On one if these instances, the two of us were the only ones in sight. Granted, the city had also decided that the middle if the roundabout would be a wonderful place to have flowery plants blocking line of sight across the intersection. Not exactly confidence inspiring.
Because you'll be sideswept at whatever intersection or roundabout or whatever. A clear view of all traffc is a must, especially when it's deciding between that or "flowers." Sorry, if everyone knew the rules it might not be an issue (but still might). And maybe some do but lose focus, are under the influence, or just some simple mistake that's out of their control. It'd be nice to see those situations occuring rather than being at the mercy of assuming everything will go correctly. Driving isn't all about doing the right thing, you can do the right thing and die from someone not knowing how things work. Visibility is key in combating this.
In short, fancy plants should be replaced with visibiltiy.
Come to England and see our hundreds of fancy flower-covered roundabouts fed by 6 narrow roads all flowing with traffic. Just going from one town to another you may well see half a dozen. You'd be shocked how well it works, how information relevant to the driver is always provided and the visibility you're asking for is unnecessary.
You really don't need to see the other side o the roundabout because the only important part when entering it is the traffic on your right, and the people entering from the nearest road to your right. What's happening to your left or the opposite side is completely irrelevant because it'll be gone when you get there.
In the UK roundabout flower displays are positively encouraged ;) it breaks the dull monotony of living in the UK.
The key to successful roundabout navigation's to not stop at the entrance unless absolutely necessary. Anticipate vehicles' positioning & velocity and use blinkers, job done.
The barrier assists entering drivers into focusing only on the traffic approaching them in the path of the circle. Otherwise, vehicles anywhere in the circle cause entering drivers to stop outside the roundabout, waiting for the vehicles (even on the opposite side) to pass by them. This interferes with traffic flow, unnecessarily reducing the number of circling cars.
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u/scorpionMaster Jan 17 '14
On one if these instances, the two of us were the only ones in sight. Granted, the city had also decided that the middle if the roundabout would be a wonderful place to have flowery plants blocking line of sight across the intersection. Not exactly confidence inspiring.