Brit3964

+1

In the Carolinas, the road planners (if there is such a thing) mentality to traffic control is "oh we'll put up a stop light". If you've ever been to New Bern, NC you'll know what I mean. Literally a stop light every 200ft or so. Crazy in a small town with a small population. It takes ages to get from one end to another.

Jerseygirl

If the test was more like the test in the UK then there would probably only be about 10% of drivers on the road.

Lothianlad

I just can't imagine what it would be like to drive in a country where roundabouts are very thin on the ground or non existent altogether. They speed up traffic flow for one thing and negotiating them is fun anyway as long as you obey all the rules of accessibility and use the correct exit lanes and give way to traffic approaching from the right - or the left as it likely is in non "keep to the left" countries who have them. They also make regular traffic reports easier to follow when it comes to precise locality and identification of such as many of them have names - such as the Halbeath Roundabout or the Walnut Tree Roundabout for example.

And another thing - many of them are well tended in the form of centrally placed flower beds, shrubs and even ornamental trees making them look quite attractive, not that you have much time to admire them as you filter your way through the whole process.

Lola-Monmouth

I agree with the over 70's remark...maybe 75 is more realistic though. But I would ban the under 25's from driving at all unless a more rigorous test is devised for youth.. I was nearly killed by a young lady who stopped at the stop sign at a T junction (well done miss). She suddenly decided the junction must be a 3 way stop...it wasn't, and pulled out right in front of me.
Olympia now has a lot of new traffic circles. There used to be an educational program on the local tv channel of how to use them properly. Not sure how successful it was, but I have seen hundreds of drivers enter a 2 lane circle using the outside lane when turning left and cutting straight across the inside lane where drivers can go straight on. I often use traffic circles when constipated, works better than senna

Kneeno

Now this looks confusing. Although I imagine after using it a few times it'd become more natural.

On the subject of roundabouts my wife has just returned to the US after visiting me here on the IoM for 3 weeks and we have an abundance of roundabouts here. After travelling all over the Island with me for about 2½ weeks one day she asks "Ok, so who has right of way at these things?" I'm sure I explained it to her when she was last here a couple of years ago but I suppose if you don't use them regularly it's confusing? Anyway I explained the whole rigmarole and she was happy enough but she still wasn't willing to have a go at driving my van.

SarahG

As a Brit living in Carmel I do find it amusing when I see locals trying to navigate around the roundabouts here. Last winter we saw tire tracks straight across the middle of a roundabout on Rangeline. It was as if someone was driving along and thought "I'm going to make this one a roundover!"

Sarah

Yep I think its been proven that seniors are just as dangerous on the roads as teenagers. There really isn't anything to be lost by having a stricter test.

lansbury

The head of our towns engineering department (road planners) assures me roundabouts slow traffic down, and that is how they are used. I did try to explain they in fact speed traffic flow, but that got the response only the big ones they use in Europe, we use traffic circles here they are smaller.

Jerseygirl

It is true they do slow down traffic here...'cos nobody knows what to do. Instead of keeping the traffic flowing US drivers...stop...start...stop...start.

lansbury

yes only because no-one knows how to use them. In fact they are meant to replace the requirement to stop at intersections, hence designed to speed things up.

So traffic planners here use them for the wrong reason relying on drivers not using them properly to achieve their purpose. That's what makes it so comical.

Egg and Cress

Would love to see some roundabouts hereabouts - but 'twould be dangerous in these parts. Nobody knows how to drive to begin with let alone have them go around in circles trying to get off a merrygoround! Heck, these people don't even know what a turn signal is for Can't even merge into the highway system without either coming to a complete stop or crowding the traffic in-lane that has the ROW. Nobody here could survive, much less pass the rigorous testing my husband said he had to go through in the UK. Think I could do it by probably the 2nd try, but then I learned a long time ago when driving was taken seriously! And I can parallel park! Not only that, but have driven a stick shift car from the "wrong" side of the car, on the "wrong" side of the road - in London, no less! (When told by the car rental agent that the steering was on the "right" side of the car, I told her that was a matter of opinion - she wasn't amused.)