Is it me or 2 lane roundabouts just don't work?
 

IMOP....too compact to be safe..drivers are more confused than a goat on astroturf.:MOJE_whot: I treat all roundabouts like a single lane rotary and use a turn signal when exiting.

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My #1 rule re roundabouts.

Keep eyes and head on a swivel, NEVER go side-by-side with another vehicle, distrust all signals etc, NEVER assume that the vehicle will stop before entering the roundabout as you're approaching them, be ready to brake at any time, and ALWAYS assume the worst from other drivers.
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If you did a search, there are probably 10 threads in past that are at least 80 posts each, it's the most discussed topic in history.

Here is a quick lesson, if you follow this you will be more than OK. Just think of a 2 lane roundabout as a 2 lane 4 way stop. If you were making a left turn you would be in the left land (inside lane 3rd exit) and if you were making a right turn you would in the right (outside lane 1st exit). If you were going straight you would be in either lane (2nd exit is straight). There is even a sign before every roundabout showing where each lane can go.

https://www.drivesmartbc.ca/sites/de...rningPaths.jpg

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/8wIoR7fpPJM/hqdefault.jpg

In this diagram, the yellow car at the bottom in the left lane, where can he proceed to? He can go straight using either lane, or go to the third exit using the left lane.

All true, and add
***watch out for drivers going the wrong way in the RB
***watch out for cyclists in a pack of 20 blowing through the yield sign as if they were one entity
***beware non-street legal golf carts cutting across lanes in front of you
***beware cars going 270 around the RB in the outer lane, and cars exiting at 90 from the inner lane
***Be especially concerned if a car with out of state handicapped plates is approaching the entrance to the RB
***and my favorite, beware the driver who just stops dead in the middle of a RB, usually just far enough ahead that you can't see her around the circle

Enjoy your drive today!:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

They work perfectly. It's the drivers that either don't take the time to learn how to navigate them or refuse to follow the procedures that just don't work.

Just assume the other drivers will not stop, cut into your lane, cut you off or hit you and you will be fine!!
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Yes, but the blue car at the top SHOULD NOT EVEN CONSIDER ENTERING THE RB until traffic in both lanes has cleared. He may intend to turn into the first exit in the outer lane, but the car in the RB already may have come from the first entrance to his left and intend to (legally) go straight to the same exit

I've been saying all along that roundabouts in The Villages, with folks that have never seen them before and are inherently bad drivers anyway, should be single lane. You can explain the proper procedure of maneuvering through them all you want, but the simple point is that there is not a given hour of the day, of the year, decade, etc. that you won't find that 90% of the operators handle a roundabout incorrectly.

Single lane is the only solution. Instruction fails miserably.

I'll call your Traffic Circle threads and raise you 50 Dog Poops.

I'm fine with them, for the thousands upon thousands of cars that use them daily there are very few accidents and I could not imagine the backups we would have if those roundabouts were all stop light maintained intersections.

No, it drivers that pull out when they are supposed to yield to ALL traffic in roundabout. It’s the drivers that stay in the right lane and go to 3rd exit. It’s the drivers that stop when entering roundabout when the only have to yield. So, it’s the drivers!

I think our roundabouts work very well. I am glad we have them instead of traffic lights.

In my case, I go thru them slowly with my hand always on the horn, which I use frequently.

How in the world do you come up with such conclusions?!? :ohdear:

Of course there's a learning curve for the new folks. But I've been here full time for eight years now, and with all those "inherently bad drivers" and "90% of the operators" handling the roundabouts incorrectly, I see a very small percentage driving the roundabouts improperly. And most of those are obviously being cautious, knowing they haven't yet mastered roundabout driving.

And anybody advocating for single lane roundabouts has no idea of the congestion that would cause. It would in effect turn Morse and Buena Vista into single lane roadways. The capacity of a roadway is limited by the most restrictive section of that road.

Are roundabouts in TV perfect? No. Are they largely safe and efficient? Yes.

This is the key, along with indicating your intention to exit the roundabout.

