Quote:
Originally Posted by Stu from NYC
Driving next to someone in a roundabout is the best way to have an accident around here
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Yep. And the second-best way is to let impatience interfere with your judgment.
The roundabout at the intersection of El Camino Real and Buena Vista always has a lot of traffic but is particularly bad during snowbird season. Even now, still a couple of months from peak season, it is crowded. It is nothing to see lines of traffic stopped as drivers wait to enter. I've seen drivers accelerate as fast as they can to squeak onto the roundabout a whisker in front of oncoming traffic, cars in the righthand lane move to the left-hand lane and then abruptly exiting from the left lane right in front of the car they just passed, things like that. About a week ago I saw a lady actually stop in a roundabout and back up to take the exit she had just overshot. Fortunately there were no cars near her at the time, but it could have been bad.
One of the reasons I sold my bike after moving here is because you're literally taking your life in your hands if you ride during high-traffic times, particularly in the roundabouts. I had more close calls here in TV in the month or so that I did ride than I had probably in the previous ten years in Minnesota.