Driving in the UK?

[doctorwayne]

BTW, I think roundabouts are excellent ways to control traffic. For one thing, they practically eliminate T-bone or broadside crashes that often occur at intersections. They also pretty much keep traffic flowing at all times. It's great to only have to slow down, maneuver through the roundabout, and not have to come to a complete stop.

Also, in the UK, I've seldom see any stop signs -- instead, they have "Give Way" (i.e. yield) signs. Again, I think this is a much better way to control traffic.

The extra (and unnecessary) stopping and starting that we have in North America also creates extra pollution and probably more wear and tear on the car.

I have driven in the UK a couple of times, and find it to be much better than here in Canada. Although Ottawa has a few round-abouts, several of them are not configured properly - in one case, you must stop ON the round-about and let other traffic enter...! Yikes!

People tend to follow the rules a little better in the UK, from my experience. Slower traffic does indeed stay near the curb, and faster traffic uses the outside lane for passing, not cruising. On the smaller roads, I'd say that most people behave well, with a little courtesy going a long way. However, I am not talking "Canadian courtesy" where everyone sits at a 4-way stop and tries to wave each other on...

Roundabouts (we used to call them traffic circles) can work well if properly configured and when accompanied by proper signage. There's one on the Niagara Parkway which is weak in the signage department, resulting in confusion - at least you can just keep driving in circles until you figure out which is the proper route to take.

There's one in the city of Hamilton, on the main drag, which has been there as long as I've been driving, and it works well. I recall when there was one on the QEW (a major thruway-type highway) that seemed to work most of the time, but lots of out-of-towners were "caught by surprise", resulting in some serious accidents. It's now long-gone.

Part of the problem with introducing them in North America is that few drivers like to "give way". As for the excessive amount of stopping and starting, traffic planners have introduced so many stop signs in inappropriate locations (as a so-called "traffic calming" measure), that drivers, around here at least, do not stop at all, and many don't even bother to slow down. I can't count the number of times my car has almost been rear-ended because the guy behind me was unable to decipher the word STOP on that eight-sided red sign. This practice is also expanding into the area of stop lights, which are becoming "stop if you feel like it" lights.

As for four-way stops, especially those controlled by flashing red lights, so-called "courtesy" is simply an expression of "I'm confused".

Given the aggressive attitude of North American drivers, coupled with their increasing inability to read, and our lax standards for obtaining a driver's licence, I'm sure roundabouts will be a big "HIT".

Wayne