rumrunn6

I don't know, I think MA must be a breeding ground for them. they're all over the freakin' place eek

burnthesheep

I've had it happen also. Idiots gonna idiot. There's yields here for entering roundabouts. Meaning you don't stop if your path is clear. Same for car or bike. Just because an idiot in the circle sees someone coming like that and stops doesn't mean you did anything wrong.

The only thing I've tried to do better is anticipate the gap by slowing further up road from the circle so the person can't do the idiotic stopping in the circle thing. But, that's "bonus" to do that. Not a requirement or not even "good practice" in my mind.

The other thing in the US is the idiotic wild west 4-way stop standoff. If a car has right of way, freaking go. I'm tired of cars either racing me to the 4-way stop "because they're a bike" or instead being "too nice" and waving you on when they long had the right of way and could have been gone thus allowing a casual no-stop 5mph roll thru on your part.

Arrrghhhh.

Reflector Guy

My dad was one of those drivers. He'd be cruising down some main road and he'd hit the brakes and stop for every random pedestrian or kid on a bike in the middle of the block. It's a miracle he never got rear-ended.

gringomojado

"Who wants to slow down"?
gm

Random11

I'm the OP. No close call in my case. Both of us stopped and there was no threat of a collision. It was just an annoyance, which as I said in my initial post may have been at least partly my fault for riding too aggressively as I approached the roundabout. As roundabouts go, the one on my ride is low-risk. It is one lane, and I exit on the road just after I enter (no chance for someone driving into me trying to enter the roundabout). One annoyance is that I'm in a high gear approaching the roundabout, and my abrupt stop leaves me trying to start up again in too high a gear.

Random11

Good suggestion. The irony is that I chose this route to avoid another road that presented bike/automobile conflicts.

friday1970

And pints! We do like our pints.
Then again, a half-liter sized mug isn't so bad either. A full liter stein...yeah....eliminates any need for half-liters or silly small pints.

Darth Lefty 

My objection to roundabouts really isn't about bikes or cars. They are great for cars and tolerable for bikes. The biggest problem is for the people who use crosswalks, especially the handicapped. The crosswalks are placed outside the circle across the lanes. Drivers coming in are concentrating on the merge, drivers coming out are accelerating in relief. Someone who is legally blind or very slow just has to step out and pray anyone who comes is going to stop.

Erzulis Boat 

I dare you to drive in Slovenia.

Miele Man

The roundabouts in Waterloo Region in Ontario, Canada have the pedestrian crossings in a bout the worst possible place. As you said drivers are either concentrating on the merge or speeding up to exit. I've seen many very close calls where a pedestrian or pedestrians were nearly hit.

In some locales roundabouts near schools were not implemented because where roundabouts were near schools, some students were struck and killed by motor vehicles.

Also, if a roundabout is going to have a narrow radius then do NOT put high landscaping in t he middle of it that obstructs the view across the roundabout.

Cheers

Darth Lefty 

Not a problem in the USA, we all drive monster trucks (or at least that's how the rest of the world thinks of us)

rumrunn6

in similar situations I'll go into it with chain in the middle front & middle rear gears, then I can drop the rear (into progressively higher gears) quickly & easily during acceleration

kahn

I think that round-a-bouts need metric speed limits to complete the picture.

canklecat

Some clever wag coined the term "niceholes" for those well-meaning folks who slow or stop to wave us through... into the path of reckless and impatient drivers.

canklecat

Part of the problem I've seen with roundabouts here in Fort Worth is good intentions hobbled by poor design.

Roundabouts need some visual cues to drivers that they can't simply blast through the intersection. Often the visual cue is something like a fountain, sculpture, low hedges, etc.

The problem is when designers get fancy and install objects that block sightlines across the roundabout and to the sides -- especially those suburban "trees" planted like dutiful soldiers to obstruct sightlines between the road and sidewalks, corners, etc.

There are a few major multi-lane roundabouts here that have been around for decades, and most drivers understand how to navigate them. But the sightlines aren't obstructed with unnecessary decorative clutter.

