a rookie driver they were definitely not there.
You also need to remember that many of the giant "roundabouts" aren't really roundabouts according to traffic law but multiple intervowen intersections.
Before I even watch this, I must comment. This video subject is so fitting, today I almost got hit by a driver at a roundabout because he did not know how to use it. I live in the US but I am from Southeastern Europe and we have roundabouts back home everywhere lol
It's better to get hit in a roundabout than a 4 way intersection, because the cars have lower speeds in roundabouts
@@leob4403preferably, I would like to not be hit at all 😂🤪
@@RoamingwithJasmina relatable 😁
Key note: "I almost got hit by a driver". The "almost" is most likely due to the fact that roundabuts dramatically slows vehicle speed
@@MrBjornlange I agree, I love roundabouts, it’s just that most people in the US don’t know how to use them, at least in my state. The town I live in put 2 roundabouts and people are so pissed over it 🤷🏼♀️ but to me roundabouts are familiar it is what I grew up with back home.
They've been common in New Jersey for eons; just call 'em all traffic circles.
for some reason i also don't really like roundabouts, but just recently the intersection in proximity to my workplace was transformed to a roundabout and the effect is definitely noticable. The bus had to stop in most case on the red traffic light but now it often can drive into the roundabout without waiting or maybe 10 sec of wait time. Same goes for me when i cross that intersection to get to my workplace. No waiting at a red traffic light anymore. So i guess as the passenger in a car the roundabout is a bit more annoying because of the forces you experience when you go in a circle and if you have that experience every 500 m then it becomes annoying. But if i judge it now from this latest experience i can see that the roundabout improved my life in a very real way. All in all i am probably saving 1 - 2 minutes every time i go to work and back home.
Maybe drive slower into a roundabout next time??? Should reduce "the forces" you experience rapidly ;)
@@Thomas-wx7uf yup, if you experience noticable G-Forces in a roundabout you are very close to or above the upper limit of what can be driven in a roundabout... if you drive at safer speeds, then you dont really notice much of anything
I live in the UK with loads of roundabouts and never had this experience. If you feel the “force” pulling or pushing you into a direction while in a roundabout you are definitely driving faster than the recommendeed speed for the rounadbout.
Car drivers should embrace the G-forces, it is the NASCAR experience. Very American.
Even if roundabouts can consume more space in the first place and also need some maintenance for the spot in the middle if it has some plants on it. But on the other hand you don‘t need traffic lights that also need a lot of maintenance and electricity 24/7 most of the time. So in the long run roundabouts are probably a lot cheaper than intersections controlled by traffic lights.
And in Germany specifically there were many roundabouts in the 50s to the early 70s. But then Siemens made a bunch of money with a lot of roundabouts disappearing and instead becoming an intersection controlled by traffic lights. When I grew up there were almost no roundabouts left in Germany. At least in the area where I live there were zero roundabouts. They had their comeback iirc in the late 90s but still not to the extend like it was in the 60s.
In U.K. we have moved on to “Hamburger-abouts” ( example Crooked Billet on Staines bypass near Heathrow). We also have “Hot-Cross-Bun-Abouts” (but I have never encounter one)
Roundabouts are part of European transportation and they are great. Many of them have an eye catcher in the middle such as a monument, a statue, flower beds, trees... In the past when travelling to France many cities and villages welcomed incoming traffic with a breath taking flower show on their roundabouts. The sign "Villes et Villages Fleuris" announced some spectacular flowerbeds ahead.
A nice way to travel by car when you took the B roads...
There is a video made by an American living and working in the UK. It shows his drive home from work and how the only place he had to actually stop, was the right turn into the lane where he lived.
Interesting. I also live in the UK, but we have traffic signal-controlled roundabouts due to the volume of traffic. I still have to stop plenty, to my great annoyance.
@@michellemaine2719 Yeah, depends where you live. In a UK city or large town you'll hit a lot of traffic light controlled roundabouts (of course even then you _could_ hit green lights all the way. Meanwhile, back in reality... :) but in small towns, suburbs etc. you could easily only use "natural" roundabouts and only have to stop at busy times.
What is more frustrating than being on a junction controlled by lights when you can clearly see your exit road is empty and available? The anti roundabout mentality of the American is because they are not free but processed and controlled.
French guy here. Note that the place de l'Etoile in Paris is a "bizarre " rundabout as the right of way is not given to cars or buses already on the rundabout but to cars and buses entering. However, this is regulated by trafic lights located upstream the place de l'Etoile. Note also that rundabouts may sometimes delay a bit the trafic but they remain largely less dangerous than straight crossings.
I grew up near Flemington, NJ which has three traffic circles (I only heard the term roundabout in the past few years). The largest is an intersection of routes 202, 31, and 12, but there are two smaller ones going west on rt 12. Driving the circles was just part of learning to drive, and it wasn't until I moved away, that it really dawned on me how rare traffic circles are, especially large ones where highways intersect. I'm now in my fifties and I've yet to encounter a larger circle than the one in Flemington, though I've seen many what I would call, neighborhood circles. Following RT202N out of Flemington leads to what used be the Somerville circle. They've since built a overpass which carries 202 traffic over the circle, leaving the circle for slower local traffic, which could be a model for higher capacity intersections which still incorporate a circle. I now live in Las Vegas and see more and more neighborhood circles, and I feel like "roundabout" fits these intersections better. Thanks for the video.
