Should mini roundabout be abolished?

tuxy

It's impossible to use these things correctly as most people just ignore them.
Some towns are full of them and it is chaos.

Stark

Their primary function is as a traffic calming measure afaik. Much less annoying than fecking speed bumps anyway imo.

Mitch Connor

there is one in greystones that no one understands how to use, you get people cutting you off (and giving you the finger) or everyone just sitting there waiting for someone else to do something.

tuxy

Sorry I didn't clarify, I'm talking about the ones that are just painted on the road. People just drive over it like it's not there.

Mr. Presentable

Yes. I have been overtaken while going around by someone going straight across. A hazard, I'd say.

Seth Brundle

tuxy wrote:

Sorry I didn't clarify, I'm talking about the ones that are just painted on the road. People just drive over it like it's not there.

True but thay can have their uses in busy-ish traffic.

Wishbone Ash

One of the main reasons why mini-roundabouts exist is due to lack of space. Small vehicles are expected to treat it as a normal roundabout but large and long vehicles need to drive over the centre to make the turn. Otherwise they would not be able to negotiate the roundabout at all.

tuxy

Good point. Most people in regular sided cars must think they are in articulated lorry.
In my opinion if there isn't room for a normal round about there should not be on there.

peasant

Well ..it does one thing: It clarifies the right of way situation pretty clearly.


At least theoretically

On my way to work there's one that's painted so idiotically onto the road (with loads of additional "do not cross" lines on approach and departure) that it is physically impossible to negotiate it correctly.

So evererybody either just bombs straight over it or comes to a complete halt and looks sheepishly at the other traffic that just stopped as well.

BostonB

They should replace them with the US four-way stop. Imagine the chaos! LOL

Saruman

Oh god... 4 way stops work perfectly fine in the US where people have more respect for each other. They are our roundabouts!! Actually they work on a similar idea.. although it pretty much is whoever stops first, goes next. It works fine any time im driving there.

Roundabouts are safer but only when people know how to use them. I seem top be one of the few who does and im constantly having to beep at people who cant stay in one lane, are in the wrong lane completely (left lane for 3rd exit or right ) etc.

The difference is education. In the US you have to go through drivers ed, here any idiot can get lucky and pass the test without any education. And thats not including the 1/4 of a million provisional drivers.

samn rant..

Anyway mini roundabouts are fine i usually find. Loads of them in finglas. I have had to let drivers to my right know its a roundabout and he has right of way so i stop and signal him to go. If i have right of way i will take it and if someone else is too stupid to reaslise that then its not my fault.

Wishbone Ash

Saruman wrote:

And thats not including the 1/4 of a million provisional drivers

430,000 I think!

Mini-roundabouts also provide indicating difficulties for long vehicles as the front of the vehicle may be exiting while the rear hasn't entered yet!


EDIT: This would be better suited to the Infrastructure Forum.

Saruman

430k?? Jaysus its getting closer to 1/2 a million.

AndrewMc

tuxy wrote:

It's impossible to use these things correctly as most people just ignore them.
Some towns are full of them and it is chaos.

Have you not experienced the joy that is the twin mini roundabout, the motoring equivalent to conjoined babies? Should I indicate left off the first one because I'm leaving, or should I indicate right because I'm taking the 3rd exit on the second one? And just in case I might figure out where I'm going, the signposts are behind a railing and I'll be kept extra hesitant by the zebra crossings at all sides of them, too. (Yes, Portlaoise, I'm looking at you).

loyatemu

they're there to indicate right-of-way. There's nothing wrong with driving over them provided you give way appropriately to traffic entering from your right.

Stark

AndrewMc wrote:

Have you not experienced the joy that is the twin mini roundabout, the motoring equivalent to conjoined babies? Should I indicate left off the first one because I'm leaving, or should I indicate right because I'm taking the 3rd exit on the second one?

You don't have to indicate left to indicate that you're leaving a mini roundabout. You just have signal your intention when entering it. ie: Indicate as if you were entering a crossroads. Left to go left. No indication to go straight ahead. Right to go right. So in the twin roundabouts case, the correct indication would probably be right coming onto the second roundabout.

AndrewMc

Stark wrote:

You don't have to indicate left to indicate that you're leaving a mini roundabout. You just have signal your intention when entering it.

Interesting - where is this stated? Thanks!

Stark

Haven't seen it stated anywhere, but I was taught it when taking driving lessons and used it throughout my driving test in Finglas (loads of mini roundabouts there) and wasn't faulted. My instructor told me it was in a copy of the driving tester's guidelines, which he borrowed off a tester he knew. Unfortunately I haven't seen anything about mini roundabouts in the RotR booklet (that thing is a joke when it comes to roundabouts).

I think legally speaking, mini roundabouts are just standard crossroads. The roundabout marking is just to make that piece of instruction you learn off for your driving test: "What do you do when come to a junction with roads of equal importance? Give way to traffic coming from the right and traffic already on the junction" clearer for the general driving populace.