Round-abouts - or Rotaries as we call them here in New England, work (in this area) only if there isn't heavy traffic.

There have been numerous rotaries that have been REPLACED WITH TRAFFIC lights because of the amount of congestion & accidents that have been caused from people who just don't know how to use them.

Salem, MA used to have a very large oval rotary, which earned the nickname "Salem Dodgem' Plaza".

And recently, one rotary was removed on Route 3 in Plymouth, which was one of the caused for backups that extended MILES going on or off Cape Cod.

If anyone is interested, here are a few links to rotaries:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotaries_in_Massachusetts
Rotaries are terrifying

Last Round for Rotaries in Massachusetts

and of course, the famous TWO-LANE rotary

Just be careful what you wish for...

 

We just need smarter lights and more attentive drivers.. If only it were that easy

 

we can always wish

 

That's just what I mean. They work very well in Europe. Even in heavy, frenzied traffic.

 

Houston's had a large roundabout (or traffic circle) on Main Street between the Medical Center and the Museum District, a rather tony part of town, for as long as I can remember. At one time it was a great timesaver, but today with two broad lanes are squeezed into three or four, and with six or seven times the traffic, it's an invitation to a fender-bender. The primary problem is that it's the ONLY roundabout on a major Houston thoroughfare, and if you don't live or work nearby, you face a new challenge every time you drive on it.

I usually plan for a couple of laps to sort out all the traffic signs, but the old instincts seem to kick in at the last minute and with the GPS identifying which of several exits I need, I don't have any problems with the traffic at all.

 

A couple ofthe cities here have instituted flashing yellow lights for left turning vehicles after the traffic signal for their direction has turned red. This is a step in right direction. A step further would be to implement a flashing signal after a preset time of a solid signal that allows drivers to proceed on red in any direction if it is safe to do so. Experienced this a lot in Argentina & loved it. Now of course the main thing from keeping any US city from implementing any common sense red light policy is of course the revenue generated from red light citations.

 

We don't need another set of laws which YES most certainly would be abused, and we don't need to spend hundreds of billions of dollars revamping every single traffic signal in the nation all for a very simple problem. The solution is easy, just "allow" motorcyclists or bicyclists to use their discretion when such an instance comes up, and the laws shouldn't be enforced on them if a cop happens to see it.

 

In Estado de Mexico (Mexico State), the state that adjoins Mexico City, and where I used to live, from 11 P.M. to about 5 A.M., once you stop at a red light, you can go if is clear (don't want to get robbed at the light at night).

 

I would like that traffic engineering in the USA would figure out how and when to put stop signs. It just stupid the way they abuse them here. Every f@#$% intersection has a stop sign. Every road along a plaza has 10 stop signs you need to stop on each one of them even tho people are not there to cross. What a waste of gas.
In Europe you use a stop sign only if there is no visibility while you're approaching an intersection(like if there is a fence along the sidewalk. Otherwise you have a yield sign. They use pedestrian crossing not stop signs.

Another frustration I have is that are 100 ways to make a right turn in an interaction. At least here in Florida.
Sometimes need to come to a complete stop if the light is red and then make the right, sometimes you have a light that comes on with"no right" so you cannot make a right when the light is on. Sometimes you have a yield sign, sometimes you don't have to stop. sometimes you have a "stop here on red", a red right arrow sometimes. I don;t think they really know what the hell they're doing.

 

Here, in the U.S., they are considered 'traffic-calming" measures. Neighborhood civic groups want them, figuring they will deter potential traffic onto main roads. Well, most of the time, they don't deter traffic....they just add to the number of times you have to brake/accelerate, putting more wear and tear on your car.

 

I don't even think it is a big deal to run it in the middle of the night when nobody is there.

 

Stop sign is not a "traffic calming" measure. speed humps are, speed reduction signs like 20mph zone, speed bumps, speed cushions, raised pedestrian crossing etc. but when I see here a speed bump in front of a stop sign makes me smh...

 

It sure is a big deal to the cop hiding near the intersection who has yet to meet his quota...

 

Incorrect. Stop signs, in many jurisdictions, are considered a traffic-calming measure....especially when they are put up specifically to control speeders, not just the physical amount of traffic.

 

That's exactly my point that they don;t know what the hell they're doing. Calming traffic is to reduce it's speed and increase flow not to STOP it. Yield sign on the other hand is it a calming traffic measure.
That is the reason why Stop sign is never considered a traffic calming measure.
This technique was invented in Europe so I guess americans didn;t quite got it right.