Magic Roundabouts
Discussion
I'm interested in opinions about these.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Roundabout_(Sw...
Do they actually add anything over a normal roundabout (other than the feeling of fear approaching such a sign?!)
I haven't had the "pleasure" of encountering one of these yet over and above the more common but simpler double-roundabout. Does anyone drive them regularly and if so, how is the general skill and behaviour of other drivers? (some will inevitably be out-of-towners).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Roundabout_(Sw...
Do they actually add anything over a normal roundabout (other than the feeling of fear approaching such a sign?!)
I haven't had the "pleasure" of encountering one of these yet over and above the more common but simpler double-roundabout. Does anyone drive them regularly and if so, how is the general skill and behaviour of other drivers? (some will inevitably be out-of-towners).
They are brilliant..... /thread
Take the one in Hemel for example. 6 roads coming together 4 of which are fairly busy routes. To function correctly a normal roundabout would either have to be 3-4 times the size for it to function or have a ridiculous traffic light system.
They do take a little getting used to but honestly anything else would result in a complete clusterf
k.
Take the one in Hemel for example. 6 roads coming together 4 of which are fairly busy routes. To function correctly a normal roundabout would either have to be 3-4 times the size for it to function or have a ridiculous traffic light system.
They do take a little getting used to but honestly anything else would result in a complete clusterf
k.Dannbodge said:
There's one in Hemel Hempstead in herts.
Never had any issues on it. You just treat each of the little outer roundabouts as it's own.
+1Never had any issues on it. You just treat each of the little outer roundabouts as it's own.
There is one in High Wycombe that nobody complains about and few people even notice because you can't see it's a magic roundabout on the approach. Everyone just treats it as a road with separate roundabouts on it.
Magic roundabouts aren't roundabouts, and only confuse if you start by assuming it's a roundabout then say 'WTF people are travelling both ways!'.
WCNFSL117 said:
Dannbodge said:
There's one in Hemel Hempstead in herts.
Never had any issues on it. You just treat each of the little outer roundabouts as it's own.
Drove past this one a few weeks ago, it was weird as hell. Don't know why traffic lights wouldn't suffice instead.Never had any issues on it. You just treat each of the little outer roundabouts as it's own.
Leins said:
I encountered this one in Swindon unexpectedly many years ago and TBH it was a bit of a scary experience for me. I’ve been informed by locals that it works perfectly well for the initiated though
I found one in Swindon couple of weeks ago. Whilst navigating by listening to Google maps on my phone (no mount). I didn't have a clue which exit to take! Zarco said:
Whilst navigating by listening to Google maps on my phone (no mount). I didn't have a clue which exit to take!
Heh, yea, I can't imagine these being very compatible with SatNav apps!As always, things are much much easier when you actually know where you're going (unaided).
I grew up in Hemel Hempstead and got used to the Magic roundabout from an early age....
First on my pedal bike and later in a car once I'd passed my test.
There's a lot going on at that point.....6 junctions effectively, plus the river Gade.
Always used to make me laugh when the whole thing ground to a complete standstill when the Mother Duck decided to walk her ducklngs across 6 lanes of traffic.
That said, I still take an avoidance route if I'm down that way on a Saturday, because if it gets too busy, it does start to back up and doesn't work as well.
First on my pedal bike and later in a car once I'd passed my test.
There's a lot going on at that point.....6 junctions effectively, plus the river Gade.
Always used to make me laugh when the whole thing ground to a complete standstill when the Mother Duck decided to walk her ducklngs across 6 lanes of traffic.
That said, I still take an avoidance route if I'm down that way on a Saturday, because if it gets too busy, it does start to back up and doesn't work as well.
TBH- only time I used the Hemel one was at night, and it was confusing to an outsider. I'd suggest that the design was done by some one with more than tobacco in thir smoking implement, as given the level of incompetence with right of way, I'd suggest it was a recipe in the road hazards competition.
silverfoxcc said:
A40/A412 /M40 is a must visit
That's a relatively interesting one. It was originally just meant to be a roundabout, but it's absolutely huge because provision was made for another road to join the M40. Note the extra width hard shoulder on the westbound M40 to provide room for a sliproad. Then, when the proposal for the additional road was abandoned leaving an unnecessarily large roundabout, it was decided to change it to a 2 way road with junctions along it.When I lived near Camberley we had our own Magic roundabout for 6 major and minor roads. IIRC the traffic lights failed early on, before we'd had time to get used to it and before the council had painted the white lane markings !!!!!!!!!
Edited by driverrob on Wednesday 10th April 22:32
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