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Honking doesn't help in these situations, it makes it worse. People who are confused by round about aren't suddenly going to get it by having the impatient driver behind them honking and confusing them even more.
I drive through the ones in Cary almost daily as I live near downtown and notice that it's usually elderly people who are uncomfortable blowing through the traffic circles. Have some patience.
Honking doesn't help in these situations, it makes it worse. People who are confused by round about aren't suddenly going to get it by having the impatient driver behind them honking and confusing them even more.
I drive through the ones in Cary almost daily as I live near downtown and notice that it's usually elderly people who are uncomfortable blowing through the traffic circles. Have some patience.
I do agree with you, but I'll admit patience is not my most readily available character trait. There are also good reasons for educating the public on proper driving procedures. Yesterday I was going through a roundabout heading west when the sun was setting and it was blinding me and made it very difficult to see the car in front of me. Having a car stop dead when you're expecting them to continue moving in low visibility situations is definitely dangerous.
Sorry, cars can't jump to hyperspace and go light speed. Even on a small one, If someone is on the opposite side of the roundabout from you, there is no reason to wait as there is more than enough room for you both to be in the circle at the same time safely. Waiting "just in case" is impeding traffic and also can cause accidents.
People seem to confuse slow driving with safe driving. The safest way to drive is to be predictable. Follow the laws and allow others to follow them. This means not waving other drivers on when you have the right-of-way, going the speed limit (not too far under or over given driving conditions), and entering the traffic circle without stopping unless you're yielding to another car already in the circle. Being overly cautious or "polite" doesn't help anyone, it just adds an element of unpredictability and leaves other drivers guessing.
I seem to recall the large roundabouts in Massachusetts to be well designed and good at keeping the flow going. Like the one in Southern Pines.
Around here they are so small, they greatly reduce the effectiveness. The one near the NC State bell tower is terrible.
There's even a traffic circle in a NW Raleigh shopping center that has big, wide speed humps at the entrances. Of course they are not perpendicular to your direction of travel, they are angled, which means your car rocks wildly side-to-side as you go over them. It's quite ridiculous.
When there are more of them, and folk get the turn signal strategy taught to them it'll improve hopefully.
on approach indicate right if taking first exit, do not indicate on approach if travelling straight on, indicate left if taking a left turn from your entry. Then indicate right to leave the roundabout when level with the exit before the one you're taking, not too tricky, but man! I'm feeling you! I used to live near a five lane monstrosity of a roundabout, that was fun to learn how to navigate! So the chaos these little ones cause is amazing at times.
In the meantime deep breathing, and use that horn
Yep. I don't understand why people think a roundabout suddenly removes the need for signals. If everybody is signaling correctly you can have 3 or 4 cars using the roundabout at the same time. Without signals you have to just wait and see what the other guy is going to do. Might as well be a 4-way stop at that point.
Just in case anyone was confused. Lol! I love the new roundabouts in Cary because they really keep traffic moving...except when there is a car in front of me. Because apparently everyone thinks you are supposed to stop and wait for the car on the other side of the circle to drive around before entering the circle.
If they are new, it is because a) people aren't used to them and might be confused
and/or
b) they are worried what the other drivers will do, who are also facing something new.
I always err on the side of caution; better to stop and let a car go by even if you technically have the right of way than get hit because the other car hasn't figured out the rules yet.
People seem to confuse slow driving with safe driving. The safest way to drive is to be predictable. Follow the laws and allow others to follow them. This means not waving other drivers on when you have the right-of-way, going the speed limit (not too far under or over given driving conditions), and entering the traffic circle without stopping unless you're yielding to another car already in the circle. Being overly cautious or "polite" doesn't help anyone, it just adds an element of unpredictability and leaves other drivers guessing.
Absolutely!!!
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