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Australian who lived in Washington state for 4.5 years. Very happy to see those kind of changes. Much better and safer than 4-way stop intersections and I hope
by id00 2y ago
Australian who lived in Washington state for 4.5 years. Very happy to see those kind of changes. Much better and safer than 4-way stop intersections and I hope American drivers will figure out eventually how to use them
- rootusrootus 2y agoAside from one old lady that I saw doing laps a few years ago after our nearby roundabout first opened, it seems like most people figure it out pretty quickly. But they're too comfortable with it, and most people blast through without even hitting the brakes. That brings its own problems.
- globular-toast 2y agoI did wonder that. The article says it "slows traffic" but looking at the picture it's basically just lines painted on the ground. Does it really slow anything? A proper roundabout with a fully raised centre not only slows people down but forces you round so any collisions that do happen are minor glancing ones rather than catastrophic perpendicular ones.
- thinkingemote 2y agoGenerally, they are designed to naturally make the driver slow a little to see other cars on approach. Often it's paired with slight turns just before the intersection which also does the same thing partly. Some places (most?) actually put obstacles like trees to make it harder to see other cars from further away. I suppose it depends on what is meant by traffic and I suppose it does depend on whether "slows traffic" means slowing down compared to just zooming past with a green, or drives at a slow speed. I would think that a) it slows traffic compared with zooming past and b) it's not that slower On average, I suppose, smoothly moving traffic at slightly slower speeds will be more efficient than 3 lanes of stopped traffic and 1 of fast.