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Having lived near a very similar intersection, also with frequent accidents (it has a 2-way stop with heavy 50-70 mph cross-traffic and frequent left turns, dep

Having lived near a very similar intersection, also with frequent accidents (it has a 2-way stop with heavy 50-70 mph cross-traffic and frequent left turns, depending on the time of day), cost may be a significant portion of the reason; a neighborhood campaign to replace the 2-way stop with a traffic light fell through due to a >$1 million price tag for adding a light to a countryside road, and it's doubtful a roundabout would cost less.

njarboe 9y ago
A roundabout might cost less. I wonder how much of that signal price was getting grid electricity to the site.
- larkeith 9y ago
  Interestingly, there is a flashing red/yellow light there (similar to [1]) and plenty of houses/powerlines, so it shouldn't be the power costs. I imagine the price of buying and laying signal cable might be similarly expensive, however, as the nearest signaled intersection is about two miles away, if I recall correctly. [1] https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/intersection/other_topics/fhwasa06016/images/fig21.jpg https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/intersection/other_topics/fhwasa...
Piskvorrr 9y ago
Anecdata: fixing frequent accident sites (e.g. 70 kph main road x 50 kph access roads) with traffic lights reduces minor accidents, but there was a major accident on one of them just recently...because "traffic lights be damned, nobody ever comes out that road anyw-BOOM." Traffic lights are a discretionary access control mechanism ("ignore at your discretion"), roundabout is a mandatory access control mechanism.
- ajmurmann 9y ago
  I wonder if that happened because the traffic light was just on a timer rather than taking actual traffic in account. If the smaller road hardly ever sees traffic the light would be red very infrequently and getting your attention when red.
  - Piskvorrr 9y ago
    It's a timer, yes - but if you do not have enough attention to see two RED lights on an otherwise empty intersection (one overhead and one right at your eye level), you have no business being behind the wheel, as you either a) are legally blind, or b) have the attention span of a proverbial goldfish. The suggestion that anything important should be screaming and blinking (otherwise the poor driver couldn't have noticed) is patently ridiculous. There's quite a lot of other, less conspicuous things that a driver needs to be aware of (such as pedestrians or potholes).

njarboe 9y ago

A roundabout might cost less. I wonder how much of that signal price was getting grid electricity to the site.

larkeith 9y ago
Interestingly, there is a flashing red/yellow light there (similar to [1]) and plenty of houses/powerlines, so it shouldn't be the power costs. I imagine the price of buying and laying signal cable might be similarly expensive, however, as the nearest signaled intersection is about two miles away, if I recall correctly. [1] https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/intersection/other_topics/fhwasa06016/images/fig21.jpg https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/intersection/other_topics/fhwasa...

Piskvorrr 9y ago

Anecdata: fixing frequent accident sites (e.g. 70 kph main road x 50 kph access roads) with traffic lights reduces minor accidents, but there was a major accident on one of them just recently...because "traffic lights be damned, nobody ever comes out that road anyw-BOOM." Traffic lights are a discretionary access control mechanism ("ignore at your discretion"), roundabout is a mandatory access control mechanism.

ajmurmann 9y ago
I wonder if that happened because the traffic light was just on a timer rather than taking actual traffic in account. If the smaller road hardly ever sees traffic the light would be red very infrequently and getting your attention when red.
- Piskvorrr 9y ago
  It's a timer, yes - but if you do not have enough attention to see two RED lights on an otherwise empty intersection (one overhead and one right at your eye level), you have no business being behind the wheel, as you either a) are legally blind, or b) have the attention span of a proverbial goldfish. The suggestion that anything important should be screaming and blinking (otherwise the poor driver couldn't have noticed) is patently ridiculous. There's quite a lot of other, less conspicuous things that a driver needs to be aware of (such as pedestrians or potholes).