State of Virginia has the street zigzag line markings found in the UK

[supton]

Roundabouts have been proven time after time to be more efficient for traffic flow. The only issue with them is the drivers.

Isn't that a bit like the old line, "other than that, how was the play Mrs Lincoln"? I mean, there's very few driver-less cars going through them, and hopefully very few moose.

We have a couple near my house, and I like them. I don't like the one in Brattleboro, as it's two lanes around it. It's supposed to be, outer lane is for people making an immediate right. Problem is, the circle is like 100' diam total, and for a long time, people would stay in the outer lane and not take the first right. Then you had people in the center lane needing to get out and make their turn... I think it got better, but it was a mess for a while--you really had no idea who was going to do what when you got into it. Maybe that is the point, going back to the video up above--make driving "harder" and then everyone goes slower, and more cautiously.

 

[Barkleymut]

I haven't seen them in N.VA near DC. I don't go on every road from DC to Fredericksburg though.

None in Richmond either

 

[Aredeeem]

No see, this is literally the point though. Most driving is subconscious, these subtle cues like narrowing of the road, whether actual or illusory because of the lines sends signals to said subconscious brain that it should be paying more attention at this part. This is a proven method to improve road safety- just something good that like roundabouts, haven't become popular in the US until recent years.

Yes, I do see the subconscious part. Perhaps a phone app that alerts you to an approaching lane reconfiguration while you have your head down texting. Dumb drivers will always defeat smart engineers.

No see, this is literally the point though. Most driving is subconscious, these subtle cues like narrowing of the road, whether actual or illusory because of the lines sends signals to said subconscious brain that it should be paying more attention at this part. This is a proven method to improve road safety- just something good that like roundabouts, haven't become popular in the US until recent years.

 

[bbhero]

Something like 80% of all stoplights/4 way stops in the US could be replaced with roundabouts and it would drastically reduce travel time. Most people who complain about them do so because they aren't used to them. There's a reason they are starting to become more popular now here.

I do t mind them however…. 70 percent of people don’t know how to utilize them in the correct way… Thus leading to stupid situations happening.

 

[bbhero]

Something like 80% of all stoplights/4 way stops in the US could be replaced with roundabouts and it would drastically reduce travel time. Most people who complain about them do so because they aren't used to them. There's a reason they are starting to become more popular now here.

I put these in line with the magical flashing left turn yellow lights here… Can be good and helpful.

But it requires way, way too much trust and faith in people making the right decisions.

 

[jonnied1]

It's an optical illusion. It creates the illusion the road narrows, which makes people unconsciously slow down and signals to them they need to pay more attention. This is the perfect example of road design we DON'T use in the US. In the US we build a road and then slap a speed limit on it and expect people to follow it. This is why speeding is such a problem on city streets, the streets are designed for a speed of 45+mph but the speed limit is 30 or less. People drive how fast they feel comfortable driving. In Europe they use tricks like this, and actually narrowing the roads at crosswalks to force people to slow down. It's all about making the subconscious part of the brain that handles most of the driving tasks want to drive slower and triggering the response to actually pay more attention.

Here's a good video on the topic.