Advanced Driving Hub

Very often this seems to be a deliberate ploy by the Council or Highways Engineers, to place the circle in such a place that the traffic has to deviate significantly to circumnavigate it. I think their thinking is that "we'll make sure they have to make an effort to go round", whereas what happens is that more and more people just ignore the paint completely, and treat the junction as a T-junction / cross-roads / multiple access junction, aiming directly for their exit. Even when the mini roundabouts are raised, people just drive over them, given that they usually can't be raised much, or they would hamper large vehicles, buses, etc.

Here is an example close to me. A large proportion of the traffic is between the first exit as we're looking at it, and the second. People turning left from where the learner is have to be very careful, because traffic coming down from the bridge (the direction we're travelling) of course just straightlines the roundabout and barely slackens their pace. Conversely people turning right across in front of the camera rarely bother with the roundabout, but just turn right, sometimes missing the paint completely. If you do, then the person behind thinks you're turning left into the housing estate, and tries to cut across behind you. Totally pointless, and has added far more danger than was previously there.

Why is it we can all easily give examples from Google Maps where the road layout is just wrong (causing danger, not improving safety), but coucil planners still continue to implement more and more just plain stupid layouts?

Here's an absolute cracker near me.
https://goo.gl/maps/7wZ8DXRssvo
The traffic approaching us has a virtually straight line but coming from the viewing position, the diversion to go round the paint is enormous. Many drivers totally ignore it and in fact leave the paint on their left.
The joining road just comes from a sports centre

GTR1400MAN wrote:Why is it we can all easily give examples from Google Maps where the road layout is just wrong (causing danger, not improving safety), but coucil planners still continue to implement more and more just plain stupid layouts?

How many people in council road planning depts actually drive?

Where's Big Err when you need him?

GTR1400MAN wrote:Why is it we can all easily give examples from Google Maps where the road layout is just wrong (causing danger, not improving safety), but coucil planners still continue to implement more and more just plain stupid layouts?

Fair question. political agenda? The council is seen to be doing something. Same as those hopeless 20mph zones.

Fortunately, many people treat those white circles at roundabout for what they actually are, a pointless inconvenience.

ChristianAB wrote:Fortunately, many people treat those white circles at roundabout for what they actually are, a pointless inconvenience.

So do you advocate following the masses and driving over/ignoring them?

When does safety/convenience trump driving legally? (Philosophical question).

Here is something that works well. Three give ways, no white blob.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.02624 ... 312!8i6656

Nigel.

We could do a lot worse than adopt the US 4-way stop, with its associated discipline. The discipline part'd be hard to assimilate, though

fungus wrote:Here is something that works well. Three give ways, no white blob.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.02624 ... 312!8i6656

Nigel.

That makes much more sense! Direct lines through the junction for everyione and no blob to cause strange deviations.

How often does it suffer from stalemate? Worse than mini-RAB where there is a given order of precedence, sort of, to the right?