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Getting to actually apply Dr. Katz's Transportation Engineering class finally. But I'm squinting like Jameis Winston at that graphic though.
I didn't say it explicitly in my posts above, but you make a great point about how you can't predict the actions of other drivers on a roundabout. It takes away the efficiency when you can't anticipate what other drivers are going to do. That causes hesitation and as my dad always said "He who hesitates, loses"
I won't argue that the physical design of roundabouts isn't superior to standard intersections. Clearly there are less 'conflict points' and that makes sense. But at an intersection with traffic lights, inattentive drivers who don't obey lights are the exact same risk as inattentive drivers who don't know/observe the rules of a roundabout. Traffic lights are pretty well known and understood by all drivers across the country. We're taught how to navigate intersections with traffic lights in driver courses before receiving our licenses. I never learned much about roundabouts in my course. There is much less emphasis on it. I haven't been on the roundabout we're discussing in blacksburg in quite a long time but IIRC there aren't very clear signs indicating which lane you need to be in if you know which road you want to be on as you're approaching the circle. The circle works great for people who are familiar with it (locals) but it's useless to anybody who is driving on it for the first time ever. That is poor design in my mind.
I think that particular one is more dangerous, not because of it's design, but because while it's safe to assume all drivers understand traffic lights, not all drivers understand that roundabout. Uneducated drivers (like myself apparently) are more of a risk.
I also think that the circles are much safer in theory, but in practice they're flawed. No matter how much designing you do you just can't count on all drivers to understand them and use them correctly. Traffic lights are pretty clear cut and the few rules they have are pretty well enforced. I don't know if you can be pulled over for changing lanes in a roundabout(?) Drivers are more hazardous to other drivers if they don't understand where they should be or where they need to go.
I suppose eventually, if roundabouts are covered as extensively as traffic lights are in driver education courses, we'll get to a point where a majority of drivers understand them and use them correctly. I just think the 'modern' design over complicates the concept. They might have less conflict points but they require a lot more knowledge going into them, and if you don't have the information you need you become a risk to other drivers.
I'm going to have to call him YoshiThePoet from now on. Or just Yoshi. That's a slick nickname.
My original X-Box is finally giving out. -- It's technically my 3rd one: 1st got sent back to Game Stop a few days after I received it because it was overheating during extended play and they sent me a replacement, then a couple years ago I bought my friends old X-Box, a couple games, and extra controllers for around $25 (mainly so I'd have a back up DVD drive), then the 2nd one's power supply got fried by lightening during the Tornadoes a couple years ago (along with the power supplies in both my parent's and my desktop). The power button stopped working a while back, though the eject button still works, and now the DVD drive is starting to go as well. -- So I'll probably make the jump to a 360 in the next couple months, the only original xbox games I own that won't work on it are NCAA 03 and 07. And I've missed playing KotOR/KotoR2, never finished Ninja Gaiden Black, SC: Pandora Tomorrow, and didn't even start SC: Chaos Theory. Add in all the 360 games I'd like to play: All the Halos after Halo 2 (started 3 on a friends 360, but didn't get too far in), Fable 2, Oblivion & Skyrim to mention a few. I'm eying up the $140 deal on Gamestop that includes 6 games, probably have to get a bigger hard drive as well though.
coooooool
I tried repeatedly
time to drop some civil knowledge (See mom i am learning something in college :)
all the ones in blacksburg are technically roundabouts, not traffic circles. roundabouts are much smaller than traffic circles and give right of way to traffic inside. below is a nice chart explaining differences. traffic circles stopped being built in the 60s cause they ARE dangerous (think Dupont Circle in DC and Columbus Circle in NYC). studies have shown that roundabouts in their modern form (of which the design at prices fork and north main is one) are much much safer than signalized intersections in terms of number of and severity of accidents and drastically increase traffic flow/efficiency. basically the number of conflict points is dropped from 32 to 8 (and all T-bone potentials are eliminated). of course this is an ideal situation and people just dont know how to use them. in a roundabout YOURE NOT SUPPOSED TO CHANGE LANES INSIDE IT. you get in appropriate lane upon approach
because of all this, VDOT has actually taken the following position:
VDOT recognizes that Roundabouts are frequently able to address the above
safety and operational objectives better than other types of intersections in both
urban and rural environments and on high-speed and low-speed highways.