The best invention in recent times was the "turbine roundabout". There you have a two-lane roundabout where you don't need to worry about switching lanes inside the roundabout. Switching lanes inside a multi lane roundabout still makes me nervous even though I have quite some experience with them.
I lived near a few turbo roundabouts, and I feared for my life every time because so many other people didn’t look at the signs or the painted lanes.
Let’s stick to fixing the easy ones first, and hopefully that will prepare drivers for the bigger ones later.
These sound a bit like the 'spiral roundabouts' that have been introduced in some places the UK recently (usually for larger and busier roundabouts). You follow the lane markings depending on your planned exit and the lane moves out to the side to the exit you have chosen upon entering. They seem to work quite well and drivers have adapted to them quickly.
@@frglee Yes, exactly this. You choose your direction before entry and you will be "carried" to the correct exit by the markings.
The only advice I'd give to those who's afraid of roundabouts: take your time! It's an intersection so you're not obligated to drive with the traffic's speed. Show signals, switch lanes, stop when you need to and plan your way out thoughtfully
Those are basically just added markings to help people understand how a multilane roundabout is supposed to work.
You drive on the outmost lane if you want to leave at the next road and on the inside if not and change to the outer lane when you've passed the last road you don't want to take.
Main difference is that europeans have to go to driving school and make exams to get the drivers license, so they have to know how to approach the roundabouts.
We had 1 roundabout in the town where I made my driving license 25 years ago, of course I had to drive through it on the exam.
Now the same town has 20+ roundabouts.
Many older drivers cant navigate trough roundabout, so there should be a sort of a retest for all the people who got their license before roundabouts were introduced, cause simply reading about the rules is not the same as actually learning to drive trough it.
I think you don't need to "learn" roundabouts. We encountered the first roundabouts at vacation in France some decades ago and I don't remember any problems with that. You just follow the signs. A roundabout has no completely new rules. It's just a different approach to a crossing.
It takes 1 year of training and 2K Euros to get a license in Germany. It makes a big difference as it doesn't feel like I am constantly in danger from bad drivers there vs the U.S. where driving is seen as a right and any dumbass can get their license with minimal training or care.
@@reinhard8053 if it is one lane it is simple, if it is 2 lanes it becomes dificult as there as no signs at all of them. And rules are completely different than normal no stop sign crossing
@@sweapernecris2772 The rules are not different. Or at least in most countries there are yield signs at the entries to make that clear. And you need to know that you can't turn to the left. Here we have direction signs at the middle of the roundabout.
So you just need to follow existing rules.
13-14 years ago the first roundabout in Sarnia/Lambton(southwestern Ontario, Can) was built a few hundred meters from where i live. I watched my mother-in-law (and others) drive the wrong way through the roundabout. there is defiantly a learning curve and some people don't want to learn. to this day some people stop when no one is in the roundabout.
Well, when I was young, roundabouts used to be very rare in Germany. But a big difference to the US is, that Europeans very often travel through different countries with different approaches and policies. People regularly experienced better traffic flow at roundabouts, when they came back from hollidays (which are also not as much a thing in the US) and talked about it. Even as a child I could experience, how much relaxed traffic at roundabouts was and how much less nerve wrecking it was, not to wait a pointless traffic lights there. No country wanted to be the one which was to stupid to implement roundabouts, and hardly any politician wanted to be the stupid one, who held obviously better solutions back. And it were certainly not the monsterous examples like the roundabout at the Arc de Triumphe" in Paris (one accident every 15 minutes and terrible traffic at that time) which convinced people, but for the most part, the many little roundabouts which are effordless and to drive through which convinced majorities. It was not about science and statistics - even though less science denial certainly helps in such things.
For the Parisian one they should just give up the monstrosity and remove the inner lanes. Reduce it to like 2 or max 3 lanes that make it very clear where you need to go.
And reduce the number of connections. 12 is just ridiculous. Might as well ban traffic there as nothing will get through in a timely manner no matter what.
You mention pedestrian safety, but as a frequent pedestrian I absolutely hate the fact that I have to walk well out of the way whenever there's a roundabout. They never put the crossing right at the intersection, but usually half a block away from there--often at a place where you do in fact have to cross all the lanes of traffic at once. There may be a good way to build the sidewalk so it's also efficient, but that's not what U.S. traffic engineers generally do.
Yeah, sounds like you're kind of still doing it wrong :). Being from the UK i've never been completely sure how far "a block" actually is but assuming it's around 100 metres (300 feet ish), that's pretty crazy. Almost all pedestrian footways at roundabouts here are within about 10 metres (30 feet ish) of the roundabout itself and closer for smaller roundabouts.
