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Source: (consider it)
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Thread: Stupid driving....
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Penny S
Shipmate
# 14768
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Posted
Not parking, no reversing required.
I've just had a lousy run to and from a swimming class.
Out was irritating, but bearable. All the way I was following a learner who was driving 10 mph below the speed limit. I was a learner once, so no complaints, apart from being too late to fit a little personal swim in before the children got in.
Back was infuriating.
1. At a roundabout, I'd waited for someone turning to their right, my left, saw the next car was not signalling and was placed to travel straight ahead, down the road I'd just come up, started forward, and saw the woman suddenly turn to go across in front of me. Stopped in time, and saw she had been hit in the side at some time before.
2. Down the hill, at a small roundabout where a road joined from the right. A car is signalling to turn to his right, so I wait, then start to move again, only to find that the man in the SUV which has pulled up to my right is not turning right, but cutting across in front of me to take the single exit ahead. He then shoots off at over 40 mph in a 30 mph zone.
3. In the middle of that zone, a car pulls out from a side road without pausing and turns to go ahead of me, also exceeding the limit. (Gender of driver not visible).
4. Further up the road, a Ford Ka pulls out of a side road from stationary, but fully able to see me. I manage not to hit it by releasing the accelerator and braking a small amount as I approach. The driver, an elderly lady, continues very slowly in the 40 mph zone I am now in until we hit the next 30 mph zone and the next roundabout, where she turns right.
5. I am going straight ahead, but there is a car opposite me signalling to his right, and I assume he has right of way, so I wait (remembering the damaged car further back). The car behind, a taxi, assumes differently, and hoots at me. The car opposite changes its mind (gender not observed) and goes straight ahead, but by this time, another car has drawn up to my right, signalling to its right, again having right of way. Again, the taxi disputes this with gesticulations visible in my mirror while hooting again.
Thereafter, no problems. I am pleased to see that my prediction that the taxi driver is on his way to the local special school, which he is supposed to reach at a particular time, is correct. The Ka must have held him back badly.
I have observed before that particular instances of bad driving tend to occur in clusters* - but I only had two cases of coming out of side roads on this trip. Hmmm.
* I know this makes no sense, but it happens. Not an assortment of bad driving, but the same thing during the same trip.
[ 26. September 2013, 15:12: Message edited by: Penny S ]
Posts: 5833 | Registered: May 2009
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LeRoc
Famous Dutch pirate
# 3216
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Posted
I don't think you should consider driving in Brazil.
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I know why God made the rhinoceros, it's because He couldn't see the rhinoceros, so He made the rhinoceros to be able to see it. (Clarice Lispector)
Posts: 9474 | From: Brazil / Africa | Registered: Aug 2002
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Penny S
Shipmate
# 14768
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by LeRoc:
I don't think you should consider driving in Brazil.
Maybe if I were in Brazil I would expect it - it's unusual round here. At this time of day, at any rate.
Posts: 5833 | Registered: May 2009
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Spike
Mostly Harmless
# 36
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Posted
Was the car turning right crossing your path? If so, why did you assume it had right of way?
(BTW there is no such thing as right of way as nobody has a "right" to do anything and you won't find that term anywhere in the Highway Code, or any other official driving publication. The correct word is Prority)
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"May you get to heaven before the devil knows you're dead" - Irish blessing
Posts: 12860 | From: The Valley of Crocuses | Registered: May 2001
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Karl: Liberal Backslider
Shipmate
# 76
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Spike:
Was the car turning right crossing your path? If so, why did you assume it had right of way?
(BTW there is no such thing as right of way as nobody has a "right" to do anything and you won't find that term anywhere in the Highway Code, or any other official driving publication. The correct word is Prority)
There is. A Right of Way is a path, road or track you have a legal right to walk, cycle, ride a horse or drive a motor vehicle down. But in the terms used in the OP, indeed, it doesn't exist.
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Might as well ask the bloody cat.
Posts: 17938 | From: Chesterfield | Registered: May 2001
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Penny S
Shipmate
# 14768
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Posted
It was turning across my path - or would have been if it had continued as it was signalling. Perhaps I should have used the term "priority". Anyway, I remember being taught that one gives way to people doing what he appeared to intend to do.
Oops, I've been carefully using non-gendered constructions where I couldn't identify the driver. Got it wrong here.
