Road Rage, revisited.

[bdhsfz6]

Pennsylvania has also been on a roundabout kick for the last few years. I can't say I'm fond of them but they do reduce fatalities at the expense of increasing the number of minor accidents. Traffic flow is improved until it gets heavy. Then the backups are worse than they were before the traffic lights were removed. This is especially true when there are a lot of tractor trailers on the road.

What I don't understand is, PA and NJ put the hate on traffic circles during the 1950's & 60's and removed most of them. It was mainly due to their inability to handle heavy traffic and the number of minor accidents. Now the highway engineers are bringing them back and calling them roundabouts. Does a name change make them ok now?

Traffic regulation is the problem. With traffic lights, timing can be varied to maximize traffic flow. This can't be done with roundabouts or traffic circles as they used to be called.

For example, in 2019, PENNDOT engineers responded to traffic flow complaints at a busy intersection near Scranton International Airport. At the time, there was one traffic light and a series of on / off ramps where merging was a problem.

Their solution was to install a series of three roundabouts:

It used to take me 45 minutes to get to the airport. Now it takes 60 to 75 minutes due to traffic flow through the roundabouts. Tractor trailers sometimes have to drive partway through the center to prevent accidents.

It seems to me, history is repeating itself. I guess these new traffic engineers are too young to remember the traffic circle nightmare of the mid 20th century.

 

[deezler]

Michigan is on a round about kick lately. Don't care for them at all. Think it's a way to save on traffic lights and signage if you want to know the truth.

And to keep traffic from backing up in known problematic intersections. They seem most effective in replacing 4 way stops on high-volume rural roads, where you would often see half-mile long backups approaching the 4 way stops during rush hour.

Washtenaw county road commission is definitely on a kick lately, couple new ones going in right now.

Considering that they have to re-align utilities, even re-work the road layouts approaching the roundabout, put in brand new storm drains, pour extensive concrete curbs, and then repave and sign everything..... I don't really think cost savings is part of the equation lol. They are expensive projects when previously all that was there was 4 measly stop signs.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

Michigan is on a round about kick lately. Don't care for them at all. Think it's a way to save on traffic lights and signage if you want to know the truth.

I like them because you don't have to stop at intersections. Having to stop when you can see that there is no traffic is nonsense.

 

[cqaigy2]

I like em, but would find a big roundabout on I-5 a bit more exhilarating then i'd be comfortable with.

I think they have their place. We use traffic lights on onramps to moderate traffic flow onto the freeway.

 

[bcp]

Bruce

 

[Oaktree]

It used to take me 45 minutes to get to the airport. Now it takes 60 to 75 minutes due to traffic flow through the roundabouts. Tractor trailers sometimes have to drive partway through the center to prevent accidents.

It seems to me, history is repeating itself. I guess these new traffic engineers are too young to remember the traffic circle nightmare of the mid 20th century.

Every place that I've seen where they've been put in where they didn't exist before traffic flow has improved. I'm sure there are situations that are the opposite.
Agree that many of them are a bit too small for trailer trucks, not sure of the logic there.

And to keep traffic from backing up in known problematic intersections. They seem most effective in replacing 4 way stops on high-volume rural roads, where you would often see half-mile long backups approaching the 4 way stops during rush hour.

Especially when you get a timid driver at the intersection who won't pull out unless there's a half mile of clear road in both directions.

 

[LouNY]

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Bruce

I sure wouldn't like a rotary the first time I can upon one, might get used to them after awhile but it looks like an invitation to a demolition derby to me.
We have some Roundabouts around here, they aren't too bad but there are a few with multiple lanes and they are ridiculous. The local ones have pavers in much of the center for long vehicles to use getting around. Also a few have signs directing vehicles with trailers to circle the roundabout before exiting as they will curb scrub hard otherwise.

 

[3Ts]

If anyone needs a dash camera, I highly recommend the Blue Sky Sea B1W: https://www.amazon.com/Blueskysea-B1W-Recorder-Rotatable-Recording/dp/B0773FXVKL
Fairly cheap, unobtrusive, good video (good enough to get a plate number in the daylight) has a capacitor instead of a battery so it holds up better in a hot car.
It does need a smartphone to program it, but I've had one in my car for several years now and one in the wife's car as well.
Just make sure to get a endurance SD card from a reputable manufacturer that is designed for constant writing with video.

I'll 2nd most of this. The camera is good and requires a link to a smartphone via bluetooth. However, the app has problems connecting with the dash camera frequently to the point that I've given up on it. How many times should I have to delete the app and re-download it and reset the camera? They have a B4W that has it's own display and does not require bluetooth although it has the capability for it.

 

[Buggs67]

I sure wouldn't like a rotary the first time I can upon one, might get used to them after awhile but it looks like an invitation to a demolition derby to me.
We have some Roundabouts around here, they aren't too bad but there are a few with multiple lanes and they are ridiculous. The local ones have pavers in much of the center for long vehicles to use getting around. Also a few have signs directing vehicles with trailers to circle the roundabout before exiting as they will curb scrub hard otherwise.

There are quite a few in the Bear Mountain - Seven Lakes area. I used to drive there frequently in the 70-80s and they ran smoothly. The one at the western end of the Bear Mountain bridge is quite large.

The state recently put one in here and it's too small. And the drivers are so used to having right of way on Route 34 that they often cut off other traffic. And it has become a bottle neck in rush hour. A traffic light would have worked much better ad been cheaper to install.

 

[mrmikey]

And the drivers are so used to having right of way on Route 34 that they often cut off other traffic.

That was a problem here as well, still is but not quite as bad.
What I found worse was people going the wrong way 'round. "But where I want to go is right there, why do I have to go all the way around" .
The ex drives like that, always did, couldn't t drive a sharp stick in a snowbank.