(that said, from what I gather the US favours cars over pedestrians in general with some places which are even effectively "not walkable" because there's no safe walkway at all)
In extremely car brained places in the US, the design of roundabouts are often flawed and overly complex, and drivers act dumb and entitled around them. Most roundabouts require drivers to yield to pedestrians...but in practice most drivers don't yield and likely don't even see the pedestrian trying to cross.
@@anonymes2884 "A block" has several meanings in the US generally so thats why it confuses you. The cube created by 4 intersections is a block. Someone test driving a car may drive it "around the block." The distance between 2 intersections is also called a block. I assume he is meaning this. Asking for directions, someone may say its 4 blocks down. That means drive through that many intersections. Or you may throw a block party between 2 intersections. Then there is our addressing system. Its based on a mile. In it a block is 1/10th of a mile an is counted in 100s. The 2700 block starts at 2.7 miles from the start of the road an ends 0.1 miles later. That makes a block in the address system just under 530 feet. That seems random but its not. Every address on that block will start with 27. The last two digits count up also based on distance but odd numbers are given to the left an even on the right. If you are given the address 2755, you reset your trip as you turn on a road then drive 2.7 miles. Then you start looking for 2755 ahead on the left. If your trip is accurate, its about 240 feet in front of you. The system is built to make finding an address in a hurry easy for cops, EMS an firemen. It also means plenty of addresses as long as houses dont get smaller than 10 feet wide. 1/1000th of a mile is 5.28 feet. Because addresses alternate from side to side, there is 10.56 feet of space before the next number.
Roundabouts are not pedestrian friendly. That is why they are not meant to be in downtowns. They are best utilized on collector roads, and rural roads.
113,4 Roundabouts per km² in the Netherlands is absolutely wrong (as are the other numbers)
There are about 5500 total in the whole country of 41.543 km² so about 0,13 roundabouts per km²
113 roundabouts per km² would mean that at least a quarter of each km² was asphalted (and so a quarter of the total country is a roundabout)
Yeah, not sure how anyone can read that number and not go 'wait, what? how is that even supposed to be possible?
Just imagine standing on a path or road, looking across a couple of fields on a 1000 meter deep stretch (or rougly 3300 feet for the metrically challenged) , and half that each to oyur left and right. Sure, a sizeable plot of land, but not all that big right? like, you could wlak across it to and form any point in 1-5 mintues. And now imagien there beeing 113 roundabouts in that area. that is a midn bogglinly largen umebr of roundabouts.
Or, for a different comparison for average US suburban plot sizes, that woudl be 1 roundabotu per 11 houses (roughly), ignoring the land taken up by streets, parks and so on, just assuming houses .
I generally like the idea behind roundabouts in the cities. What I don't get are the one lane roundabouts in the middle of a countryside (especially in the walley), where 95% of the traffic flows in just one direction, yet every single car has to slow down to often full stop, go around and then accelerate again.
In Rural NW Ohio the first one was built around the entrance to a University in the countryside. so much easier to get through mostly. The learning curve is quick.
Another great video. I am pleasantly surprised how you manage to find and explore an interesting topic every time. Thanks for the efforts ❤🙏
Good job Ashton, as always. Have a nice (early summer-)sunday!
Thanks! You too!
Overwintered in Portugal, whenever I encountered a traffic light intersection I would be annoyed "Why didn't they built a roundabout"
Awesome and interesting video as always! We had a 4-way stop on a frequented intersection right outside our neighborhood. There was always some degree of traffic jam, especially during rush-hour. Since they converted it to a roundabout, I have not had to stop even one single time. Since then, I always wondered why not every intersection is a roundabout. It would make the traffic so much more fluent and the commute so much easier.
Great job Ashton, wish you soon 100k subscribers..
Roundabouts makes the traffic so much smoother than intersections with traffic lights for instance.
As a French living in Quebec, Canada I miss my roundabouts sooo much.
Just to go from the main road to the small street where I live, I have to go through 6 Stop intersections. I'm tired of stopping and starting again every 50 meters. At least I drive an electric car so I benefit from the regen and I don't use my breaks much. But still it is a pain in ******.
I'd like to see more and more roundabouts here.
There are few. Maybe it will get momentum... Lets hope...
American here who has always loved roundabouts! Then we moved to the UK and we were all in. Now back in the US my husband often, while sitting at a light, says frustratingly “this could have been a roundabout!!” I’ve noticed a lot more since we returned in 2020 and since we’re in Virginia that makes sense with the law you mentioned.
When I went to Ireland some years ago, I rented a car at the airport and tried my best to remember driving on the left side, only to land at a magic roundabout some miles ahead. It also had some roadworking crews doing their business. I still have PTSD from this one.
hahaha. I can imagine.
Recently, I was very surprised to find out that there are no priority traffic signs at traffic lights in the USA. If there is a technical problem with the traffic lights, the 4-way stop rule applies at the intersection. At junctions with several lanes in different directions, this becomes a major problem.