[ 26. September 2013, 15:26: Message edited by: Penny S ]
Posts: 5833 | Registered: May 2009
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Schroedinger's cat
Ship's cool cat
# 64
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Posted
There is something about this week, I think, The roads were full of idiots at the start.
Of course, we might have different definitions of idiots....
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Posts: 18859 | From: At the bottom of a deep dark well. | Registered: May 2001
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Karl: Liberal Backslider
Shipmate
# 76
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Penny S:
It was turning across my path - or would have been if it had continued as it was signalling. Perhaps I should have used the term "priority". Anyway, I remember being taught that one gives way to people doing what he appeared to intend to do.
Oops, I've been carefully using non-gendered constructions where I couldn't identify the driver. Got it wrong here.
Normally you have priority over someone cutting across your path, unless they're on a roundabout.
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Might as well ask the bloody cat.
Posts: 17938 | From: Chesterfield | Registered: May 2001
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luvanddaisies
the'fun'in'fundie'™
# 5761
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Penny S:
It was turning across my path - or would have been if it had continued as it was signalling. Perhaps I should have used the term "priority". Anyway, I remember being taught that one gives way to people doing what he appeared to intend to do.
Eh? Where does that come from?
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"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." (Mark Twain)
Posts: 3711 | From: all at sea. | Registered: Apr 2004
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Lucia
Looking for light
# 15201
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Posted
Priority? Here in Tunisia the one who has priority is the one who takes it without flinching, regardless of any official rules.
I have to adopt two completely different styles of driving depending on whether I am in the UK or Tunisia. But you can't mix the styles with the wrong country. And in the UK generally you expect more adherence to the Highway code than here...
Posts: 1075 | From: Nigh golden stone and spires | Registered: Oct 2009
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the giant cheeseburger
Shipmate
# 10942
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Spike:
Was the car turning right crossing your path? If so, why did you assume it had right of way?
quote:
Originally posted by luvanddaisies:
quote:
Originally posted by Penny S:
It was turning across my path - or would have been if it had continued as it was signalling. Perhaps I should have used the term "priority". Anyway, I remember being taught that one gives way to people doing what he appeared to intend to do.
Eh? Where does that come from?
This action at a roundabout is the classic symptom of a shit driver who inherited their parents' bad skills instead of learning from a proper driving instructor. Instead of getting taught the correct "give way to other cars already in the roundabout" they pick up "give way to the right" instead.
The effect of this is commonly seen in the state of Victoria (a great place to get yourself maimed or killed if you're a cyclist) where drivers will stop at the entry to a roundabout if any other cars are approaching from another entrance, and then once the other drivers have approached and stopped everyone plays a game of chicken where somebody eventually makes the brave decision to go first and let the traffic flow again. All the while there will be a queue forming up behind each entrance, with drivers of all walks of life and political persuasions united in a steadily growing belief that maybe eugenics wasn't such a bad idea after all.
quote:
Originally posted by Spike:
(BTW there is no such thing as right of way as nobody has a "right" to do anything and you won't find that term anywhere in the Highway Code, or any other official driving publication. The correct word is Prority)
I'm assuming you're British right? In Australia we also don't use "right of way" in reference to what you would call priority, the Australian Road Rules refer consistently to which road users must give way rather than who should go first.
The Australian Road Rules also don't use "right of way" in the context that Karl referred to either (read the PDF version if you require a cure for insomnia) as the National Transport Commission did a bloody good job of eradicating archaic terms.
[ 26. September 2013, 16:04: Message edited by: the giant cheeseburger ]
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If I give a homeopathy advocate a really huge punch in the face, can the injury be cured by giving them another really small punch in the face?
Posts: 4834 | From: Adelaide, South Australia. | Registered: Jan 2006
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LeRoc
Famous Dutch pirate
# 3216
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Posted
quote:
Lucia: Priority? Here in Tunisia the one who has priority is the one who takes it without flinching, regardless of any official rules.
In Brazil the one who has priority is the one who has the kind of car that says "I don't care if it gets scratched."