Give others room to move - if you are in the outside lane and someone is in the inside lane and wants to turn right, it is up to you to let them do so.

Having both lanes of Buena Vista merge into one before every roundabout would result in far more accidents.

I'll see you and raise you a Reverse Mortgage.

See your Reverse Mortgage, and raise 150 covid masks.

Better Round-A-Bout Design
 

I have been navigating round-a-bouts for close to 50 years and find them extremely efficient when properly driven. Unfortunately, many, probability a majority, of people driving in The Villages don't drive them properly.

The design of the round-a-bout on Hilton Head Island shown below, while not optimum for traffic flow, would work very well in this area.

I think Roundabouts are fun! Where else can you make a right turn from the left lane, not look or use a turn signal? Try it on the interstate, people get ****ed and blow their horns! The nerve!

Okay, I'll change it up a little. Since John put up the diagram of the regular intersection left turn I'll throw this out. Why do people here when in the left turn lane stay behind the solid white line when the light is green or arrow flashing yellow? I already checked with a retired Florida LEO who said there is no law against entering into the intersection while waiting to make a left turn. The worst are the drivers who stay behind the solid white line and make their turn after the light turns red which is insane.

Why?? It's called defensive driving. Seniors have lived a long time and probably have seen people get hit out in the intersection.

I'm surprised the LEO officer advised you to enter an intersection when it wasn't clear to proceed.

Crossing the solid white line when there are oncoming cars means you are stuck sitting in the middle of the intersection. If you are fortunate and the oncoming traffic ends before the light changes, great. However, if there are enough oncoming cars then the light could change and you would be making an illegal left on red. Worse, the oncoming traffic may run their red light (seen this many times) and hit you while you are trying to make your left on red.

The only safe way to proceed is to wait behind the white line until the intersection is actually clear.

What if you’re discussing Reverse Mortgages, wearing a mask, in a round about and your dog poops?

In a lot of states the law is if your are in the intersection and light turns red and the oncoming traffic has stopped you may proceed to make your left turn. The vehicles that have the green must yield until your turn is complete. Since you are already in the intersection it's not disobeying a red light.

Traffic Circles? Boo-Boo! Hiss-Hiss!
 

There are a few problems with these circles (which is what I choose to call them):

1. The circles are too small; each exit/entrance street is too close to the next one.
2. If you've ever noticed, the signage before them (on Buena Vista and/or Morse) do NOT all give the same advice for navigating them!
3. Too many of those who drive them are too old (mentally) and should not even be driving.

If Buena Vista and Morse went straight through, and there were stop signs coming from all the access streets, it would be safer and more efficient. In addition, it would take a lot less time to get from one place to another.

That would be the considered straight lane and there should be nobody beside you if the yielded to ALL traffic in the roundabout before the entered. if someone in right lane entered the roundabout the same time you did then they are-turning and have turn, if they illegally want to go to 3rd exit they better yield cause the are crossing traffic just like crossing at stop sign.

I agree they are too round and don’t have to be so sharp right turn entering or exiting. But, that would required more space and that means few less houses crammed in. Don’t agree with stops signs on BV or Morse where roundabouts are. Takes too long to get through and intersection, no at 466 and 466A it makes since to have traffic lights at those intersections IMO.

The law enforcement officer was conveying the correct way to make left turns at a signalized intersection.

When the light is a green ball or flashing yellow arrow, you absolutely are supposed to proceed beyond the stop bar (white line) into the intersection, keeping sight of the signal. There is no danger. The opposing traffic have red lights. The oncoming traffic proceeds until the light turns yellow. At that time, you prepare to make your left turn, of course after carefully watching that the approaching traffic is stopping. There is even a clearance phase, where all signals are red for a second or two after a change. Part of its purpose is specifically to allow left-turners to clear the intersection.

And this is very important...when you do as I described above, you are NOT making an illegal left turn on red. You are simply clearing the intersection. You entered into the intersection on green, which is perfectly legal. Completing your turn after the signal change is not only legal, it is the proper way to handle your turn.

