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I saw mention of this amazing piece. Of road design and thought I'd post the link to a couple of Finns navigating the beast. Good hell, it's worse than driving in Ipswitch, Mass.!

http://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=fvwrel&v=4bOTTTETzX4

I think the Magic Roundabout works because all the drivers have no idea what to do so they go slowly.

Here is a Mythbusters on roundabouts.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvoFjirrgYA

What kind of sadomasochist thought of that thing?!

 Skarwael wrote:
What kind of sadomasochist thought of that thing?!

The Brits

 Alfndrate wrote:

 Skarwael wrote:
What kind of sadomasochist thought of that thing?!

The Brits

We're not allowed to test our stiff upper lip with duels or invading other countries any more, so we invented roundabouts... squared!

 Skarwael wrote:
What kind of sadomasochist thought of that thing?!

In fairness the Magic roundabout isn't the only one of it's type...
There's loads of them around... that one is just kinda famous...

I drive around there on a regular basis. It's really easy - IF you've done it before

Yeah we had the Five Bells roundabout near us, fortunately the bulldozed it and put a proper motorway junction in.

It connected the A13, A130 and Canvey Island. I always thought it would have been easier to destroy the bridge to Canvey than keep that mess in use but apparently it would have been against their human rights or summint?

 Kilkrazy wrote:
I think the Magic Roundabout works because all the drivers have no idea what to do so they go slowly.

I agree. They added one right where I live about a year ago, and it's super obvious when you get onto it who has never encountered one before because you see them generally stop and then creep into it at 6 or 7 MPH. No one is ever sure who has right of way.

I have to wonder how much they saved by not just putting in a traffic light, and if it was worth it.

As the resident dakka Swindonian I apologise.

 Corpsesarefun wrote:
As the resident dakka Swindonian I apologise.

You should!

Also apparently roundabouts are just confusing enough to make it into a Simon Pegg film. There was a bit of confusion with a roundabout in The World's End.

They're not normally THAT confusing...

 Corpsesarefun wrote:
They're not normally THAT confusing...

I've never had any issues with the few that I've used here in America... bahamas... screw their roundabouts.

America has roundabouts? You learn something new every day...

 Corpsesarefun wrote:
America has roundabouts? You learn something new every day...

Some places like Boston have them, but we've got a few in Ohio that are simplistic, 3-5 way intersections that don't see enough traffic to warrant a stop light.

Boston is basically a misplaced bit of England, it doesn't count.

Time for a topical musical interlude.

 Corpsesarefun wrote:
Boston is basically a misplaced bit of England, it doesn't count.

Fair, one of the few major cities with no rhyme or reason to its construction.

Roundabouts are all over the northeast. I drive through two on my way from Boston to Salem. They have em in New Hampshire as well.

 gunslingerpro wrote:

 Corpsesarefun wrote:
Boston is basically a misplaced bit of England, it doesn't count.

Fair, one of the few major cities with no rhyme or reason to its construction.

Roundabouts are all over the northeast. I drive through two on my way from Boston to Salem. They have em in New Hampshire as well.

Yup, England.

Here's another one of ours, with 6 roundabouts with a nice bit of park in the middle:
https://plus.google.com/110838125221229601942/about?hl=en

 Alfndrate wrote:

 Corpsesarefun wrote:
America has roundabouts? You learn something new every day...

Some places like Boston have them, but we've got a few in Ohio that are simplistic, 3-5 way intersections that don't see enough traffic to warrant a stop light.

Do you have to have special cars designed to cope with driving round a corner?

 SilverMK2 wrote:

 Alfndrate wrote:

 Corpsesarefun wrote:
America has roundabouts? You learn something new every day...

Some places like Boston have them, but we've got a few in Ohio that are simplistic, 3-5 way intersections that don't see enough traffic to warrant a stop light.

Do you have to have special cars designed to cope with driving round a corner?

Nope We just plow over pedestrians at a slight angle to make the corner turns

 Alfndrate wrote:
Nope We just plow over pedestrians at a slight angle to make the corner turns

Ah, so America really is just like GTA... just with more violence

 SilverMK2 wrote:

 Alfndrate wrote:
Nope We just plow over pedestrians at a slight angle to make the corner turns

Ah, so America really is just like GTA... just with more violence

We write what we know

Whereas the British obsession with complex traffic management schemes descends from this seminal BBC series of the 1960s.

Relapse wrote:
Good hell, it's worse than driving in Ipswitch, Mass.!

That, sir, is unpossible.

<--- lived in Southeast MA for a loooong time.

I know from driving in one in Berlin, that they are in Germany (there are many others, but the large one in Berlin was a sight... It was about the same size as the one in the OP, however much easier to navigate due to having lights, and an island in the center to give clear guidance as to DoT, and proper intersections, etc.

Also, every Army base I've ever been stationed on, except where I am now has had one (though, I think they got rid of the one on Ft. Carson sometime after I left, they were doing a huge amount of construction)

There's a GW like 300m from the magic roundabout

What? No there isn't... The only GW in Swindon is in the Brunel shopping centre, nowhere near the magic roundabout..