2 ms·

There's roundabouts where I live in the USA with stop signs. People didn't know who has right of way and it led to road rage confrontations so the government ha

There's roundabouts where I live in the USA with stop signs. People didn't know who has right of way and it led to road rage confrontations so the government had to add stop signs to them. People in the area now complain that roundabouts suck. Which they do when you have to stop before entering. So now we get more four way stop signs and traffic lights instead which cause traffic to stop and start, wasting fuel and increasing congestion. Sigh. On the other hand at least you can turn right on red which is something my home country needs to allow by default since I haven't once seen an issue with it in my years in the USA.

estebank 5y ago
> On the other hand at least you can turn right on red which is something my home country needs to allow by default since I haven't once seen an issue with it in my years in the USA. > Right-Turn-on-Red (RTOR), in its “Western” version allows motorists to turn right on a red signal after stopping and yielding, unless specifically prohibited by a sign. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of Western RTOR on pedestrian and bicycle accidents in selected jurisdictions adopting the rule in the mid-1970s. The results showed significant increases in pedestrian and bicyclist accidents involving right-turning vehicles at signalized locations following the introduction of Western RTOR. These increases were: 40 % for pedestrians and 82 % for bicycles in New York State; 107 % for pedestrians and 72 % for bicycles in Wisconsin; 57 % for pedestrians and 80 % for bicycles in Ohio; and 82 % for pedestrians in New Orleans. Analysis of police accident reports suggested that drivers stopped for a red light are looking left for a gap in traffic and do not see pedestrians and bicyclists coming from their right. Countermeasure research and development was recommended to deal with this well defined problem which involves between 1 % and 3 % of all pedestrian and bicycle accidents. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0022437582900019 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/002243...
dragonwriter 5y ago
> People didn't know who has right of way and it led to road rage confrontations so the government had to add stop signs to them. “Yield to traffic in circle" clarifies things just as well, is commonly used, and restates the actual right-of-way rule applicable to an otherwise-uncontrolled roundabout. An amateur generalist politician like most city councilors and mayors I can see thinking stop signs are the answers, but presumably they had a roads department with at least one professional to consult, so one hopes that there was more at issue than people not knowing the rules if they chose stop signs.

estebank 5y ago

> On the other hand at least you can turn right on red which is something my home country needs to allow by default since I haven't once seen an issue with it in my years in the USA. > Right-Turn-on-Red (RTOR), in its “Western” version allows motorists to turn right on a red signal after stopping and yielding, unless specifically prohibited by a sign. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of Western RTOR on pedestrian and bicycle accidents in selected jurisdictions adopting the rule in the mid-1970s. The results showed significant increases in pedestrian and bicyclist accidents involving right-turning vehicles at signalized locations following the introduction of Western RTOR. These increases were: 40 % for pedestrians and 82 % for bicycles in New York State; 107 % for pedestrians and 72 % for bicycles in Wisconsin; 57 % for pedestrians and 80 % for bicycles in Ohio; and 82 % for pedestrians in New Orleans. Analysis of police accident reports suggested that drivers stopped for a red light are looking left for a gap in traffic and do not see pedestrians and bicyclists coming from their right. Countermeasure research and development was recommended to deal with this well defined problem which involves between 1 % and 3 % of all pedestrian and bicycle accidents. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0022437582900019 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/002243...

dragonwriter 5y ago

> People didn't know who has right of way and it led to road rage confrontations so the government had to add stop signs to them. “Yield to traffic in circle" clarifies things just as well, is commonly used, and restates the actual right-of-way rule applicable to an otherwise-uncontrolled roundabout. An amateur generalist politician like most city councilors and mayors I can see thinking stop signs are the answers, but presumably they had a roads department with at least one professional to consult, so one hopes that there was more at issue than people not knowing the rules if they chose stop signs.