As an American, I'm very interested. What are these priority traffic signs and how do they work to make a large intersection better when the traffic light stops working? 4 way stop really sucks on a big intersection, but I never even considered there was a solution to this issue...
@@Higgsfire
He's discussing 2 different things.
Priority traffic signs:
A red arrow and a white/black arrow(color can differ from country to country) that basically shows you if you have priority to pass a certain section of road.
Here in Belgium the way they slow cars down is making everything small.
So having situations where there is a road with one lane in each direction that thins until only one car can pass is rather common. If that happens you need to know if you or the car on the other side have priority.
The same idea applies to one lane wide bridges. You need to know if you need to wait until the bridge is clear or if you have priority.
The 4 way rule is often used in city centers. There is no need for lights at all because of the low speeds people can drive(like, 30mph). The rule is simply that you concede priority to the person on your right. Nobody on your right? You can pass.
Another thing the US doesn't have from what I've heard are simply priority roads. It just shows that you're on a road that doesn't need to slow down for any other road.
@@Higgsfire
At intersections whith traffic lights the signage indicating priority only applies if the traffic light isn't working or is turned off.
@@HiggsfireWhat Daniel said, plus Europe has the concept of priority roads and signs to indicate that (a yellow diamond with a white border). Thus on a four-way intersection, one road might have those priority signs from both directions and the other road might have yield signs. So, when the lights stop working, everybody knows who has priority. Sure on some intersections with heavy traffic that could de facto block off the non-priority road, but then it is those intersections the police will send officers directing traffic first.
@@HiggsfireThe US creates right of way implicitly by the absence of yield and stop signs.
In Europe it's the opposite. Default is to yield to right-side traffic (left for UK obviously) and you only have right of way if a sign explicitly says so.
The sign looks like this:
www.bussgeldkatalog.org/wp-content/uploads/306.png
This is the sign to indicate that right of way ends:
www.strassenausstatter.de/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/verkehrszeichen-307-ende-der-vorfahrtstrasse-800x800-15.jpg
And there is a sign that right of way only applies to the upcoming intersection:
www.strassenausstatter.de/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/verkehrszeichen-301-vorfahrt-gemaess-stvo.jpg
In my hometown in The Netherlands, back in the 90's they were gonna make a new road connecting us to the nearest city. There was gonna be lots of housing around that area later, but they built the road to start with. The plans for all the housing estates were already done, and they had a roundabout for every main connection in there. End result: a 3km road with 7 roundabouts. People were so angry WHY DO WE HAVE TO TURN AROUND A ROUNDABOUT 7 TIMES TO GET FROM HERE TO THERE. Some people were so angry they drove straight over the roundabouts (which had been planted, but the plants were still young). So the city put a piece of metal art on every roundabout to stop that from happening. As the housing estates got built and there was more traffic going on (cars, buses, pedestrians and cyclists) people stopped complaining. Now they finally understood why this was better than traffic lights, because the other road that connected to the city had those and saw less and less use. Nowadays, that old connection road is closed to cars. Nobody cared or complained when that happened.
in the UK they now put traffic lights on roundabouts to space out traffic better, seems to work. if the lights fail the traffic reverts to the give way to traffic on the roundabout rule
Hi Ashton.
In this case I will quote Tommy Lee Jones from "Men In Black":
"A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky, dangerous animals, and you know it..."
In this case I will have to resort to this generalization, at least when it comes to Americans who haven't seen the light of round abouts yet.
However what gets me is that even such an innocuous subject as round abouts gets politicized in the USA. Being called a "bleeding heart liberal" for stating the obvious benefits is something that leaves me scratching my head.
Sure, oil and car companies don't make more money when fewer cars crash, or when they save fuel, but ... that...
Oh?!? OH! Ok, I get it... sorry, my bad. 😂😂
It took Germany quite a few years to accept that round abouts are better in almost every way except possible space usage, where they are a tiny, tiny bit worse than four way intersections. Increase the number of roads leading into a round about and they very quickly become better even in that issue.
We are slowly catching up to our neighbors
My cynical take would be that banks and hospitals lose out if fewer people crash and have to deal with the US health"care", but yes. That too.
Edit: That was actually the first thing my economy teacher told us to question GDP as a concept... more car crashes = more repair shops = more jobs. Car crashes are great! ...aren't they?
Good Morning my favorite Black Forest Family
and @ all
Great as always 🙂
Well informed, very very well structured presentation, presented in a very good way.
I am just liking your videos, because my reaction to all your videos would be the same. Start at the top. 🙂
Roundabouts are nice, if placed in a low or max medium traffic area. If you place one in a high traffic place, it will hopelessly clog and most likely at least one direction will not get ANY traffic flow at all due to priority rules.
The thing with Americans and roundabouts is in my opinion the fact that a roundabout actually forces you to pay attention and make your own decision if it's safe to proceed. Where a stoplight or stop sign tells you what to do. And this blindly trusting the lights is what makes them so dangerous if someone is running the red usually at increased speed.
When someone fails to yield for you on the roundabout the crash is only at 15-25mph and that's much less worse then someone crashing at 50-60mph into you.
