[Bogie Shooter]

The guy in the right lane obviously did not yield. You as a driver need to know what is around your vehicle....all the time.

[ejp52]

Originally Posted by ejp52

http://sumtercountyfl.gov/DocumentView.aspx?DID=77
Above link from Sumter County Sheriff will help with the roundabouts.

Bump.

[EdV]

The roundabout laws state that you must yield to the traffic in both lanes before entering a roundabout. So I don’t see how a double lane roundabout improves traffic flow all that much over a single lane roundabout.

That said, I think the best solution is to make the roundabouts in TV a single lane and replace the inner lane with red brick pavers that creates a truck apron to allow big trucks to make wide turns when necessary to exit the roundabout.

Now, drivers would need to remember only one rule, yield to the traffic already in the roundabout.

The problems with the current design and complicated rules of roundabouts are never going to be resolved with wishful thinking about better driver education.

[l2ridehd]

The round abouts are not that hard. One lane would not work as on Buena Vista and Morse you have two lanes coming into them and two lanes exiting from them. The only place to use one lane round abouts is on one lane roads. And they do improve traffic flow. If you can't drive in them, stay away from them. Follow the 4 simple rules and they work very well, improve traffic and yes, even reduce accidents.

If everyone would just try following the rules, more people would learn and everything would get better using them. Finding all the reasons to do something different because you do not understand how they work, makes you part of the problem. Stay alert and please learn to use them correctly.

[rockaway]

I started this thread a few day's ago with 4 observations about the increase
in incidents of bad auto and golf cart driving lately. Driving in the
roundabouts seems to have taken the lead in the complaint dept.

One poster say's that after one close call she will no longer obey the
law but will now only drive in the right lane. This is the kind of attitude
that put's all of us in danger. When I or my wife drive in a roundabout we
always assume that this women or someone like her is driving the car
next to us. If someone is to our right in the circle we always leave enough
room so that if they make what amounts to a" left turn from the right lane"
we don't get T boned or we don"t T bone them.
If the rules are followed the roundabouts are very safe but I go by
another rule.


"You can"t make thing's idiot proof because idiot's are to ingenious"

[Pturner]

Originally Posted by l2ridehd

The round abouts are not that hard. One lane would not work as on Buena Vista and Morse you have two lanes coming into them and two lanes exiting from them. The only place to use one lane round abouts is on one lane roads. And they do improve traffic flow. If you can't drive in them, stay away from them. Follow the 4 simple rules and they work very well, improve traffic and yes, even reduce accidents.

If everyone would just try following the rules, more people would learn and everything would get better using them. Finding all the reasons to do something different because you do not understand how they work, makes you part of the problem. Stay alert and please learn to use them correctly.

In addition to using the correct lane, following these two safety rules faithfully might also help reduce accidents:

• When you have passed the last exit before the one you want, use your right-turn signal and continue to use it through your exit.
• EXITING: As you exit the roundabout, be aware of vehicles traveling on the outside of the circulatory roadway that may continue to circulate around the roundabout.

Source: A Guide to Navigating Roundabouts in Sumter County, Florida.

12ride makes an excellent point that all of us need to follow the rules for the intersections as they are designed. It's heartening to see so many TOTVers reading and contributing to this post. Heightened awareness and concern about traffic safety is a step in the right direction.

Better safety enforcement at the roundabouts-- even if it's just white trucks stopping rules offenders and giving them a copy of the Roundabouts brochure-- might also go a long way.

[djplong]

Better still would be to replace roundabout with real intersections.

The most dangerous and accident-prone intersection in our entire state is a roundabout (or 'rotary' as we call them up here).

In Nashua, the city next to where I live, they replaced two perfectly good intersections with rotaries. Now, because of the way they constructed them, people taking a left turn actually have the right of way against thru-traffic coming the other way (because they're 'in' the rotary when the oncoming traffic gets 'to' the rotary).

Rotaries are just plain bad design anywhere except WAY out in the middle of nowhere.

[EdV]

Originally Posted by l2ridehd

One lane would not work as on Buena Vista and Morse you have two lanes coming into them and two lanes exiting from them.

They could merge the two lanes to one on the approach to the roundabout. The current design forces people to make last minute lane changes as they approach the roundabout anyway.

Originally Posted by l2ridehd

If everyone would just try following the rules, more people would learn.........

But they won't, and wishing for it won't change that either.

[Pturner]

Originally Posted by rockaway

I started this thread a few day's ago with 4 observations about the increase
in incidents of bad auto and golf cart driving lately. Driving in the
roundabouts seems to have taken the lead in the complaint dept.

One poster say's that after one close call she will no longer obey the
law but will now only drive in the right lane. This is the kind of attitude
that put's all of us in danger. When I or my wife drive in a roundabout we
always assume that this women or someone like her is driving the car
next to us. If someone is to our right in the circle we always leave enough
room so that if they make what amounts to a" left turn from the right lane"
we don't get T boned or we don"t T bone them.
If the rules are followed the roundabouts are very safe but I go by
another rule.


