President Gas wrote:
You approach along a single carriageway, and then when you get to the roundabout, the road widens to two lanes. Neither lane is marked as a left turn or right turn only lane. The roads coming off each junction of the roundabout are also single lane. The actual road of the roundabout is also single lane.
I can never see the point of this. I know they are trying to aid traffic turning left or right, but without the lane markings it's pointless. All it seems to do is encurage idiots to try and overtake on a roundabout that can't accomodate two cars side-by-side. Even if they do squeeze past there the usual barging in involved when trying ot exit the roundabout.
I'd guess that maybe they're trying to make room for HGVs to go round without using the kerbs. The trouble is the small percentage of ***wits that think the slightest widening is a personal invitation for them to try to overtake.
Narrowing the roundabout approaches and exits may deter the nutters, but be slightly too tight for artics which could result in the roundabout being repaired more often - and aren't they a pain in the arse when they're being dug up?
One possible solution could be to make as many roundabouts as possible proper two lane jobs. Either widen the roundabout itself a bit or shrink the central island slightly and paint a dashed line circle around two mark two lanes going around. Then make the approaches and exits wide enough to properly mark two lanes as well, and where necessary put arrows for right/left turn only. I'd also make the circular markings on the roundabout out of rumble strips so people know when they're crossing them (really does piss me off on larger laned roundabouts when people can't stay in the sodding lane, like the one in Farnham you mentioned - the one opposite the shed place, right? Frimley interchange is another one). Finally, to prevent idiots being crushed by artics I'd have a new type of warning sign along the lines of "HGVs Use Both Lanes" or something.
Okay, parachute on. I'm now ready to be shot down.