But once you learned how to observe the traffic, looking well in advance and assessing where a gap will be enables you to approach at a slow speed and weave in without stopping.
Sadly, even here in the Netherlands where we have so many roundabouts not everyone uses them correctly, by observing the traffic to late, forcing them to stop even when there is no crossing traffic or failing to signal when they leave the roundabout forcing others to stop unnecessarily.
Replacement of two intersections with traffic lights for roundabouts on my commuting route can save me as much as 5 minutes, while the traffic lights could have waiting times up to 2,5 or 3 minutes each, the roundabouts take only one minute even when there is a small queue forming at busy times as the queue forms only at the first one dosing the traffic to the second one.
While living and working in Germany, I came to love roundabouts, and intersections to which the "right before left" rule applies. I've driven through many roundabouts in countries like France, United Kingdom, etc. But the most interesting roundabouts for me was the once in Iceland. 😄👍
At large multi-lane roundabouts, cycling all the way round the outside lane was allowed. This is wacky on a bicycle as you cross the exits for faster cars coming round at say 30 mph! I tried this in my 20’s in Edinburgh one summer, when cycling round the edge of the city, 15 miles to my first job and it was not fun!
Hi Ashton, that's a great video and I hope many German politicians and traffic experts are watching it too.
In my area, they've managed to place two crossings about 100m apart of each other despite plenty of space for a roundabout which would have consumed less space and allowed for better traffic flow. Looking at the situation of traffic flow here you'd be forgiven suspecting that someone must be making tons of money with installing traffic lights which are notoriously synchronized to increase the number of total stops and hence of damaging emissions.
Driving in France - and I guess in the Netherlands too - is heavenly. OK, sometimes they make you feel trapped in an infinite orbit - I remember driving past Nice entering a roundabout nearly every 200m. But with the amount of traffic going it would have been much worse with traffic lights probably.
And I've actually passed the roundabout at the Arc de Triomphe a few years ago - and surprisingly it wasn't that bad at all. Getting out of Munich without going in the direction to Nürnberg seems to be much more difficult 😄
When I made my drivers license in Germany there were only 2 roundabouts in the city I live. It was part of the lessons to actually go through one. And to be honest it was on a vacation to France where I really learned how to drive through roundabouts. Nowadays I prefer them anytime over traffic light, but it takes a while to get used to them.
Yup i'm dutch i had the same experience as far as i know we stole the idee from france once it turned out to be succes there.
ich mußte zur nächsten Großstadt, die hatten einen einzigen...bin ich aber erst hin mit Führerschein!
Fourway stops are the dumbest thing Ive heard of. Its basically playing chicken.
People who think they can beat stop light or the stop sign usually end up in a crash!
@@NormanF62 .
One video shows exactly that, the stupidity was the driver was a 15-year-old getting experience driving with his father. Instead of slowing down to stop on the yellow, he accelerated to try and beat the red. The father saw nothing wrong with that.
@@grahvis That's one reason why it is not good to be taught by parents. The new drivers will learn all their faults. It needs a cut at that point.
you just need the biggest car or the biggest ego!
both at the same time works best!
What scares me about American 4-way intersection is that the "absence" of a sign indicates right of way. That's a stupid default.
In Europe the absence of a stop sign indicates that you have to yield to traffic on your right by default. So if a sign is missing for some reason you slow down and check the traffic.
While a 4-way stop intersection where a sign is missing ("prank", storm, obscured by vegetatuon or whatever) means you can drive through the intersection at full speed. That's an insane no-sign default.
Haven't used em a whole lot, but I love em.
The roundabout near me is on a bridge over the CN mainline and they forgot a sidewalk so people need to jaywalk to get around it. There was complaints about it when being built but a month after it was opened people were asking for more
8:31 "When [pedestrians] need to cross traffic, they only cross one direction of traffic at a time."
That is *not an inherent* feature of roundabouts. It's a consequence of having a *median island* in between the two travel directions, which you can also have on traditional intersections, and which can be absent on roundabouts (for a counter-example, see the right side of the very roundabout shown at that time in the video). Roundabouts are just *more likely* to be built with such traffic islands, because flaring them out on the side that touches the roundabout (which the one shown at 8:41 demonstrates very nicely) helps guide traffic in the correct direction around the roundabout.
*The way how roundabouts are safer* for pedestrians is that the conflict where motor vehicles are most likely to overlook and hit a pedestrian is when the motor vehicle turns, because the drivers have to look in more directions than those going straight. (And possibly also because the life of the pedestrian is made dependent on the driver yielding, instead of being in their own hands when they cross the path of a vehicle going straight). But in a lighted intersection, pedestrians get a green *at the same* time as the direction of motor traffic which is _assumed_ to be traveling parallel to the pedestrians, but any of which could also turn into their path. This can be _mediated_ by leading pedestrian intervals, which ensures that it doesn't happen at the *exact same moment,* but it still concentrates these most dangerous conflicts into the *same time window.*
I guess roundabouts would be considered "woke" in some US states?