Only because of the topic of this thread, I will state (as I've done in other such threads) that I have a Masters Degree in Transportation Engineering from the University of Florida and spent my entire career as a Professional Engineer in the State of Florida in the field of traffic engineering.

Please do your own homework and look up the proper way to handle left turns at a signalized intersection to verify what I've conveyed above.

Stay safe out there...both inside and outside your vehicle. :)

I've done the long course at what was then the Northwestern Traffic Institute so I thought I was missing a new law here. Let alone 30 years experience albeit not in Florida.

You call it defensive, I call it obstructive. Especially when they refuse to turn when clear and wait for the next green light.:pray:

You're thinking like it's okay to take a right from the left lane is what causes accidents. The inner lane is not the "straight" lane. That would ONLY work if the right lane entering the roundabout HAD to take the first exit. They don't have to take the 1st exit.

As long as you maintain a speed of 20 MPH or less, you should have the ability to avoid those drivers who do not know how to negotiate a roundabout.

Welllllll...if they’re still behind the stop bar, then it would be illegal to start your turn after the light turns red. That’s why you proceed into the intersection...across the stop bar... while the light is green. Then when the light turns red you’re simply clearing the intersection after the approaching traffic stops and before the cross traffic starts up... there is a 1-2 second all red clearance phase just for this purpose.

The roundabouts are fine. One lane roundabouts would cause too much traffic backup.
The problem is the crazy old people driving, you've got to watch every car around when you're in a roundabout.

I have driven on rotaries my entire life but if you don’t drive them much it is tough. I stay in the right lane to go right or straight through and the left lane if I am going 3/4 around. The only time I change that is if there is a long line on the right lane and no one in the left as long as I don’t need to turn right.

Wrong! It is in the left lane, so it can’t go straight using either lane. It must stay in the left lane through the roundabout and exit onto the left lane at exit.

The left lane besides being able to go to the third exit, can also go straight, the second exit. I didn't mean they can zig-zag between lanes, I meant they could go straight in the left lane and a car in the right lane can also go straight (either lane). However, in the left lane you can also go to the third exit, but the car in the right lane has to exit at the 2nd exit, if they continued to the third exit they could be T-boned by the car in the left lane going to the second exit.

Different in NJ and PA. You don't cross the white line until you cam continue to complete the turn. If you are passed the white line when the light turns red you have gone through the red light. Many of us have the tickets and the lost appeals on that one. I have to assume, since folks come from all over they revert to behaviour from where they came.

This thread reminds me of the city council meetings open to the public, or the hoa meetings. Everything brought up in the meetings nearly caused a riot. They were very entertaining! Sometimes dangerous!

After getting over the terror that is "first-time experiencing two-lane roundabouts occupied by a lot of people who might need cataract surgery and younger reflexes" - I realized the fully two-lane roundabouts are entirely manageable as long as you pay attention. And as long as YOUR reflexes are better than the other guy's.

What IS a big problem - is the two-lane roundabouts that exit into one lane exits. Imagine the circle - north, south, east, west...

I'm coming FROM the south. Heading West. If it were a normal intersection it'd be a left turn. But it's not a normal intersection. It's a circle. By the time I get to that exit, it is now a right turn.

But I'm coming from the INSIDE lane, because that's the rule. If you are entering a 2-lane roundabout and you're wanting to go to the "third" exit, you have to enter into the inside lane.

And you now have to make a right turn, from the inside lane, into a single lane where people who are coming from the east, and from the north, also exit.

If you're coming from the south, you won't always even SEE someone heading toward that western exit, if they are coming from the north. Because you are entering while looking to your left. And to your left - is the western exit. You're not looking north. You're looking west. Entering from the south, going in a counter-clockwise position.

So that's where I think roundabouts are horribly flawed. Entering a two-lane roundabout with the intention of exiting into a one-lane exit 3/4 of the way around the circle.

This is ESPECIALLY true if that "left" exit only has one lane. Which is exactly what happens at the Morse circle's south exit near St. Timothy's Church.