"You can"t make thing's idiot proof because idiot's are to ingenious"

Oh dear, that poster is misquoted. Imo, no one in this thread has evidenced idiocy. Rockaway, you have started such an important and helpful thread. Without any prior name calling, it has served us well. Let's keep name calling out of it and just share experiences and ideas that advance the goal of safety.

[rockaway]

Originally Posted by djplong

Better still would be to replace roundabout with real intersections.

The most dangerous and accident-prone intersection in our entire state is a roundabout (or 'rotary' as we call them up here).

In Nashua, the city next to where I live, they replaced two perfectly good intersections with rotaries. Now, because of the way they constructed them, people taking a left turn actually have the right of way against thru-traffic coming the other way (because they're 'in' the rotary when the oncoming traffic gets 'to' the rotary).

Rotaries are just plain bad design anywhere except WAY out in the middle of nowhere.

Rule number one--- Cars in the roundabout (rotary) have the right
of way.

you are basing what you say on a lack of understanding of the basic
rules of driving in rotaries

[coffeebean]

Originally Posted by Pturner

Hi Coffeebean,

I know what you mean about not wanting to use the right lane. Problem is, if I stay in the right lane 3/4 around the roundabout, I would be breaking the rule-- according the the TV roundabout brochure-- and could cause an accident myself.

To illustrate, lets call your husband Driver A and the driver with whom he nearly collided Driver B.

If I stay in the roundabout 3/4 around, and another driver-- lets call him Driver C-- lawfully exits from the left lane 1/2 way around, I could be doing to Driver C exactly what Driver B did to your husband.

I've read that roundabouts are safer. They do seem confusing though. Plus, if I understand Talk Host right, not all the roundabouts in TV even work this way.

I wonder what percentage of accidents in TV happen in roundabouts. Now that would be some meaningful news reporting. Yikes, better not start down that road again (so to speak).

I see the point you are making... however, when I'm in the right lane, I don't have any blind spots and can easily see if someone is going to exit from the left lane. When I'm in the left lane in a roundabout, my blind spot is on the right of the car. That's exactly what happened to my husband...the car came from nowhere in his blind spot on the right side of the car.

Think about it....as you go around the circle in a counterclockwise direction, you can easily see everything to the left side of your car. When you are traveling in this direction, it's not as easy to see what is approaching your car on the right side. That's my experience, anyway. I'll stay in the right lane as that's where I feel the safest navigating these roundabouts.

[memason]

Originally Posted by djplong

Better still would be to replace roundabout with real intersections.

The most dangerous and accident-prone intersection in our entire state is a roundabout (or 'rotary' as we call them up here).

In Nashua, the city next to where I live, they replaced two perfectly good intersections with rotaries. Now, because of the way they constructed them, people taking a left turn actually have the right of way against thru-traffic coming the other way (because they're 'in' the rotary when the oncoming traffic gets 'to' the rotary).

Rotaries are just plain bad design anywhere except WAY out in the middle of nowhere.

Traffic flows much better with roundabouts. Intersections force people to stop, which impedes the smooth flow of traffic. Even with the problems, discussed on this board, I would always vote to have a roundabout .vs an intersection. A roundabout is all about "yielding" and "merging"; same things we have to do to enter the turnpike...

Just a question.... Do we have the same yielding issues with golf carts at the tunnel entrances/exits?

[rockaway]

Originally Posted by Pturner

Oh dear, that poster is misquoted. Imo, no one in this thread has evidenced idiocy. Rockaway, you have started such an important and helpful thread. Without any prior name calling, it has served us well. Let's keep name calling out of it and just share experiences and ideas that advance the goal of safety.

Please tell me how i misquoted the poster.

She said that she will now not drive in the left lane EVER
And will now drive in the right lane all the time.

maybe idiot was a bit harsh but I get worked up when someone say's
that they will act in a way that breaks the law and endangers us all.

[bluedog103]

Until roundabouts become commonplace across the country you'll have issues with lack of understanding. There's even problems with understanding among residents. That's kind of scary.
You can probably teach fulltimers the rules but that won't work with daytrippers, newbies, renters and other short timers. There seems to be a learning curve in using roundabouts. What about people just passing through?
If there was clear understanding of the rules of the roundabouts this would not be an issue and this thread would be unnecessary.
Unless everyone has the same level of understanding, expect the unexpected.

[rockaway]

Originally Posted by bluedog103

Until roundabouts become commonplace across the country you'll have issues with lack of understanding. There's even problems with understanding among residents. That's kind of scary.
You can probably teach fulltimers the rules but that won't work with daytrippers, newbies, renters and other short timers. There seems to be a learning curve in using roundabouts. What about people just passing through?
If there was clear understanding of the rules of the roundabouts this would not be an issue and this thread would be unnecessary.
Unless everyone has the same level of understanding, expect the unexpected.

Bluedog you are right. Everyone coming to TV cannot know the rules.
If TV gave out the pamphlet on the roundabout rules to every new home
owner and renter it would help some.
As shown in some of the posts on this thread you can never eliminate
the problem because even though some residents know the rules they
choose to ignore them probably to compensate for there diminished
driving skills.
DEFENSIVE DRIVING needs to be the rule