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I know why God made the rhinoceros, it's because He couldn't see the rhinoceros, so He made the rhinoceros to be able to see it. (Clarice Lispector)
Posts: 9474 | From: Brazil / Africa | Registered: Aug 2002
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Sober Preacher's Kid
Presbymethegationalist
# 12699
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Posted
You can always come and live in my town (not my slapline) where cars have tried to run me over three times this month, and four times in August.
I walk across the bridge to get the mail at the post office. Perfectly ordinary thing. Except there are three traffic lights and the arse-hole drivers in this town don't remember that pedestrians have priority when crossing the road in a pedestrian lane with a walk signal.
No, you cannot turn left into me, you stupid morons!!!
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Posts: 7646 | From: Peterborough, Upper Canada | Registered: Jun 2007
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Ariel
Shipmate
# 58
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Posted
The roads in Britain are full of idiots who can't be bothered to follow the rules and we get a lot of them round here. However, they pale into insignificance in some parts of the world where traffic lights and pedestrian crossings are mostly just decorative, and the figures on a speed limit sign are there to tell you the minimum speed you should be going at.
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Carex
Shipmate
# 9643
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by the giant cheeseburger:
... In Australia we also don't use "right of way" in reference to what you would call priority, the Australian Road Rules refer consistently to which road users must give way rather than who should go first.
The rules in the US vary by state with regards to wording, but there is some bit of standardization of intent. At least when I learned to drive, they specified who was required to yield the right of way to the other driver. That doesn't mean, of course, that the other driver has the right of way: a defensive driver knows that it belongs to whoever takes it, regardless of which driver was legally required to yield it.
But my worst experience in a roundabout was on a pushbike in Christchurch, where a merging car forced me into the inside lane, from which it was difficult to go fast enough to merge back out. I think I went around 3 times before a courteous driver gave me a chance to escape.
Posts: 1425 | Registered: Jun 2005
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Spike
Mostly Harmless
# 36
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Penny S:
It was turning across my path - or would have been if it had continued as it was signalling. Perhaps I should have used the term "priority". Anyway, I remember being taught that one gives way to people doing what he appeared to intend to do.
Well, you were taught incorrectly and you should demand your money back!
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"May you get to heaven before the devil knows you're dead" - Irish blessing
Posts: 12860 | From: The Valley of Crocuses | Registered: May 2001
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the giant cheeseburger
Shipmate
# 10942
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Penny S:
It was turning across my path - or would have been if it had continued as it was signalling. Perhaps I should have used the term "priority". Anyway, I remember being taught that one gives way to people doing what he appeared to intend to do.
It sounds like the common denominator in all these incidents is that you're a shit driver who doesn't know the road rules and sucks at reading what else is going on around you.
Learn to use public transport or buy a good pair of walking shoes before your ignorance gets you, or even worse somebody else, killed.
quote:
Originally posted by Spike:
Well, you were taught incorrectly and you should demand your money back!
It was probably her parents who taught her all those bad behaviours, both as a kid in the back seat watching their bad habits and when learning the ropes as a new driver. What if they counter her demand for a refund with a demand to give back everything they gave her?
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If I give a homeopathy advocate a really huge punch in the face, can the injury be cured by giving them another really small punch in the face?
Posts: 4834 | From: Adelaide, South Australia. | Registered: Jan 2006
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Sober Preacher's Kid
Presbymethegationalist
# 12699
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Posted
Are you this sanctimonious behind the wheel, Burger Boy?
I pray for your missus when she drives you....
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NDP Federal Convention Ottawa 2018: A random assortment of Prots and Trots.
Posts: 7646 | From: Peterborough, Upper Canada | Registered: Jun 2007
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Kyzyl
Ship's dog
# 374
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Posted
quote:
Further up the road, a Ford Ka pulls out of a side road...
Wait, Ford named a car after the Egyptian version of a soul? That sends a positive message. ![[Paranoid]](graemlins/paranoid.gif)
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I need a quote.
Posts: 668 | From: Wapasha's Prairie | Registered: Jun 2001
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iamchristianhearmeroar
Shipmate
# 15483
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Posted
I swear that in the 7 years I've been living in London the standard of driving has got worse - both in the suburbs and the centre. We live on a road that has a school on it, so has a 20mph speed limit, with a board that tells you how fast you're driving *so you know to slow down*. But we have assholes steaming along the road at 40/50mph. It is incredibly dangerous - there are many side streets with poor visibility coming on to the road due to parked cars.
