OT: Roundabout and 4way stop confusion

Not always, the lights at that intersection in one of our roundabouts works fine. And that roundabout was designed by the same fella that designed the massive great ones in Canberra that work fine with no lights with much more traffic.

That's not the worst case. Thats what intersection design has to be designed for.

You don't have a roundabout there, just lights.

I suspect they also select the image that corresponds to the street view and they will pick the least traffic possible when they do that.

They don't in the UK. Street view and satellite images are often several years apart.

You don't need to waste money on design. A roundabout allows for 100% usage of the junction.

Oy you! Trader 4! Explain yourself!

Exactly but when that light is 50 meters from the outflow of the roundabout, the roundabout people are waiting for that light before they can get out. Back up one "out" and everyone is screwed. I don't know what rule might prevent that. I was just stuck in it. Having 55 years experience driving in heavy traffic, I know what a traffic light feels like and I knew there was a light (or more) somewhere up there, a half a kilometer before I got to the roundabout. You sit still for several minutes, then you go a while, them you stop and wait again. I wasn't even going on the road that was backed up the worst but being from out of town, I didn't know that. I would have gone another way if I knew.

Not convinced its really feasible with the street view. They may well avoid the worst of the congestion times tho.

Corse you do.

Wrong, as always.

Presumably he is saying that they done have full right of way for those already in the circle, so it isnt easy to get thru the traffic coming into the circle in the opposite direction on the highway you were on when you entered the circle, so no way to go 270 degrees to get out the third exit with no breaks in the traffic in the opposite direction on the original highway.

And anyone is free to apply the biggest waddy they can find to that utter obscenity of a sentence of mine before it multiplys and takes over the world.

I meant you have lights instead of that roundabout.

You arent supposed to enter a roundabout unless you can get off it on the exit you want to leave by, but that's easier said than done with the bigger roundabouts where you can't see right across it.

Google maps should tell you about that congestion and offer you how to bypass it but that is only viable if you always get it to navigate where you know that can happen.

Why doesn't the lights change allow those stuck in the circle to get out of the circle, even if they do have to stop further down the exit road when the light change again ?

And google could have told you that even if you didn't know of it. Lot to be said for always navigating when congestion happens.

The problem was even when the light changed, all of the cars could not clear that light because it backed up from the next light. It was just typical big city bumper to bumper traffic. It did nothing but remind me why I left DC. I don't know if there was a wreck down there, road construction or just what Auckland drivers deal with every afternoon but listening to Paul Henry I suspect the latter.

Sure, but enough should get thru to see that block ripple down to the roundabout and let at least the roundabout blocking cars to get off the roundabout into that exit road even if they do end up stopping in the exit road on the second light change.

Google should have directed you to the route that works best there.

Must have been a Scottish engineer??

or just more roundabouts - - - -

Sorry, it's the courthouse. Google map courthouse street, goderich ontario.

It's called "the square"

see

A large part of the square has been recently rebuilt ofter a F3 tornado destryrd much of the town back in August 2011

Roundabouts are faster than 4-way stops for low traffic situations.

And for most or maybe all medium-level traffic situations.

But for high traffic, they are slow.

But I've spent some time in places with one roundabout after another and in medium traffic and maybe especially in low-traffic, constantly having to swerve right, then left, hold it, then right again is much more tiring than smoothly driving down a straight road, even if one has to stop occasionally for a light or a stop sign.

I don't want any more roundabouts than we have already.

Not necessarily. Ours were imported by a yank engineer.