Therefore, it is VDOT policy that Roundabouts be considered when a project
includes reconstructing or constructing new intersection(s), signalized or
unsignalized. The Engineer shall provide an analysis of each intersection to
determine if a Roundabout is a feasible alternative based on site constraints,
including right of way, environmental factors and other design constraints. The
advantages and disadvantages of constructing a Roundabout shall be documented
for each intersection. When the analysis shows that a Roundabout is a feasible
alternative, it should be considered the Departments preferred alternative
due to the proven substantial safety and operational benefits
heres some. theres a good amount out there. i just pulled these off of google
http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/safety/roundabouts/benefits.htm
http://www.tjpdc.org/pdf/29H250/report/29H250_roundabouts.pdf
They're not going to do it.
There's not enough time and no money in the budget for a new helmet in the next 10 days.
I would be interested to see those studies...I would argue that a lack of understanding is more dangerous than the physical layout of the circle itself. That being said...
I think the modern design over complicates the concept which leads to people misunderstanding how to properly use them...Maybe I'm just an old fashioned dummy but I don't like how part of the 'round about' at north main is one lane and part of it is 2 lanes. The squiggly arrows aren't helpful to me either. You're throwing too much information at a driver in a situation where there isn't enough time to digest said info and navigate the circle properly. If you're driving from out-of-town and it's the first time you've ever seen the circle you can end up going the wrong way off of it.
In the olden days if you're lost you can just keep going around the circle all day until you know where you need to go and then you can exit. Let's say you need to go towards prices fork and you're in the right lane as you get to the circle from main (heading north)...well now you're stuck going further north on main street before you knew what happened.
Kendall has to stay at least 2 more years before he's eligible for the draft. So we've got that going for us.
Damn, this is sad news - it's a shame we won't be able to enjoy watching Kyle play another game at Virginia Tech. Hopefully, Kendall stays at least another year so we can continue to enjoy the Fuller family tradition of defensive excellence.
Remember, it's
not
I'd be cool if VT just had one maroon helmet
Albemarle HS
Ackbar would make a better DC than mascot, he knows how to recognize a trap.
It doesn't show up on iPad.
Case in point: Hand switching from engineering to sports marketing. If he avoids injury and goes on to the NFL, he likely won't need his degree anyway. But it's sad to see anyone giving up an academic dream for an average 3-5 year career. Not that every person dreams of, or should get, a college education, but the culture of "academics don't matter" is pervasive.
Hopefully I didn't offend any marketing majors; not my intent.
The people that wear short skirts and/or short sleeve shirts and thin material then complain about it being cold and crank the heat. They could add a sweater but no, that would be unfashionable.
oh your absolutely right. small town folk arent taught how to use them, and generally dont have a ton of experience with them.
they stress me out man. every time i approach one and its busy i'm all
and then when i get out of it
you grew up in charlotesville, what high school did you got to?
Oregon
Minnesota
aTm
UCLA
Missouri
Baylor
As a motorcycle enthusiast, I hate them because the normally idiotic car drivers are even more unpredictable on traffic circles.
I avoid them if at all possible. I will take a longer route to avoid them.
This is 2013! Where are the freaking flying cars?! At least some are trying to alleviate our congested roads:
Oregon cuz, well Oregon
Whiskey cuz I love smashmouth run teams
LSU cuz they play a lot better at home, just like aTm
UCLA cuz the States of AZ and NM are football wastelands
Ole Miss cuz they play well at home too
Baylor cuz I'm a Baptist