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Re: Rotaries (aka Traffic Circles)
Posted By: Sam, on host 207.141.177.91
Date: Wednesday, August 25, 1999, at 16:01:43
In Reply To: Re: Rotaries (aka Traffic Circles) posted by Darien on Wednesday, August 25, 1999, at 11:43:59:

I've noticed how the number of lunatics on the road increases at traffic circles. I don't understand what the big deal is, and why Americans seem totally incapable of handling them. Personally, I think we need more, not less, and then maybe people would learn how to use them. Except in exceedingly busy areas, they are more efficient and less annoying (lunatic drivers aside) than lights.

In England, traffic circles, there called Roundabouts, are the norm. Because they're the norm, people know how to drive on them. And there's not this huge big deal about them, either. Here, we have a big old sign before it, then, on the circle itself, all kinds of on and off ramps and yield signs and "don't stop on the rotary" signs and "don't stop within 100 feet of the circle" signs and everything. In England, there's a sign a little beforehand, and that's it. Sometimes the roundabout consists of no more than a bump in the road, like a speed bump, only a circle. And people know how to deal with it.

Of course, in England, you drive on the left side of the road, and going around roundabouts, you have to go clockwise. I was young when we lived in England, and too young to drive. When we moved back, it took a while to get used to riding/driving on the right side of the road, but it took a lot longer, due to the scarcity of traffic circles in the U.S. and my lack of experience with them prior to moving to England, to get used to driving counter clockwise around traffic circles.

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