But hearing about a republican changing his town into a safer one sounds a bit odd these days. There's hope.
😂
Moin Peter, schönen Sonntag!
@@arnodobler1096 Moin Arno! Dir - und allen anderen natürlich - auch.
Ein gute Republican? Es ist selten aber es ist möglich (auf der lokalen Rathaus, nicht National)
@@machtmann2881 Nothing against most of the people involved on the ground, but the party has jumped the shark.
You do hear that a lot in my generally pro-roundabout town. People that just don't like change, many of them older folk, have fond memories of how (in their mind) things used to be, and wish it could always stay like that.
Greetings from northern Germany, great video again. I grew up in rural germany, the next real city was 15km (should be somewhere around 9 miles) away, where I met the first roundabout ever. I learned to love them, from going through there to and from school to making my drivers license with them. Honestly, the bigger ones might be stressing. In Bremen is one roundabout with 5 exits and a tram line going right through it, called "Der Stern" (The Star"). Of course, with more traffic comes a higher risk of delays or filled roads. But, under the assumption of everybody knowing what to do, it is a really great idea. Just needs some time to get used to, but creates a more relaxed driving experience. Even with up to 4 lanes.
Ann Arbor, MI is building a lot of roundabouts, and I think they're a fantastic idea. As others have said, traffic just moves just so much more smoothly, and complete stops are almost completely eliminated. I think one key for mass acceptance of roundabouts is to do something nice with the circle in the middle.
I really love, that Carmel proved that the induced need for more lanes works in the opposite direction as well: more lanes end up in more traffic and congestion, less lanes (in conjunction with good alternatives like bike lanes, public transport, walkability) reduces it.
You missed the part where Ashton said the raw throughput of cars per hour was higher than the previous multi-lane intersection. However, having a walkable and bicycle-friendly city is something very desirable. Coupled with various non-car transportation, it will reduce the need for cars significantly.
Damn...if only all American cities were like Carmel, Indiana...
A a resident of Swindon, I drive through the "Magic Roundabout" frequently. It works well, most of the time, even in the rush hour. Nice to see it featured here!
Some notes before doing my homework assignment:
1) Missed "I get around" in the soundtrack ;-)
2) Thanks for talking about Carmel, sound much more interesting than most US cities!
Homework: I do like roundabouts more than unregulated crossings, especially overland, in the city roundabouts sometimes get too big ("Verteilerkreis Favoriten", which has a Wikipedia article in German, is an example of what I mean 🙂), single lane roundabouts are o.k.
Growing up in New Zealand and more recently in Australia, roundabouts have been with me for all of my 74 years.
There's a roundabout near me with just 2 exits (it was to allow another exit which still hasn't opened)
Driving in America one thing I hated was junctions coming off interstates.
Having said that i was a passenger in car giving directions to American crossing her first roundabout. It was terrifying
UK here. All I've ever know are roundabouts so love them especially the magic round about in Swindon
As an American, I actually like roundabouts! I live in Seattle WA & there are significantly more here than in any other US city I have lived. Yes, they took some getting used to at first. Now I like them & love to see what the next season brings to it's green space!
It's super interesting to me, that a republican of all politicians would be the spearhead of American proper Urban Design! Thanks for this video!
efficient, safe...yes and no it all depends on their design, the signage and the behavior of motorists
in Switzerland it's okay, although it sometimes causes traffic jams, but the design is good, the signage is understandable and the people are civilized and know how to drive
in France it's not the same, the gitratoites are built anyhow, the signaling is anarchic (the famous: all directions, other directions) and the be respect neither the speed nor the priority, when they do not take the roundabout reverse stitch
That's the first time I heard some people actually dislike roundabouts. They are great. A new one was built recently in the path of my daily commute, and now the traffic just flows and nobody has to sit in their car and wait for green lights.
Fun fact: many Germans use the word "roundabout" in a wrong way when they talk about an estimate. "How much will this cost?" instead of "about 500 Euro" they say "500 Euro, roundabout".
Himmel Hempsted also had a Magic Roundabout. The first time that I encountered this phenomenon, I parked, walked forward, and looked at the way other drivers negotiated it. Afterwards, I drove round the roundabout on a daily basis for the two weeks that I was working there, no problem!
One danger not mentioned in Ashtons otherwise brilliant presentation of roundabouts is speeding drivers who doesn’t realize that they are entering a roundabout. But simply plow through. Such behavior often results in injuries to both car, driver and other traficants.
This is in particular the case where the center part of the round-about is flat. The flat center (as shown in multiple clips during Astons video) allows drivers at night to see the headlights of oncoming traffic on the other side of the roundabout. This may lead to the assumption that the road continues straight ahead.
But there is a simple solution. Install something in the center of the roundabout which obscures the view ahead and give a strong visual indication af the rim of the “center island”.
The " simple solution" you describe is how every roundabout I've ever seen around here is designed. It's pretty much impossible to just "plow through", which is by design.