In central London people regularly run zebra crossing almost hitting those crossing on a regular basis. People regularly run red lights. And don't get me started on indicators. When did they become optional? If you're turning, bloody tell people with those orange things.
But if people don't face any consequences for bad driving, they'll continue to do it.
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My blog: http://alastairnewman.wordpress.com/
Posts: 642 | From: London, UK | Registered: Feb 2010
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Spike
Mostly Harmless
# 36
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by iamchristianhearmeroar:
We live on a road that has a school on it, so has a 20mph speed limit, with a board that tells you how fast you're driving *so you know to slow down*. But we have assholes steaming along the road at 40/50mph.
And the worst offenders are the parents in their 4X4s who then park on the zig zag lines outside the school, while justifying their choice of ridiculous car with the claim that they need to keep their children safe.
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"May you get to heaven before the devil knows you're dead" - Irish blessing
Posts: 12860 | From: The Valley of Crocuses | Registered: May 2001
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Ariel
Shipmate
# 58
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Posted
Quite recently I've seen the following:
* Someone in a traffic queue on a busy main road, behind a car blocking her way to turn left into the supermarket car park, decided she couldn't wait for the lights to change and the traffic to move on, so just turned left there and then and drove onto and up the pavement to get into the car park, giving me a cheery grin as she passed.
* A driving instructor on his way to pick up a pupil turned the corner of my road, one hand on the steering wheel, the other out of the window with a cigarette in it. He clipped the corner of the pavement, mounted it and trundled off round the corner into the next road.
* Twat of the Year managing to park his car so that when he next got in to start it up, he was going to have to reverse (on the wrong side of the road) over a speed hump into a crossroads.
And so it goes.
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Jonah the Whale
Ship's pet cetacean
# 1244
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Posted
I am waiting to hear how it is the cyclists who are the source of every problem on the road. I know this because my dad lives in England and he has told me so.
JtW
Posts: 2799 | From: Nether Regions | Registered: Aug 2001
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JoannaP
Shipmate
# 4493
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by iamchristianhearmeroar:
I swear that in the 7 years I've been living in London the standard of driving has got worse - both in the suburbs and the centre. We live on a road that has a school on it, so has a 20mph speed limit, with a board that tells you how fast you're driving *so you know to slow down*. But we have assholes steaming along the road at 40/50mph. It is incredibly dangerous - there are many side streets with poor visibility coming on to the road due to parked cars.
In central London people regularly run zebra crossing almost hitting those crossing on a regular basis. People regularly run red lights. And don't get me started on indicators. When did they become optional? If you're turning, bloody tell people with those orange things.
But if people don't face any consequences for bad driving, they'll continue to do it.
When I am Empress of Everything, turning without indicating will be a capital offence. ![[Devil]](graemlins/devil.gif)
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"Freedom for the pike is death for the minnow." R. H. Tawney (quoted by Isaiah Berlin)
"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." Benjamin Franklin
Posts: 1877 | From: England | Registered: May 2003
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Spike
Mostly Harmless
# 36
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Posted
a. That was 1966
b. The words were probably changed to scan better with the music
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"May you get to heaven before the devil knows you're dead" - Irish blessing
Posts: 12860 | From: The Valley of Crocuses | Registered: May 2001
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pererin
Shipmate
# 16956
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Posted
Just goes to show its long-established usage as perfectly fine British English. ![[Razz]](tongue.gif)
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Posts: 446 | From: Llantrisant | Registered: Feb 2012
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The Rogue
Shipmate
# 2275
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Posted
My memory is that right of way is just that - having the right to proceed. In the UK drivers of cars, lorries, buses etc don't have that right on the public road (is it still the Queen's Highway?) - they buy it via the Road Fund Licence. Cyclists and pedestrians do. Not sure how the freedom to roam legislation from a few years ago fits into that. I am happy to be proved wrong on this if I am.
As a driving instructor I used to talk about who has priority. And, of course, how to spot those times when, even if the rules give you priority, some dickhead may have decided to steal it from you.
These days if someone else wants to drive like a twat I find the best reaction is to smugly congratulate myself on spotting them before I get caught up in it and then tell myself that if it takes me a few seconds longer to arrive because of it then that really isn't a problem. Getting wound up behind the wheel/handlebars never improves your own driving.
