America - The Official Thread
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Joey D
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Yup, but those are more expensive and take up more room and resources. Plus, I'm not keen on there being any more overpasses in Michigan since we can't seem to maintain the ones we have. I can't remember the number, but the amount of elevated road structures in Michigan that are considered in poor condition is alarmingly high.
While I certainly like roundabouts and think they work pretty well, the number of drivers that can't seem to navigate them makes them dangerous in my opinion. People don't use their signals, stay in the correct lane, or just come to a complete stop instead of just yielding to traffic. I wish people knew what they were doing though because I can think of several intersections within a 5 mile radius that would be better served with a roundabout.
One thing I do question about roundabouts is with semi-trucks. I know in Europe, semis are considerably different than they are in the US with the biggest difference being that cab-over trucks are the norm in Europe while they've been more or less phased out in America. The turning radius on an American semi is much larger due to the considerable length of the tractor.
Keef
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You're not supposed to be able to see "oncoming" cars on the roads, because they might not be oncoming at all. You're basically only supposed to look to the left (right in weird places like the UK) to see who effects you within the roundabout. What I mean by visibility is that you're not stopped in a queue looking at the rear of whoever is front of you. At a roundabout you've got a little more room to scan who is meandering into the roundabout several car lengths before you'd have that opportunity at a four-way. At a two-way stop especially those annoying bushes or signs at the corner create a high-stakes situation where that car doesn't have to slow down at all, but they also might slow down to turn, and they might not use their blinker, who knows what might happen. At a roundabout everybody has to do the exact same thing regardless of whether they're going straight or turning, and no turn signal is required at all.
EDIT: @Britons @Scaff @Hayden @Famine what is your turn signal etiquette at roundabouts? Do you signal left and right if that will be your final destination based on the four-way shape?
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Keef
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Americans will never be able to figure this out.
It makes sense, but honestly roundabout driving techniques still cover a massive spectrum here. You've got the timids who are way to slow and you've got the aggressives who can be unpredictable. The former doesn't have the capacity to indicate because they don't know what they're doing yet and the latter doesn't have time to indicate because by the time anybody else can process what they might be doing they've already done it and are gone. Surprisingly few people fit in a happy medium, I swear it's a reverse bell curve. Like @Exorcet says, it probably does make our roundabouts a bit more intense than other parts of the world where decent etiquette is more widely known.
So far I haven't used my indicator at all. Not much time is spent in our little roundybouts and I don't think anybody would process it correctly anyway. I go in, I go out, and hopefully nobody else screws that up. Just ten more seconds without totalling my car, please.
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Roundabouts are great when there's no other traffic and frustrating when you're stuck behind someone very slow. At least the multi-lane roundabouts provide some passing opportunities, but there's not as many of those (Wisconsin seems to have a number of them). Maybe places that have enough curvy routes don't really appreciate them but they can be a welcome respite in places with loads of section line roads, waffle grids, or flat places.
Despite most claims, I don't really see any more bad driving from a roundabout / traffic circle than a traditional four-way stop. Yes, there's vids of people going the wrong way and idiots bolting straight through them. That can happen at a four-way stop, as well. The worst thing about them – like most traffic control – is that they do not favor the exceptionally timid and the exceedingly arrogant ruins it for everyone else.
Despite most claims, I don't really see any more bad driving from a roundabout / traffic circle than a traditional four-way stop. Yes, there's vids of people going the wrong way and idiots bolting straight through them. That can happen at a four-way stop, as well. The worst thing about them – like most traffic control – is that they do not favor the exceptionally timid and the exceedingly arrogant ruins it for everyone else.
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If it's a four-way roundabout and you picture it as a clock face with you joining it at 6 o'clock, indicating left means you're exiting at 9 o'clock, not indicating means you're exiting at 12 o'clock, and indicating right means you're exiting either at 3 o'clock or back at 6 o'clock. You also have to indicate left at when you approach your exit road road if you weren't already. and you have to take the inside lane (if it's a two-lane roundabout) if you're exiting at 3 o'clock or 6 o'clock, unless directed otherwise.
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When I mentioned I drove B doubles before, I probably could’ve been a bit more specific. My last boss in transport had a real affinity for bonneted Kenworths similar to this one.
You’re right in saying the turning circle is a lot worse than cabover euro trucks, but as before, it is still perfectly manageable with properly designed roundabouts. Choose your line, drop the inside tyres onto the middle concrete and you’ll be fine.
Which would have to lead to 2 people doing it at the same time and ending up in a T Bone on a pretty regular basis. Just seems to be a really weird system to use when the rest of the world can work a roundabout without too much drama.
Famine explained it well, but was being conscious of roundabouts with lots of extra exits. On a traditional 4 road roundabout it’s easy.
Going straight - no indicator
Going right - right indicator
Going left - left indicator
Doing U turn - right indicator to turn around, then left to indicate off when you’re at your exit. This will be flipped for your counter-clockwise setups.
Simples.
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Well his plan has failed. He's mad that Twitter is holding him to the fire to actually complete the deal he said he would do.
Either we will see a completed deal in a few weeks, or the lawsuit will continue and Musk's stalling will have been for naught.
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy...l-claims-twitter-wont-take-yes-for-an-answer/
CodeRedR51
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Joey D
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And you know this how? Because you know Elon and think he's some upstanding person? The dude is a major asshole who doesn't care about you or even cares if you exist. There's no reason to simp over a jackass billionaire.
As of right now it looks like he might be a little light on funds and at least one of the banks isn't in communication with Musk:
Explainer: How Elon Musk funded the $44 billion Twitter deal
Elon Musk on Thursday closed the $44 billion deal announced in April to take Twitter Inc private and took ownership of the influential social media platform by firing top executives immediately.
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Scaff
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Twitter and its shareholders know they have him screwed, and I'm quite happy about that.And you know this how? Because you know Elon and think he's some upstanding person? The dude is a major asshole who doesn't care about you or even cares if you exist. There's no reason to simp over a jackass billionaire.
As of right now it looks like he might be a little light on funds and at least one of the banks isn't in communication with Musk:
Explainer: How Elon Musk funded the $44 billion Twitter deal
Elon Musk on Thursday closed the $44 billion deal announced in April to take Twitter Inc private and took ownership of the influential social media platform by firing top executives immediately.www.reuters.com
It's highly likely the investors he had in place will pull out, he will have to get rid of the majority, if not all, of his Tesla stock (which will be nothing but good news for Tesla), and he will be left holding Twitter, worth around a 1/4 of what he pays for it.
If he then attempts to implement his proposed changes, it's will likely MySpace in short order.
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Whatever that's worth, considering the source.
Does it really hurt that much to even conceptualize that Musk might have made a mistake overpaying for something by 80% that hadn't initially wanted to sell itself to him in the first place?
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CodeRedR51
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Scaff
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He owns less than 50% of SpaceX and it's bold of you to assume his Telsa stock alone might have to go, given how much he will be overpaying for Twitter.
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His backpedal earlier this week to confirm that he would buy it as is did not tell the entire story. He wanted to add in more conditions AND he wanted Twitter to drop the lawsuit about Musk not honoring the original contract he signed. He doesn't want to get deposed so he is trying his hardest to avoid that scenario and failing badly.