Yep ... @barryomahony4983. I think we agree. This issue should be avoided by design 👍
But nevertheles, we see the "low versions of raoundabout" In Astons presetation @3:02, @3:26, @3:30, @5:18 and most notable @16:56, @17:02 and @17:10.
This is not to say trafic light regulation is better. I know it is not. But it is, as You state, a design issue and as Ashton's primary message here goes to the design of traffic I just thought I would mention it as it wasn’t part of Aston otherwise excellent presentation 😉
Ohh- and re. "pretty much impossible to just plow through" ... It happens. Even in roundabouts with raised level in the middle.
I have read more than one news story about reckless drivers who inadvertently have used the roundabout as a ski ramp and catapulted themselves into a field, building or whatever obstruction comes in their way. 😬
@@barryomahony4983 You forget the mini-roundabouts in the UK, where it is, indeed, just paint on the ground.
@@jaycee330 There aren't any of those around here and that would violate design guidelines; 'sounds like a very bad idea. In fact, in our roundabouts they use the raised center median as opportunities to install public artworks.
In Italy traffic rules changed in the late 1980s and yield for roundabouts was inverted. Before cars inside a roundabout had to yield to any intersecting road. After the reform roundabouts flourished, literally. Right now we're 3rd for total number (18.172 ) and we love therm. They are one of the reasons because car crash fatalities are constantly decreasing in Italy year after year. Unfortunately for the US it's the opposite, so you should reconsider your attitude. Just like bike lanes, public transport and zoning, I read many, many excuses form the US, just excuses.
This was regulated in the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic of 1968. Because Germany wanted to give priority to internal traffic back then, it used different signs (give way signs when driving in and right of way inside). Since December 11, 2000, Germany has used a blue roundabout sign with three white arrows.
France did the same in 1984 in regard to the priority rules.
always love your inputs .... thanks from Austria
There’s also the “mini roundabout” which is specifically designed to fit in the geometry of a 4-way stop but still get most of the safety and efficiency improvements.
The difference is that the center island is mountable for trucks that can’t fit in the tiny turning radius.
On the plus side, these can usually be created with just some paint, signs and maybe bolt-down plastic pieces. And when the land around them eventually gets acquired, they can easily be upgraded to real roundabouts.
Basically, Americans hate roundabouts because they don't know how to drive in them. Which I completely understand. I thought they were scary too when I was learning to drive. But, as with most things, they get easier the more you practice.
I grew up in Finland (born 1993), and just a couple of decades ago roundabouts weren't super common there either. I often feel like when it comes to traffic mentality and infrastructure, we are often closer to Americans than to continental Europe. I remember people talking about the roundabouts being confusing when I was a child, because they were building a lot of new ones then and people weren't very familiar with them yet. When I started to drive myself, one-lane roundabouts were common and didn't pose much of an issue. But I remember going to Sweden where two-lane roundabouts were already common, and feeling scared to get into the inner lane because I wasn't sure how or when to get out.
You should try 4 and 5 lanes 😂😂😂
It's a great pont and shows that this kind of knowledge could and should be added into the shool curriculum, so our kids wouldn't have do deal with such confusion as we had to.
@ i see another reason for more and better cycling infrastructure.
If you have safe cycling infrastructure, children are able to cycle to school.
And if children cycle to school from (let's take the Dutch example) age 5 or 6, they have over a decade to learn the rules (and customs) of the road.
So when they decide to go for a drivers license they already know 90% of the theory.
And because they used to cycle (and hopefully they will continue to cycle, even after getting their drivers license) they know how cyclist (and other people they might encounter) act.
@@gabrielgomescunha Those are still horrible and really a bad design choice (unless there is no alternative ofcourse).
When I moved to Finland from the UK over 20 years ago, I realised the two lane roundabout in Tuusula was one of only about three in the entire country!!! This was amazing because I used to live in Milton Keynes in the UK where literally every major junction is a roundabout and there were plenty of three lane roundabouts just in that one city. There are more in Finland now but still almost no motorway junctions using roundabouts - which is the default design in the UK for a motorway junction. Instead traffic lights so all the cars can come onto the motorway in one big burst.
I learned to drive in Australia where - at least in big cities - round abouts were common. So I am used to them. When I moved to Canada 20 years ago I found it hard to adjust to 4-way stops, and still do - no one follows the rules and accidents seem common. Round abouts are relatively common in some parts of Canada but not where I live in Manitoba. My community (pop 50,000) started installing round abouts replacing 4-way stops about 10 years ago and they are controversial, but as you showed in the video people get used to them. But I still hear locals complain ("They're so confusing!") when new round abouts are proposed or installed by the city.
All I can say is we need more round abouts. Safer, easier to navigate, more efficient than 4-way stops for sure, and yes they save on gas as you're not sitting idling at rush hour waiting for the queue to clear the stop sign.
Thanks for another great video!
The main reason why we build so many roundabouts in Germany is that we realized that it's more fun to drive in circles than straight ahead. Ashton forgot to mention this main reason.
I thought the main reason was that villages can install artsy stuff on the center island 😂
@@magmastered No, villagers have never really understood things.