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If everyone starts thinking outside the box does outside the box come back inside?
Posts: 2507 | From: Toton | Registered: Feb 2002
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Spike
Mostly Harmless
# 36
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by The Rogue:
... Road Fund Licence ...
Vehicle Excise Duty
quote:
As a driving instructor I used to talk about who has priority. And, of course, how to spot those times when, even if the rules give you priority, some dickhead may have decided to steal it from you.
That is the difference between "Priority" and "Right of Way". Priority must be given and, as you say, if the other road user doesn't give you priority, be prepared to give way. Right of Way implies that the other driver must give way, no matter what.
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"May you get to heaven before the devil knows you're dead" - Irish blessing
Posts: 12860 | From: The Valley of Crocuses | Registered: May 2001
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mousethief
Ship's Thieving Rodent
# 953
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Lucia:
Priority? Here in Tunisia the one who has priority is the one who takes it without flinching, regardless of any official rules.
This is almost the rule in Chicago. The rule in Chicago is, whoever is caught making eye contact first loses. If I look at you and you are already looking at me, I get the right of way. It's a bizarre system and takes some getting used to.
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This is the last sig I'll ever write for you...
Posts: 63536 | From: Washington | Registered: Jul 2001
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ExclamationMark
Shipmate
# 14715
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Posted
There are rules in driving? Well, I never knew that.
Posts: 3845 | From: A new Jerusalem | Registered: Apr 2009
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Jane R
Shipmate
# 331
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Posted
There are 2 rules in driving:
1. Don't kill anyone.
2. Try not to hit anything.
Many people drive as if these rules were optional; perhaps because they learned to drive by playing video games.
FWIW I too was taught to deal with roundabouts in the same way - by a driving instructor, and I passed my test first time, so don't blame my parents. My driving instructor told me to give way to someone who is approaching the roundabout at the same time as me from my right.
I do like the terminology the Americans use, though - instead of 'Give Way' they say 'Yield'. It makes me think of Douglas Fairbanks and Basil Rathbone having a sword-fight. 'Yield! Yield, knave!'
Posts: 3958 | From: Jorvik | Registered: May 2001
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Karl: Liberal Backslider
Shipmate
# 76
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Posted
Road fund? Didn't that get killed off in about 1950?
Pedantry - maybe - but when on a bike you've had a few drivers express the view that they can drive in a manner that risks your life because you "don't pay road tax" and "don't pay for the road", you start to get prickly.
Reality - there is no hypothecation, no "road tax" or "road fund" that pays for any roads. VED goes into the general taxation pot. Trunk roads and motorways - which cyclists don't very much or can't use - are paid for out of general taxation. Most roads are maintained by the local authority. Everyone pays for them out of council tax.
It is correct, however, that cyclists, pedestrians and horse riders use the roads as of right. Motorists are there under licence.
[ 27. September 2013, 08:37: Message edited by: Karl: Liberal Backslider ]
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Might as well ask the bloody cat.
Posts: 17938 | From: Chesterfield | Registered: May 2001
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iamchristianhearmeroar
Shipmate
# 15483
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Spike
And the worst offenders are the parents in their 4X4s who then park on the zig zag lines outside the school, while justifying their choice of ridiculous car with the claim that they need to keep their children safe.
The worst thing about those awful "Chelsea tractor" status symbols is that they have such a wide track width that they can zoom straight over the top of many of the traffic calming devices.
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My blog: http://alastairnewman.wordpress.com/
Posts: 642 | From: London, UK | Registered: Feb 2010
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Moo
Ship's tough old bird
# 107
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Posted
I have seen bumper stickers that say
VISUALIZE USING YOUR TURN SIGNALS
Moo
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See you later, alligator.
Posts: 20365 | From: Alleghany Mountains of Virginia | Registered: May 2001
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Lucia
Looking for light
# 15201
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Ariel:
The roads in Britain are full of idiots who can't be bothered to follow the rules and we get a lot of them round here. However, they pale into insignificance in some parts of the world where traffic lights and pedestrian crossings are mostly just decorative, and the figures on a speed limit sign are there to tell you the minimum speed you should be going at.
