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Pennsylvania And Their Sudden Love Of Roundabouts/Traffic Circles Login/Join 
Get my pies
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Picture of PASig
posted
It's weird but somewhere along the line in the past few years, the state of Pennsylvania decided that they want to put roundabouts/traffic circles all over the place, each time I go somewhere in this state it seems like a new one has sprung up out of nowhere. Just within 5 miles of my house I now hit 3 of them.

They are great...IF people could figure out how they work but it's not seeming to go that way. I DO like not having to stop at a red light or stop sign.

I see people approaching them and STOP and sit there when there is NO ONE EVEN IN THE CIRCLE. Others will BLAST their way in when others are already in there and have the right-of-way. Still others will STOP right in the circle and allow people in like they are being nice and good drivers. Frown

It all drives me crazy! It's not that hard to figure out that you KEEP GOING no one is coming and YOU WAIT if someone is and wait your turn to enter.

They also seem to make them here in PA very small which seems like it would be tough to get an 18 wheeler or a large fire truck through.

Do any of you have traffic circle woes?


 
Posts: 33601 | Location: Pennsylvania | Registered: November 12, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Peripheral Visionary
Picture of tigereye313
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We have a few in Houston around the museum district and most, not all, but most people seem to handle them fairly well.




 
Posts: 11352 | Location: Texas | Registered: January 29, 2003Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Picture of IrishWind
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When I was stationed in England, those were the biggest issue when learning to drive there. Once you get the hang of them, they are quite easy and IMHO, better than most traffic situations. But back then I knew that in the US they wouldn't work. Too many drivers out there that think the rules of the road are more like suggestions.


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Posts: 25075 | Location: NoVa | Registered: May 06, 2003Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Very little
Picture of HRK
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We have some here, they are significantly better than 4 way stops for traffic flow, the thing is, the same folks that can't manage a roundabout are the same ones sitting at a 4 way and can't move because they can't remember the rules on who's turn it is...



 
Posts: 23238 | Location: Florida | Registered: November 07, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
I Am The Walrus
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We need German like licensing and vehicle inspection standards here. Too many cars and too little skill here. Too many idiots driving big cars and trucks here.


_____________

 
Posts: 13047 | Registered: March 12, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Nullus Anxietas
Picture of ensigmatic
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quote:
Originally posted by PASig:
It's weird but somewhere along the line in the past few years, the state of Pennsylvania decided that they want to put roundabouts/traffic circles all over the place, each time I go somewhere in this state it seems like a new one has sprung up out of nowhere. Just within 5 miles of my house I now hit 3 of them.
They started replacing four-way stops with those around here starting about maybe ten years ago?

They do significantly reduce traffic congestion. Plus, when traffic is light, they're hella fun to drive through fast-ish Big Grin

quote:
Originally posted by PASig:
They are great...IF people could figure out how they work but it's not seeming to go that way.
Give it time. People will eventually get it. Most of them, anyway. The ones that treat yield signs like stop signs of course never will.

quote:
Originally posted by PASig:
Do any of you have traffic circle woes?
One of the first traffic circles on my daily commute had a problem, apparently. My guess is people were being way too confident about which would reach a circle first and, I assume, collisions were resulting. (I never saw any.) So on two approaches to that circle they put up barriers so you couldn't see traffic approaching the circle from the left for about a hundred yards or so--until you got w/in about two or three car-lengths of the circle. This forced people to slow down as they approached the circle.



"America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within the system,,,, but too early to shoot the bastards." -- Claire Wolfe
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Posts: 26009 | Location: S.E. Michigan | Registered: January 06, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Picture of rtquig
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When I first got my license in 1970 there were a lot of traffic circles here, but mostly in the southern part of the state where I live.
For a while they seemed to be going away but now I'm seeing them pop up again. The new ones seem to be set up better, I think a lot bigger radius which gives you more time to make a lane change. I am also seeing more of them with stop and yield signs when the earlier ones did not have.


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Posts: 4011 | Location: New Jersey | Registered: December 06, 2010Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Picture of PASig
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quote:
Originally posted by Edmond:
We need German like licensing and vehicle inspection standards here. Too many cars and too little skill here. Too many idiots driving big cars and trucks here.


That would take 50% of the drivers off the road in the USA!

