veryfunny

Parts of NY, high homicide rate, smell and those rats, yet alone high crime areas. NY, is not typical of the USA, as London, is not typical of England.

Living in other states then its easier to compare, the four regions of the states: East coast, West coast, the south and the Med west. Mid west people are more closer in terms of personality as England in my view.

Wh431

I never thought that it would be the case but i ve to admit that I miss Roundabouts.

Here every small intersection of the roads ve these annoying STOP signs, where you ve to stop even if there is no one in sight. Why couldn’t they just ve the mini roundabout to keep the traffic flowing?

Dave2726

Bloody driving (by others) here in TX seems atrociously bad at most times! But I am in the DFW area...

Sarcasm. I get on well with my work colleagues but I can't have the same fun and banter at work as I grew up enjoying back in the UK.

Dan725

Four way stop signs are the worlds worst invention....they were created at a time when society was a lot politer than today, and when there was minimal traffic. In modern times the hazards at multiple lane, four way stops during busy periods are very significant, with a mix of people from rude impatient types trying to jump their turn through to people being too hesitant, to the general 'we all don't really know how Four Way stops even work'. 20 years in the US and I still hate the bloody things, give me roundabouts any day...even the madness of Milton Keynes!

Pulaski

There aren't many 4WS near me, and most of them are relatively minor, just 2 way roads, but although I hate them, I have noticed that drivers in general have adapted, and most seem to have worked out how to make them reasonably efficient while staying within the spirit of how they are supposed to work even if not quite within the letter of the law. The most common scenario being that two vehicles heading in the opposite direction on the same road can both go straight across simultaneously; also two vehicles on opposite sides of a 4WS can both turn left simultaneously, and a vehicle can turn right while another vehicle is doing one of several things.

Of course the four-way yield, aka "roundabout", is far superior and they have been popping up all over the place, like mushrooms, in my neck of the woods.

robtuck

Just on a trip down to Texas and came across a multiple way Stop which went under a major 4 lane road. There were multiple lanes at each Stop, think of a UK Motorway Roundabout but every entry/exit was a 4 way stop! It took a little while to navigate and a lot of concentration to figure out who had arrived first, given the scale.

Dan725

There was an absolute shocker of one about 10 minutes from where I live for years - notorious accident blackspot for the county. In August this year, after years of campaigning, they finally put traffic lights on it, for which everyone is very thankful! Was long overdue - the massive and continual growth here in the Tampa burbs turned it from what was once a backwater to a major bedroom community.

As I mentioned earlier, 4WS's are an obsolete invention from a time when friendly neighbors in the few cars around politely waved each through every morning. Now replaced by Mr Angry in his F350 pickup, who is going first nomatter what!

robin1234

To put it in perspective though - some proportion of four-way stops still work fine, because drivers are still considerate and law-abiding. In our area, for instance, small-town northern New York, we have loads of such junctions and I’ve never once seen them abused, even when busy. And yeah, being a Trumpy rural area, a high proportion of drivers are driving pickups. Either mini-roundabouts or traffic lights would be inappropriate for these junctions.

vespucci

I took a safe driving course recently to get a discount on my car insurance, and one of the sections was about roundabouts, and had statistics showing that roundabouts are FAR safer than stop junctions. Yet in a recent development in our area they've put in stop junctions and not roundabouts, which would have been easier for the driver as well as safer. The only reason I can think of is that they considered that as there are almost no roundabouts here drivers wouldn't know how to use them.

Pulaski

It has been interesting to see how drivers have learned to cope with roundabouts as they have increased in numbers in NC in recent years. It used to be that many people approached them with extreme caution, but most drivers have learned that you're not required to STOP before entering.

I would estimate that, long term, maybe 1 in 20 people still always stop before proceeding, i.e. even when there is no traffic on the roundabout, and fewer, maybe 1 in 50 will (sometimes) try to yield (slow down) to allow someone to join the roundabout.

The frustration I have with other drivers is that they don't know, because they weren't taught (which is totally understandable when roundabouts are rare or nonexistent), and haven't worked out for themselves, that as you wait to join a roundabout, you can tell when traffic approaching from your left is going to leave the roundabout to your left (down the road you're exiting), or not, by watching the direction the front wheels are pointing.

Dan725

Yep, there you go - that's what the 4WS were designed for....small town northern NY with polite drivers sounds lovely!

Dan725

Totally agree. Roundabouts have also been springing up more here in the Tampa area (generally in large neighborhoods), and people living locally do generally get used to them and figure them out. However, you still get some people who are unsure as you say....there are also a few who seem to not want to stop at all when joining (seem to think they have right of way). To build on your last point, what I've never seen anyone ever do however is indicate on and off a roundabout (which comes down to never having been taught). So a bit of extra caution is always required. Lane discipline on multi lane roundabouts (the few that exist) is also very sketchy!

Pulaski

I suspect my British approach freaks some local drivers out, of approaching roundabouts expecting to not stop, but being prepared to do so. At one roundabout I traverse most days, I hang back a little, maybe 100-200ft if I am following other vehicles, even though I often have a vehicle almost hanging on my rear bumper, but most days I exit the roundabout close to the speed limit and I am almost immediately up close behind the vehicle in front with a gap of 100-200ft behind me, without ever having used the brakes, and with my foot on the gas from before I enter the roundabout all the way through the exit and beyond.

Another roundabout I use most days, which only has three active legs (the fourth road is a stub, maybe 40ft long), has the road to my left visible for several hundred feet back, and the only other active leg is opposite me, with the only likely choices of taking the first exit (to my left), or straight across (the road I am exiting), neither of which affect me; of course I am always prepared for someone to do a full 360, or even pull into the stub. So I already have a very good idea of whether I will meet another vehicle where I enter the roundabout. I am usually successful in downshifting a couple of times as I approach it, and then arriving at the perfect speed and in second gear to power onto, through, and off the roundabout, treating it like a chicane. As with the first case I described above, it means anyone behind me gets left in the dust! I think the "WTF did he just do" effect is greatest when I am in my F250, which has heavy duty suspension and a manual transmission, and handles like a giant go-cart.

BristolUK

I should think so, approaching on the wrong side of the road.