Ah, you've visited Tunisia then? Traffic lights, one way streets, pedestrian crossings? Merely suggestions to be ignored if they in anyway inconvenience you. And throw in on top the fact that the pedestrian is king here and they just step into the road in front of you even when you are moving at speed and it is your job to avoid them however stupid they have just been.
[ 27. September 2013, 11:18: Message edited by: Lucia ]
Posts: 1075 | From: Nigh golden stone and spires | Registered: Oct 2009
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Lucia
Looking for light
# 15201
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by mousethief:
quote:
Originally posted by Lucia:
Priority? Here in Tunisia the one who has priority is the one who takes it without flinching, regardless of any official rules.
This is almost the rule in Chicago. The rule in Chicago is, whoever is caught making eye contact first loses. If I look at you and you are already looking at me, I get the right of way. It's a bizarre system and takes some getting used to.
So everyone studiously ignores each other while pulling straight out? Great...
Posts: 1075 | From: Nigh golden stone and spires | Registered: Oct 2009
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LeRoc
Famous Dutch pirate
# 3216
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Posted
quote:
mousethief: This is almost the rule in Chicago. The rule in Chicago is, whoever is caught making eye contact first loses. If I look at you and you are already looking at me, I get the right of way. It's a bizarre system and takes some getting used to.
In Brazil, the windows of most cars are darkened to such a degree that it isn't possible to see the other driver.
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I know why God made the rhinoceros, it's because He couldn't see the rhinoceros, so He made the rhinoceros to be able to see it. (Clarice Lispector)
Posts: 9474 | From: Brazil / Africa | Registered: Aug 2002
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Lucia
Looking for light
# 15201
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Posted
Oh and while I'm at it having a rant about people's driving here my pet hate is the complete inability to drive junctions properly in heavy traffic. The number of time I have sat in grid locked traffic because people impatiently push into the junction when there is a queue on their route out of it. So they end up totally blocking the junction. OK you impatient idiot, you have moved a few feet forward but you aren't actually going anywhere and now neither can any of the rest of us!
Posts: 1075 | From: Nigh golden stone and spires | Registered: Oct 2009
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BroJames
Shipmate
# 9636
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Jane R:
My driving instructor told me to give way to someone who is approaching the roundabout at the same time as me from my right.
It leaves a logical problem though for two motorists who approach a roundabout from opposite directions, each indicating to turn to the right, since each is equally "to the right of" the other.
It is a little like the advice allegedly given once by a magistrate to a motorist that when driving on full headlights one should always wait for the other driver to dip theirs before dipping one's own!
Posts: 3374 | From: UK | Registered: Jun 2005
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Karl: Liberal Backslider
Shipmate
# 76
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by BroJames:
quote:
Originally posted by Jane R:
My driving instructor told me to give way to someone who is approaching the roundabout at the same time as me from my right.
It leaves a logical problem though for two motorists who approach a roundabout from opposite directions, each indicating to turn to the right, since each is equally "to the right of" the other.
It is a little like the advice allegedly given once by a magistrate to a motorist that when driving on full headlights one should always wait for the other driver to dip theirs before dipping one's own!
No problem at all. They enter at the same time, are on opposite sides all the way round, and leave at the same time.
The problem only comes in with mini roundabouts when idiots drive across them instead of around them.
(for those benighted souls who've been misinformed about mini roundabouts, https://www.gov.uk/using-the-road-159-to-203/roundabouts-184-to-190 - rule 188. Note the MUST which means there's a law mandating this rule)
Similarly, if one is approaching a roundabout and will enter it at the same time as a motorist approaching from the other direction, signalling to turn right, you should be safe to enter. You're not of course, because odds on it's driven by a complete tit who will cut across it straight at you.
[ 27. September 2013, 11:43: Message edited by: Karl: Liberal Backslider ]
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Might as well ask the bloody cat.
Posts: 17938 | From: Chesterfield | Registered: May 2001
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Golden Key
Shipmate
# 1468
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Posted
For comparison, here's the California Driver Handbook. Right of way rules are under Laws and Rules of the Road.
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Blessed Gator, pray for us!
--"Oh bat bladders, do you have to bring common sense into this?" (Dragon, "Jane & the Dragon")
--"Oh, Peace Train, save this country!" (Yusuf/Cat Stevens, "Peace Train")
Posts: 18601 | From: Chilling out in an undisclosed, sincere pumpkin patch. | Registered: Oct 2001
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Coffee Cup
Shipmate
# 13506
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Golden Key:
For comparison, here's the California Driver Handbook. Right of way rules are under Laws and Rules of the Road.
