Shannon Dual Carriageway Roundabout

DarkJager

Just wanted to post here and say that the new roundabout on the dual carriageway to Shannon, is one of the most dangerous and stupidly planned I've ever seen. There seems to be a very sharp turning curve as you go around it, and I wouldn't be surprised if somebody dies on it in the near future. What kind of idiots think these things up?

jonski

Where exactly is it , haven't been out hat way in a while

DarkJager

Just as you turn off the coonagh roundabout and onto the dual carriageway. Its a couple of metres up from the shell station there.

bazz26

It is a bit twisty all right but in fairness it isn't finished yet and there is a speed limit of 50kph at that section that very few driver's observe which doesn't help either.

hobie

Well it will be a change to see cars doing 20mph instead of the normal 60 mph plus that most cars seem to enjoy doing on that stretch of the road ...... :rolleyes: ..... remembering of course that the speed limit is 40mph or the new kph limit that replaced 40mph (60kph)

I wonder if they will add a Bus lane to this new roundabout? .....

MarkR

It does seem a bit wigglier then needed.

Liam Byrne

Maybe it's a deliberate effort to get people to slow down ?

Most roundabouts in Limerick don't work properly because it's too easy to go straight through after the car in front.

Worst one is outside Scotts bar, where idiots coming up from the Dock Road NEVER seem to slow down or be ready to yield; I've amost been creamed there 5 or 6 times - avoiding an accident solely because I'm alert to their stupidity!

Maybe every roundabout should be more curvy or have a slalom on the way in - at least until Irish drivers learn how to use them ?

That said, I nearly got a tip on it (the new r/b in question) on Friday because the idiot on my left didn't bother staying in his/her lane....

ninty9er

Methinks it's a much better idea than the traffic lights we've been subjected to on the Dublin Road, plus it's going to be the entrance to the Coonagh Shopping Centre. A flyover might have been better!!

talkingclock

Liam Byrne wrote:

at least until Irish drivers learn how to use them ?

The roundabouts are not the problem - they are working great in other countries too. The insane way how you obtain the license in this country is the problem. Fail your driving test and you still can drive home alone in your own car with the L plate... How are people expected to know how to drive with this system?

jonski

Liam Byrne wrote:

That said, I nearly got a tip on it (the new r/b in question) on Friday because the idiot on my left didn't bother staying in his/her lane....

Like people understand lane discipline ? :eek:

The krups roundabout is great for a thrill if you are expecting people to stay in their lanes .

Maybe there should be white broken lines in the roundabouts so that people would get the idea , or maybe that would just confuse them more :rolleyes:

golden

The roundabout is still work in progress, but as it stand it appears to be too small for a dual carriageway.

How will artic trucks get around it without using two lanes will end up sandwitching the inside vehicle.

BTW lane discipline is a joke

DarkJager

Well just a case in point, they built a roundabout in Clarina last year and I wrote my car off + nearly killed myself because of the ****ing thing!!! There is no need for a roundabout out there, exactly the same way there is no need for a round about on the dual carriageway....

bazz26

DarkJager wrote:

Well just a case in point, they built a roundabout in Clarina last year and I wrote my car off + nearly killed myself because of the ****ing thing!!! There is no need for a roundabout out there, exactly the same way there is no need for a round about on the dual carriageway....

There is a large shopping centre being built just to the left of the dual carriage way so with the volume of traffic entering and exiting the area their will be plenty of need for some sort of junction and traffic calming measure here. I think the main problem out there will be getting traffic to actually abide by the speed limit of 50/60kph on that stretch of road which up to now most drivers simply ignore.

They will also be building another one out at the Radison SAS hotel junction as this will be where the new tunnel road will link up with the N18.

ninty9er

DarkJager wrote:

Well just a case in point, they built a roundabout in Clarina last year and I wrote my car off + nearly killed myself because of the ****ing thing!!! There is no need for a roundabout out there, exactly the same way there is no need for a round about on the dual carriageway....

In fairness that says more about your driving than anything else!! I'm sure that roundabout has a purpose, perhaps an entrance for the large development being built next to the petrol station there:rolleyes:

DarkJager

Nope, nothin to with my drivin. Wet road plus too sharp of a bend and wham, flipped the car...

Liam Byrne

DarkJager wrote:

Nope, nothin to with my drivin. Wet road plus too sharp of a bend and wham, flipped the car...

Did you alter your driving to cope with the wet conditions and the sharp bend ?

Unless lots of people have crashed there, I'm afraid it probably does have at least something to do with your drivin.

Not having a pot at you, but your "nothin to do with my drivin" comment just seemed a little blasé......there may well have been other factors, and I'm not implying that your driving is 100% to blame, but unless there's another factor that you're not telling us about, how come everyone else manages to negotiate it without writing off their car ? No-one's perfect, and we're all capable of making mistakes which might result in a scratch or a dent, but flipping a car over isn't that easy........

