Danger in the traffic circles!

[PJ]

I almost got squashed (or seriously injured or killed) in a traffic circle yesterday. I was driving within the speed limit, toward Lake Sumter Landing. I was in the right lane of one of the traffic circles, approaching one of the exits from the circle, when all of a sudden a guy in the left lane of the circle sped up next to me, and cut me off, as he was making a right turn from the left lane! I had to slam on my brakes to keep him from smashing into my side, right where I was in the driver's seat. And then he had the gall to blare his horn at me, as if I were not driving correctly. There is no requirement that I take that (or any) exit.

How could anyone in their right mind think it's safe or reasonable to make a right turn from the left lane in a circle? Drivers cannot safely assume that the person in the right lane is always going to turn right from a circle, as there is no law stating that you have to turn right at the first opportunity.

Everyplace I've lived before moving to The Villages had traffic circles, and no one would be crazy enough to make a right turn from the left lane! If this is allowed here, then I'd say that this will lead to certain disaster. Someone is going to get killed, and whoever in The Villages is in charge of allowing this to happen will be responsible. Someone needs to take action. They need to require that drivers in the inside lane of the circle merge into the right lane before turning right. Or does someone have a better solution? ??? This needs to be fixed ASAP.

[susanrene]

I hear what you're saying about the roundabouts! My husband and I have "discussions" over who has the right-of-way, especially from the inside lane. Page 49 of the Villages phone book tries to explain how the roundabouts work. I believe the car in the inside lane that is next to you or ahead of you has the right-of-way when exiting. It's so important to watch the cars near you, and it would help immensely if everyone would use their turn signals when they are ready to exit.

[PJ]

Thanks very much Susanrene, I read the page you referenced, and apparently you are correct. It says that the driver in the outside (right) lane is supposed to yield to the drivers in the center (left) lane.

I believe this policy is a recipe for disaster, because it doesn't follow other widely-used traffic rules, and I think it's dangerous, illogical and impractical. How can we actually see the turn signals of the car next to us? Perhaps since we can't see the signals of a car directly next to us, maybe they expect us to try to check the driver's facial expression? This policy strikes me as risky, bordering on insane. I hope no one gets hurt because of this.

[Talk Host]

As I understand the use of traffic circles (roundabouts) the person in the right (outside) lane is suppose to exit at the very first exit they come to. That is to say that if you enter at 12 O'clock, you should exit at 9 O'clock, not go all the way around to 6 O'clock or 3 O'clock while staying in the outside lane. So, you see, if you exit as you are suppose to, the inside lane will be able to exit as well with no problem. The idea is that if you expect to go half or three quarters of the way around the circle, you are suppose to enter the left or center lane and stay there til exit time.
Trouble with all of this is that nobody does it right, so there is no way to do it right. So many people do it wrong that if you try to do it right, you cause problems. :dontknow: :cop:

[sparky]

Sounds good Jan but it don't and won't work in The Villages. ;D
One, The roundabouts are not big enough.
Two.If you turn on your turn signal to exit at the first exit in the circle the person coming into the circle form the same one that you are exiting will pull out into the outside lane and that poor guy in the inside lane will never be able to get into the outside lane for his exit.

A lot of Villagers tend to ignore signals and when they see you signal they just speed up to fill the gap. >:(

A Sumter County Deputy Sheriff came to one of our meetings a few months ago and tried to explain how the Roundabouts are supposed to work. The Daily Sun and all Villages organizations need to start educating people a little better on how to navigate the Roundabouts. :read:

[clarkbars150]

The obvious safe solution to traffic circles in The Villages is to require all vehicles to ENTER circles using ONLY the right lane. There are too many impatient drivers that always try to butt in ahead of everyone else.

[johnfarr]

Perhaps a sign before each traffic circle saying "enter and exit circle from right lane" would help.