Complex roundabout - GIF

[Frank S]

Budget roundabout. There must be advance warning signs to warn drivers of the Twilight Zone ahead with exit for conservative old school drivers. Imagine someone from a country that drives on the right-hand side find him/herself in that bizarre roundabout!

I found 1 roundabout that had one of the roads on it that allowed large vehicles to travel straight through while the rest were directed around, I found that to be bizarre. I can't remember if it was in Northern Australia or one of the ones in India or possibly in Japan it has been a while

[hemmjo]

snip... They really do work well once everyone knows how they work...snip

There in is the problem, some people don't try to figure out how things work.

[mklotz]

It's really two circles in one.

The flow around the outer margins of the circle is CW which is what one would expect in a country that drives on the left.

In the inner circle the flow is CCW, typical of what one sees in countries that drive on the right.

This arrangement leads to many crossing traffic paths, each an easy arena for collisions.

I'm surprised they were able to make a video that didn't show a collision.

There's a five way intersection of major roads near where I live. No roundabout and the extremely complicated traffic light sequencing leads to long delays no matter how you enter the mess. I often spend these delays fantasizing about how the driver delay could be mollified by crucifying the intersection designer in the middle of the mess.

[fizzloid]

Hi Frank,
I too have driven around the 'Boulevard Périphérique' in Paris and also circumnavigated the Arc de Triomphe, both are madness on wheels. I have driven and ridden around both of these in cars, trucks and on motorcycles over the years, always a 'fun' experience.
I have found generally that when driving in France , just head where you want to go and don't worry too much about everyone else, boldness is the key here. Show weakness and you are mincemeat.
I have driven or ridden in most countries in Europe as part of my job, either in trucks, vans, cars or on motorbikes and it has been my personal experience that 'vehicular personal space' is not a thing in most of the more southerly European countries. Spain and Italy for example, in most large cities, if you have the thickness of a cigarette paper space between your vehicle and all the others around you while driving at breakneck speeds on the major roads, then you are lucky.
In most Mediterranean countries (I'm especially looking at you Crete) vehicular bodily contact is the norm and not at all unusual, just a kiss between friends, if your brand new car does not have a dent in it after a few days, well then, it must still be in the showroom, because it will almost surely have one before you get it home.

[schuylergrace]

They really do work well once everyone knows how they work.
Not a big deal.

I love roundabouts, myself, but here's what a typical 'Merican does with one...

[NeiljohnUK]

I love roundabouts, myself, but here's what a typical 'Merican does with one...

Amateur air that one, Eastern Europeans be like hold my beer:

Though the Brits try:

[mr mikey]

Can you buy common sense by the pound?

[hemmjo]

Can you buy common sense by the pound?

Nope, cannot buy common sense at any price. You can LOOSE that sense you may have been born with, but it is near impossible to get back once you have lost it.

[mklotz]

Nope, cannot buy common sense at any price. You can LOOSE that sense you may have been born with, but it is near impossible to get back once you have lost it.

As long as you're going to emphasize it with capitals, best to use the correct word...

lose - the opposite of win, find or gain, rhymes with booze, snooze, ruse, whose, muse
loose - not tight, rhymes with goose, moose, noose
[If the nut is loose, you might lose it.]

[hemmjo]

OOPS. My mistake.