I do sometimes wonder just how some of these people got an actual driver's license. Many of them seem either far too terrified to drive or just too clueless. Confused


 
Posts: 33601 | Location: Pennsylvania | Registered: November 12, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Ol' Jack always says...
what the hell.
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The problem with roundabouts is they rely on YIELD signs which most people already don't know how to handle so they just treat them light STOP signs.
 
Posts: 10186 | Location: PA | Registered: March 30, 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Uppity Helot
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I have noticed a significant increase in them but I don’t really mind the roundabouts. You do need to be a bit more wary when using them, but overall I think they are ok.
 
Posts: 3128 | Location: Manheim, PA | Registered: September 04, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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They are getting more of them around here . They have their place but not in every situation . A lot of people are still clueless about what to do when they roll up on one .
 
Posts: 3969 | Location: Down in Louisiana . | Registered: February 27, 2009Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Northeast Ohio has its far share, particularly the city of Green. I believe 3 on Massillon Rd., more on Rt. 619. Canton has them too. The worst part is the idiots who have no clue how to drive through them and what yield means.
 
Posts: 2336 | Location: Massillon, OH | Registered: January 22, 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Picture of V-Tail
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quote:
Originally posted by PASig:
quote:
Originally posted by Edmond:

We need German like licensing and vehicle inspection standards here. Too many cars and too little skill here. Too many idiots driving big cars and trucks here.
That would take 50% of the drivers off the road in the USA!






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Posts: 30544 | Location: Central Florida, Orlando area | Registered: January 03, 2010Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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They are all in on them here.
Problems:
For some reason, they build a mound in the middle of it, restricting your vision as to who is on the other side of it.
Many of ours are multi lane and people get confused and want to change lanes in the middle of them. Crashes ensue!
They are touted as being easier to maintain (no signal lights to upkeep) move traffic more efficiently and easier to remove snow from.
If I can, I avoid them. Especially on my motorcycle.


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Posts: 16004 | Location: Marquette MI | Registered: July 08, 2014Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Another benefit is they reduce the force of collisions. In a traditional situation you'd be looking at cars colliding at 90 degrees. With roundabouts they will be more than likely off axis and will be more like glancing blows. Should save some lives.
 
Posts: 11151 | Location: Big Sky Country | Registered: November 20, 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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The State of Kansas has built some out in the middle of nowhere. Two small state highways intersect in a cornfield and bam there’s a roundabout. Seems a very strange choice. The result is that you almost never have to yield due to low traffic volumes. Not really sure what problem they were trying to solve with these.



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Posts: 5423 | Location: Wichita, KS (for now)…always a Texan… | Registered: April 14, 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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quote:
Originally posted by Skull Leader:
Another benefit is they reduce the force of collisions. In a traditional situation you'd be looking at cars colliding at 90 degrees. With roundabouts they will be more than likely off axis and will be more like glancing blows. Should save some lives.

It depends on how they are designed. The first two built in Wickenburg had entering traffic coming in at almost 90 degrees. Bad news. The third one forced entering traffic to curve around to the left before coming back right to enter the circle at a tangent. Much better. There are still the perpetual problems of people who just flat out stop before entering an empty roundabout, or who stop in the middle of one to permit traffic to enter. It is not hard people, there is only one rule (in the absence of signals). Traffic already in the roundabout has the right of way.



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Posts: 10778 | Location: South Congress AZ | Registered: May 27, 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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7 Circle Roundabout

Your first thought upon seeing Swindon's 'magic roundabout' might be: man, the Brits have really lost the plot lately. But this thing—which is actually seven roundabouts in one—has been working for 60 years.




 
Posts: 23238 | Location: Florida | Registered: November 07, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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quote:
Originally posted by HRK:
7 Circle Roundabout

Your first thought upon seeing Swindon's 'magic roundabout' might be: man, the Brits have really lost the plot lately. But this thing—which is actually seven roundabouts in one—has been working for 60 years.



Holy Moly

Most Americans would turn that in a giant pileup in about 1.5 minutes Eek

That ONLY works because of the very British mentality of "the queue" and waiting your turn. We Americans are far too impatient and having a "ME FIRST!" attitude to ever see that thing work.


 
Posts: 33601 | Location: Pennsylvania | Registered: November 12, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
אַרְיֵה
Picture of V-Tail
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quote:
Originally posted by HRK:

7 Circle Roundabout
I would never be able to find my way out of there.



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Posts: 30544 | Location: Central Florida, Orlando area | Registered: January 03, 2010Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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