But some of the single lane roundabouts in residential neighborhoods are too fancy, with obstructions in the middle of the roundabout, dense tree cover and other clutter along the sides.

Our city could have extensive, safe MUPs along some busy thoroughfares if they'd eliminated the gratuitous sidewalks with tree soldiers and grassy side strips, and just built a proper, wide multi-use path, free of visual obstructions at critical junctures, and proper merge lanes for drivers to safely slow and cross the MUPs where absolutely necessary.

But, noooooo...

rsbob 

My first publication during undergrad was a study in Bicycling Magazine conducted on roundabouts. The conclusions were, far fewer collisions, smoothed and aided traffic flow, were highly effective alternatives to 4 way stops. Only single lane intersections were studied.

I ride one regularly in my town and the only time it gets dangerous is during the Summer tourist season. As a general rule, I trust no one to do the right thing. Too many idiots with, and without, licenses. Just about got hit by a moron in my car by a guy who didn’t yield. At least protected in that.

Badger6

Because most Americans even after 10-15 years of roundabout popping up (only in urban areas), most still don't grasp how to use them.

TiHabanero

"I think that round-a-bouts need metric speed limits to complete the picture."
Great observation, kahn. I noticed it, too.

Metieval

Try making the appearance of stopping. Like putting a foot down.

Either that or time it with a bit more gap. I had people do that to me when I was driving. Maybe they just clueless to yielding.

We got our first rural roundabout 5 years ago, and these people still don't know how to drive it. I might be the only one to bicycle it.

trailangel

Don't tailgate in the roundabout..... it's not a raceway.

urbanknight

Sometimes motorists are overly polite to cyclists. If I got a dime for every time a driver stopped and waited for me to go through a stop sign... maybe it's because so many cyclists run it that they are just anticipating... but I find the unusual and unpredictable behavior to be more dangerous than just following the rules which are designed to keep us all safe in the first place.

Badger6

That only works in countries where people use the metric system. In "moon rock " land, it would only be more confusing...well, I'm off to the bar for my Friday evening social, to buy beer in metric sizes and talk about our metric length race tomorrow in a land that uses metrics even in roundabouts. The rest of you, good luck....

SteveG23

You have to expect such ridiculous behavior sometimes, considering that even without roundabouts (which, as others have said, many US drivers just don't understand), some drivers will stop at an intersection and essentially insist that you go first, even when you have a stop sign and they don't. (I have had this happen numerous times and it's really frustrating, especially since the driver may or may not be making eye contact and waving signals, but usually I can't see through the glare on the windshield.)

Some drivers just don't understand that predictably following right-of-way (and other traffic) rules is best for *all* parties on the road. Yielding the right of way when the other driver is behaving aggressively or erratically is generally a good idea; but not when both drivers (riders) can be expected to behave themselves and keep traffic flowing along.

gregplo

I've tried to read through the thread, and haven't seen anyone state specifically that, by law, vehicles already in the roundabout have the right of way. Unfortunately, there are still too many drivers who don't understand that concept in my area and just barrel into the roundabout without slowing very much at all. I see close calls about 75% of the time. Unfortunately, we have had a lot of roundabouts added to our local roadways in the past few years.

Based on what the OP stated, they did not slow much other than to attempt to enter at a speed that would place them behind the car...the driver was probably startled when they detected the movement of something smaller than a car or truck in their peripheral vision.

BobT1962

I have has similar issues as we had a roundabout just outside of our community. It was bad enough with auto drivers not knowing what to do in this 2 lane round about so you can imagine how bad if you are on 2 wheels. There have been numerous motorcycle accidents in this one roundabout also. I usually play it this way when I have to enter if there is too much traffic I either stop and wait, medium traffic some times cant make it all the way around I take the first exit and re-plan my trip usually not a big deal, if no traffic or very light i go for it. Remember this is a 2 lane roundabout so if I need to take 2nd or 3rd exit I have to get into the middle then back to the outside. It can be very nerve wracking.