I've gone through the roundabout in question on numerous occasions and while it suffers from the usual too-small-to-be-effective issue that most Limerick roundabouts suffer from, I haven't seen any real problem with it (unlike the Raheen one where enough trucks have tipped over to make you wonder whether the camber is off).

golden

As per my previous post the roundabout is way too small for a national route, also why does a national route have to realligned for a shopping centre?

Also this national route serves a major industrial estate ie Shannon free zone (this could have been catered for with not having such a small roundabout if there was requirement for a roundabout) so therefore there is a high volume of articulated lorries.

Raiser

A Sunday newspaper has a regular slot in its "Driving" supplement where they ask celebrity drivers what they reckon the max. speed limit should be. Week after week many of them complained re. current limits [UK] and commented on Germanys Autobahns; said they'd set it at 100mph blah, blah, etc., etc.

- Jensen Button the F1 driver just shrugged and said it depends on the conditon of the road surface and whether its wet or dry.

Hard to argue with plain facts/logic here.

I crashed into the back of somebody during the 12 years* [:rolleyes: ] they spent resurfacing the Dooradoyle road whuile the new CC offices were being put up. Even though I had braked after car ahead braked very sharply I skidded on a truck-load of wet gravel before my impact [minor] I then had a choice of blaming the MET office, the guys resurfacing the road [pensioners at that point ] or else admitting responsibilty acknowledging that I hadn't fully taken the very poor conditions into account.

Roads can have bends, curves and, wait for it, 90 degree corners - be responsible, slow the fu(k down depending on the severity of whichever one you meet & the current conditions and you'll be just fine.

P.S. For anyone that disagrees with this post - PLEASE STOP TAILGATING ME IN YOUR LIME GREEN MICRA, YOU VEGETABLE



* Minor exaggeration for effect.

vkid

golden wrote:

As per my previous post the roundabout is way too small for a national route, also why does a national route have to realligned for a shopping centre?
.

I really dont think this is just for the shopping centre. Travel the route every day and i think it is a good solution, probably not the best though. The biggest danger here always was trucks and cars coming out from the Clondrinagh Ind Estate, crossing a dual carriage way over a very short distance and entering the opposite direction dual carriage way on the other side onto the fast lane by doing a U turn at a very dangerous centre junction. That was/is far more dangerous than another roundabout. That shouldnt have been allowed to happen anyway but I'm sure speed restrictions will extend further back the shannon side once the roundabout is complete. In the past there has been some crazy criss crossing of traffic on that section of the road so a bad u turn being replaced by a fairly decent roundabout is not the worst solution imo. I am surprised more people have not had accidents on that section in years gone by.

Xennon

I just wish people on the Tipperary road would obey the rules of the roundabout at Lyons Garge. If you are going straight on to Tipperary from town, ie the THIRD exit, then use the INSIDE LANE on approach and change lanes after the 2nd exit (towards UL).

The ammount of times Ive had drivers L and non-L drivers blast me for changing lanes (safely) after the second exit is starting to get a little annoying. Some day I will stop them and hand them a copy of the rules of the road.

Everyone should be made sit the written test every 5 yrs in my opinion

/rant

ninty9er

The same goes for the Parkway Roundabout. They should be signposted for lane awareness properly. The Parkway one is definitely misleading. 1 line branches to 2 at it's head....f,uk sake

golden

vkid wrote:

I really dont think this is just for the shopping centre. Travel the route every day and i think it is a good solution, probably not the best though. The biggest danger here always was trucks and cars coming out from the Clondrinagh Ind Estate, crossing a dual carriage way over a very short distance and entering the opposite direction dual carriage way on the other side onto the fast lane by doing a U turn at a very dangerous centre junction. That was/is far more dangerous than another roundabout. That shouldnt have been allowed to happen anyway but I'm sure speed restrictions will extend further back the shannon side once the roundabout is complete. In the past there has been some crazy criss crossing of traffic on that section of the road so a bad u turn being replaced by a fairly decent roundabout is not the worst solution imo. I am surprised more people have not had accidents on that section in years gone by.

Its not that the roundabout is a bad idea the roundabout is way too small for the volumn of traffic and the type of traffic that would be using it. I do use that road every day and see scary things. For example articulated lorries will more than likely have to use the two lanes, so what happens if there is a car that is on the inside of the roundabout?

echomadman

I pass through it every day and trucks have no problems getting around it in their own lane from what i've seen.
Its fúckwits in cars cutting from the outside lane to the inside lane to straighten it out that have nearly knocked me off the bike twice already. (its only been there a few weeks).
If you're driving at the posted limit its not an obstacle plain and simple.