Which at roundabouts contains the very bland requirement that
quote:
Vehicles entering or exiting the roundabout must yield to all traffic including pedestrians.
Which should be considered jointly with the fact that even though you have a green light there is no reason that the pedestrians crossing the road do not also have a green light (white illuminated man)...
Posts: 66 | From: UK | Registered: Mar 2008
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BroJames
Shipmate
# 9636
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Karl: Liberal Backslider:
No problem at all. They enter at the same time, are on opposite sides all the way round, and leave at the same time.
The problem only comes in with mini roundabouts when idiots drive across them instead of around them.
Or when the length of one or both the vehicles or the very small size of the mini roundabout is such that each vehicle is then prevented from turning right by the rear end of the other vehicle. In that case someone has to give way by not entering the roundabout. For this situation the advice of the highway code is just that you should give way if it will avoid an accident - which both drivers sometimes proceed to do.
Posts: 3374 | From: UK | Registered: Jun 2005
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Karl: Liberal Backslider
Shipmate
# 76
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by BroJames:
quote:
Originally posted by Karl: Liberal Backslider:
No problem at all. They enter at the same time, are on opposite sides all the way round, and leave at the same time.
The problem only comes in with mini roundabouts when idiots drive across them instead of around them.
Or when the length of one or both the vehicles or the very small size of the mini roundabout is such that each vehicle is then prevented from turning right by the rear end of the other vehicle. In that case someone has to give way by not entering the roundabout. For this situation the advice of the highway code is just that you should give way if it will avoid an accident - which both drivers sometimes proceed to do.
Can't say that's ever happened to me. I think this is a case where eye contact needs to be made. It's not really that different to unmarked junctions where there's no priority assumed.
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Might as well ask the bloody cat.
Posts: 17938 | From: Chesterfield | Registered: May 2001
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RuthW
liberal "peace first" hankie squeezer
# 13
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Coffee Cup:
quote:
Originally posted by Golden Key:
For comparison, here's the California Driver Handbook. Right of way rules are under Laws and Rules of the Road.
Which at roundabouts contains the very bland requirement that
quote:
Vehicles entering or exiting the roundabout must yield to all traffic including pedestrians.
Which should be considered jointly with the fact that even though you have a green light there is no reason that the pedestrians crossing the road do not also have a green light (white illuminated man)...
In California there typically aren't any streetlights at roundabouts. Here's a photo of the biggest traffic circle in my town. Two or three lanes of traffic feed in from each road into a circle with no lane markers, with no streetlights, no stop signs, and no crosswalks -- just yield signs for the cars. Pedestrians and cyclists just avoid the whole thing.
Posts: 24453 | From: La La Land | Registered: Apr 2001
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pererin
Shipmate
# 16956
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Posted
The nearest roundabout to me is a similar design nightmare for pedestrians (GSV link). It combines the following fantastic safety features:
- a 70mph speed limit
- a biggish radius and straight two-lane exits to maximize exit speed
- pedestrian crossing provision on the entrances and exits, but with vehicular priority
- an enormous berm in the middle of the roundabout so that pedestrians in the middle of any of the arms can't see if they're about to be wiped out by someone exiting the roundabout at high speed
It would be hard to design more of a deathtrap. Fortunately, the ambulance would only have a 30-second drive to the nearest A&E, so anyone getting run over stands some chance of being brought round.
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"They go to and fro in the evening, they grin like a dog, and run about through the city." (Psalm 59.6)
Posts: 446 | From: Llantrisant | Registered: Feb 2012
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LeRoc
Famous Dutch pirate
# 3216
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Posted
I think all roundabouts should be like this ![[Snigger]](graemlins/snigger.gif)
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Posts: 9474 | From: Brazil / Africa | Registered: Aug 2002
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Ariel
Shipmate
# 58
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by LeRoc:
I think all roundabouts should be like this
Apparently learner drivers in Swindon have the highest failure rate in Britain in driving tests. This is basically because examiners usually like to make them attempt the Magic Roundabout (as shown in the photo).
Posts: 25445 | Registered: May 2001
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