Crash prone 'modern roundabouts'

[kalvado]

I don't see the grim irony when someone hits the center of the roundabout at high speed, which would be more indicative of reckless/inattentive driving than a problem with the roundabout itself.  The driver could also have blown through a red light and hit another vehicle, possibly causing additional deaths.

Statistics is, of course, a long lost wizardry....

[tradephoric]

I don't see the grim irony when someone hits the center of the roundabout at high speed, which would be more indicative of reckless/inattentive driving than a problem with the roundabout itself.  The driver could also have blown through a red light and hit another vehicle, possibly causing additional deaths.

Ironic situations according to Alanis Morissette:
A 98 year old man who won the lottery and died the next day...
A death row pardon two minutes too late...
A "No Smoking" sign on your cigarette break...
A ribbon cutting at a roundabout and a fatal crash that same day...

[jakeroot]

I don't see the grim irony when someone hits the center of the roundabout at high speed, which would be more indicative of reckless/inattentive driving than a problem with the roundabout itself.  The driver could also have blown through a red light and hit another vehicle, possibly causing additional deaths.

Could have been a medical emergency too. In either case, why should they pay with their life?

[kalvado]

I don't see the grim irony when someone hits the center of the roundabout at high speed, which would be more indicative of reckless/inattentive driving than a problem with the roundabout itself.  The driver could also have blown through a red light and hit another vehicle, possibly causing additional deaths.

Could have been a medical emergency too. In either case, why should they pay with their life?

Frankly speaking, roundabout isn't the only scenario where loosing control at high speed can be fatal.
The goal of design is to minimize consequences of such mistakes - but individual accident isn't very meaningful without proper statistics.
One can certainly flirt with baessian approach and start making conclusions. But I have to agree with@tradephoric - it's ironic that first fatal crash is logged immediately after safety improvements are completed. Hopefully next one is decades away

[Rothman]

I don't see the grim irony when someone hits the center of the roundabout at high speed, which would be more indicative of reckless/inattentive driving than a problem with the roundabout itself.  The driver could also have blown through a red light and hit another vehicle, possibly causing additional deaths.

Could have been a medical emergency too. In either case, why should they pay with their life?

Medical emergency?  So, they're racing to the hospital?  I still don't see how that's the roundabout's fault.  Ambulance drivers also certainly don't throw all sense out the window when their sirens and lights are on.

Or, if you're saying he had some sort of medical issue while driving, again, if the roundabout wasn't there doesn't mean that he would have survived.

[jakeroot]

Or, if you're saying he had some sort of medical issue while driving, again, if the roundabout wasn't there doesn't mean that he would have survived.

Totally, that's why I'm all for being cautious of obstacles near high-speed roadways, as they can all cause serious injury or death. Like roundabouts.

[kalvado]

Or, if you're saying he had some sort of medical issue while driving, again, if the roundabout wasn't there doesn't mean that he would have survived.

Totally, that's why I'm all for being cautious of obstacles near high-speed roadways, as they can all cause serious injury or death. Like roundabouts.

That's exactly why high speed roads have a lot of engineering features to avoid bad outcomes - such as rumble strips, guardrails, medians, jersey barriers and what not.
Maybe we need to hire an engineer to design roundabouts properly? Looks like none are left on DOTs payroll...

[jeffandnicole]

I don't see the grim irony when someone hits the center of the roundabout at high speed, which would be more indicative of reckless/inattentive driving than a problem with the roundabout itself.  The driver could also have blown through a red light and hit another vehicle, possibly causing additional deaths.

Could have been a medical emergency too. In either case, why should they pay with their life?

Frankly speaking, roundabout isn't the only scenario where loosing control at high speed can be fatal.
The goal of design is to minimize consequences of such mistakes - but individual accident isn't very meaningful without proper statistics.
One can certainly flirt with baessian approach and start making conclusions. But I have to agree with@tradephoric - it's ironic that first fatal crash is logged immediately after safety improvements are completed. Hopefully next one is decades away

Maybe more ironic was per the article, safety improvements had been completed since the summer.  They just held a ribbon cutting ceremony that very day for no other reason than that's what politicians do.

[MASTERNC]

CalTRANS has a video on its new "turbo roundabout".  On one hand, I can see the issue with lane changes in the roundabouts (which I have witnessed personally, whether inadvertent or intentional).  On the other, seems some of these movements require a 90-degree turn across roundabout traffic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHYo7Bl_zWg

[kalvado]

CalTRANS has a video on its new "turbo roundabout".  On one hand, I can see the issue with lane changes in the roundabouts (which I have witnessed personally, whether inadvertent or intentional).  On the other, seems some of these movements require a 90-degree turn across roundabout traffic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHYo7Bl_zWg

This is a pretty standard 3-lane piece of shitty engineering. And good thing there is no snow so they can have those curbstones in the middle of the road. May sheer off some tires...
They say trucks are accounted for, but I have hard time thinking of a truck turning into an inner lane  with that radius.

[Rothman]

CalTRANS has a video on its new "turbo roundabout".  On one hand, I can see the issue with lane changes in the roundabouts (which I have witnessed personally, whether inadvertent or intentional).  On the other, seems some of these movements require a 90-degree turn across roundabout traffic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHYo7Bl_zWg

This is a pretty standard 3-lane piece of shitty engineering. And good thing there is no snow so they can have those curbstones in the middle of the road. May sheer off some tires...
They say trucks are accounted for, but I have hard time thinking of a truck turning into an inner lane  with that radius.

Should have an apron.

[kalvado]

CalTRANS has a video on its new "turbo roundabout".  On one hand, I can see the issue with lane changes in the roundabouts (which I have witnessed personally, whether inadvertent or intentional).  On the other, seems some of these movements require a 90-degree turn across roundabout traffic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHYo7Bl_zWg

This is a pretty standard 3-lane piece of shitty engineering. And good thing there is no snow so they can have those curbstones in the middle of the road. May sheer off some tires...
They say trucks are accounted for, but I have hard time thinking of a truck turning into an inner lane  with that radius.

Should have an apron.

There is an apron in the video. But just imagine a heavy 18-wheeler crawling across 3 lanes of traffic and mounting on an apron during the rush hour... Extra points for a tire blown on a curbstone while doing so.