You have to Go to France to learn all there IS in driving in roundabouts. I recommend Paris Arc de Triumphe
😂😂😂
Driving in Paris can be a nail biter even for the seasoned European driver. And this is coming from someone who lives in Sicily ,where road sigs are merely a suggestion.
Driving like a french one ist the best way for passing a a multilane roundabout😂
@@dwsharkieI drove in Sicily last year and I drove in Paris few years ago also. I must say that driving in Palermo was way much easier and safer then in Paris
The AdT is not a true roundabout in the sense we are talking about here, as traffic entering has to give way to traffic already in the circle. Which is why it's a mess most of the time.
Hi,
I'm from Belgium and I can remember as a kid that driving through France was an experience with all those roundabouts and my parents weren't that used to them but in the end everybody got used to them. In Belgium too roundabouts became popular, maybe a few years later.
I've always been told about the advantages of roundabouts and since I drove with a lot of them from the beginning I prefer them a lot compared to other crossings.
Thanks for this video.
Gday Ashton, love your work!
Some of our roundabouts have traffic control light to help with busy and peak times. If people travel at a normal pace they work well but some people have become quite expert in roundabouts and increase their speed to be first into the roundabout. Some drivers seem like they are going to exit, but actually keep going round and some seem like they are going to keep going round and actually exit. Some drivers swap lanes as they are turning without indicating.
Generally they keep the traffic flowing well but you still need your wits about you for the cheeky drivers who make up their own rules once in the roundabout. I’ve seen plenty of accidents at one particular roundabout in my area. I think that’s why the traffic lights were installed again.
So many drivers have been using their phones here while driving that cameras have been installed at most intersections with traffic lights. When I was in Japan travelling in the bus, you could see drivers texting on their phones and even writing up their work sheets on the go . I didn’t see. Roundabouts but they do have multi story overpasses which left us all with our mouths open wondering how they navigate them. Quite the experience in Japan😂😂
0:54 I guess you meant to say "per 1000 km²".
I was certainly scratching my head at the number, wondering where they would fit them all....
I was thinking: that can't be right, can it? In 2019 there were apparently 5,585 roundabouts in the Netherlands, which is 41,543 km2 total or 33,893 km2 land, making it about 134 to 165 roundabouts per km2, depending on which numbers you use. This was obviously a type-o, but maybe Ashton could include some references on where she gets her information.
@@MartijnPennings 0.134 to 0.165 per km² 🙃
@@HansMaurer. Well, now I know how those mistakes are made hahaha
@@MartijnPennings You mean like the big page listing all of them at the end of the video ? ;)
Well, I guess the reason Americans hate Roundabouts is that they tend to hate more sensible measures.... like gun-control..
BTW... the advantage of roundabouts allow for more cars passing than normal intersections.. reducing congestion.
Gun control is not a sensible thing if you know anything. Doing research is a sensible thing.
Love your videos!
Great Video, I'm British (London/Basildon) so I'm well versed in roundabouts, my driving instructor always told me to keep the momentum going . Oh, and I've never used the phrase " What the bobbins " !
its a weird kind of patriotism i seem to see a lot with Americans, that they are intensely proud of not being able to figure out how to use things that the rest of the world uses easily. With roundabouts, the metric system, proportional representation voting etc. There seems to be this visceral insistence that these things are just far too complicated and confusing for the American people to get their head around, and that's what makes America superior to the rest of the world who are stupid for being able to work them out
We are constantly told growing up that America is the best and most powerful country that ever existed in all of time and that if America does it, it must be right. Why would we then take feedback from how other countries do things? Our obsession with our supposed greatness makes our current political times and inability to fix great problems all the more petulant.
Something that drove my absolutely insane living there.
@@machtmann2881 Politics is by its very nature a messy business, but looking at the USA from the outside, it's hard to believe how broken and divided its is, both socially and politically. The current political system makes your governments impotent, and occasionally brings the federal government to a standstill. It's like something from a dystopian, farcical novel. As for Donald Trump, it beggars belief that any right minded American doesn't see what the rest of the world does... after several years he hasn't proven any of his outlandish claims, but still says he's being victimised. Instead he just resorts to personal attacks on anybody even loosely related to his court cases, and their families, accusing them of all sorts, without any foundation. Yet he's been found guilty of corporate fraud, found liable for a sexual assault, and stands accused of paying hush money to a porn star about their affair, inciting armed insurrection and illegally keeping hold of government files amongst other things. He has the general knowledge of a 10 year old, and acts like a petulant child who thinks it's unfair when he loses... and "intelligent" people want him as president? 🙄
Yep. I often think of this exact thing when I hear some (a lot of) US Americans argue. "You realise that you are arguing that you are too stupid to learn. Right?"
Why the U.S. Hates Roundabouts? I'll save you some time, she never goes into any detail on the subject
Roundabouts reduce traffic jams most of the time, except on certain traffic imbalance between inputs.
If you try to enter but a major road is on your left, you’ll have hard to find gaps to insert into the ring.