2010 klr650...

[Ronald Criswell]

We have a couple in my area of North Texas that work great. Much better than lights or 4 way stop signs. Traffic flows much better and safer especially for bikes. I have driven all over France where they are used in abundance and I highly recommend them. I read an article on bike safety once and England took top honors on bike safety. The USA and Germany were in the middle. Ah........Greece was on the bottom, no pun intended. The article said that the primary reason England was the safest for bikes were the widespread use of roundabouts. Criswell

On Jul 1, 2011, at 3:52 AM, Lourd Baltimore wrote: > > > Here's an interesting article from the BBC on roundabout uptake in the US. > http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-13863498 > > Check out the video as well. Nice Yes soundtrack and the mayor of Carmel, > IN seems clued-in as well. > > I remember seeing a few new roundabouts in Southern MD before we moved to > the UK in 2007. > I though of them more as a novelty then. However after being in the UK since > then, I have found them indispensable. > Traffic would grind to a halt without them in some towns, cities, and major > intersections. > > How about where you live? What has been your colonial experience with > roundabouts and what are negative comments made by their detractors? > > For motorcycle use, they are nice. No more waiting for traffic light sensors. > However, you do need to be aware for diesel/oil spills and potholes as you don't > want to hit either while in the circle. > > Are any of you (bi)cyclists that have to negotiate them? Are your safety needs > provided for in the design? > > Note: Do not not confuse roundabouts with the massively awkward traffic circles > (e.g. Columbus Circle in NYC). > > Josh > . > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[skypilot110]

Roundabouts are Massachusetts way of praying on people from other states!! Us Connecticut types stay away whenever we can.

> > Must be a Northern half / Southern half of CA type thing. Roundabouts > > are an alien concept to my California (SJ Valley) born and raised wife. > > > > We have them scattered around in PA, and while on motorcycle, I prefer

[Jud]

There are three near me. They are not really well designed - too small, so the exits are too close together, forcing a lot of snap decisions, not all of which are correct. Plus, a lot of people just don't get them. Even with all that, they work a lot better than stop signs on side streets that feed into a sometimes-busy arterial. This is a stretch of exurban 2-lane where accidents were quite common, and where at least three motorcyclists had been killed by left-turning cars over the past 28 years,

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, Ronald Criswell wrote: > > We have a couple in my area of North Texas that work great. Much better than lights or 4 way stop signs. Traffic flows much better and safer especially for bikes. I have driven all over France where they are used in abundance and I highly recommend them. I read an article on bike safety once and England took top honors on bike safety. The USA and Germany were in the middle. Ah........Greece was on the bottom, no pun intended. The article said that the primary reason England was the safest for bikes were the widespread use of roundabouts. > > Criswell > On Jul 1, 2011, at 3:52 AM, Lourd Baltimore wrote: > > > > > > > Here's an interesting article from the BBC on roundabout uptake in the US. > > http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-13863498 > > > > Check out the video as well. Nice Yes soundtrack and the mayor of Carmel, > > IN seems clued-in as well. > > > > I remember seeing a few new roundabouts in Southern MD before we moved to > > the UK in 2007. > > I though of them more as a novelty then. However after being in the UK since > > then, I have found them indispensable. > > Traffic would grind to a halt without them in some towns, cities, and major > > intersections. > > > > How about where you live? What has been your colonial experience with > > roundabouts and what are negative comments made by their detractors? > > > > For motorcycle use, they are nice. No more waiting for traffic light sensors. > > However, you do need to be aware for diesel/oil spills and potholes as you don't > > want to hit either while in the circle. > > > > Are any of you (bi)cyclists that have to negotiate them? Are your safety needs > > provided for in the design? > > > > Note: Do not not confuse roundabouts with the massively awkward traffic circles > > (e.g. Columbus Circle in NYC). > > > > Josh > > . > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > > > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] >

[Lourd Baltimore]

The point about snap judgments I can understand even though it shouldn't be a problem. One thing drivers forget is that if you're not sure or you're about to miss your exit, then you can always go around until you figure it our safely. So a good informational campaign for a newly opening roundabout would help alleviate the white-knuckle syndrome for the newly initiated. The point about some roundabouts being too small I can see as well. Roundabouts are best designed with them in mind from the outset. If you try to shoehorn one into the space (right-of-way) where a tradition intersection was, it will not be optimal. Good road signage and road markings are crucial as well to allow motorists the time to safely decide how to enter and exit the circle. Josh . ________________________________ From: Jud To: DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com Sent: Wed, July 6, 2011 1:44:31 AM Subject: [DSN_KLR650] Re: [NKLR] Roundabouts There are three near me. They are not really well designed - too small, so the exits are too close together, forcing a lot of snap decisions, not all of which are correct. Plus, a lot of people just don't get them. Even with all that, they work a lot better than stop signs on side streets that feed into a sometimes-busy arterial. This is a stretch of exurban 2-lane where accidents were quite common, and where at least three motorcyclists had been killed by left-turning cars over the past 28 years, [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]