8 hours on the interstate

[HawaiianShirts]

If you want to see an interesting traffic situation, go to Plymouth, Utah. It's a tiny, tiny town really close to the Idaho border. There is an intersection there where the East-West traffic has Yield signs and the North-South traffic has Stop signs (or maybe the other way around--I forget). I was thoroughly confused the first time I went through it. Fortunately, it's a really small town (one gas station, one post office, no other businesses), so I doubt there's ever more than one car on any street there, let alone at that particular spot. It's weird, though.

Also, there's a four-way near where I work that I have to drive through twice a day. I've lost count of the number of times I've nearly been hit because some idiot decided the Stop sign didn't apply to them, and I often find some oblivious driver who just sits there, waiting for everyone else to go, even though he or she not only got there first but has been there for nearly a minute.

And, yes, driving across Nevada is boring. I've done it once.

Fortunately for me, though, every time I've encountered someone who looked like they were in line but actually were not, they told me as I approached them and politely let me go ahead.

[smileyeagle1021]

And, yes, driving across Nevada is boring. I've done it once.
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I've made 14 round trips so far... I do my 15th in 2 weeks... except that time I'm going all the way to Eureka Ca (damned airlines... there are no flights from salt lake to eureka... not that it matters because there also aren't flights from Reno to Eureka and my mother won't be able to drive again by then so I'd have to pick her up anyway).

[Gurndigarn]

What's all the commotion about roundabouts? I happen to like them. You just turn right and make another right turn when you get to the road you want. If you miss your turn you just go through again.

Except that they usually put a stop sign in before entering the thing, so you have to stop anyway. And multi-lane roundabouts, or roundabouts in busy areas where you really need a traffic light are more confusion than they're worth.

[crazylegs]

Bah, ya'll moaning about multi lane roundabouts? Try the Magic roundabout, each white dot is a roundabout around the outside of a larger one.

Enjoy.

[PhotoChick]

Yeah I pretty sure I would get it an accident on that magic roundabout.

Ironclad: So how many times have your gone around and around trying to get out of that damn inner lane at Dupont Circle during rush hour?

IPF: See the above comment.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

I would like to state once again the roundabouts being built here are the really simple, single-lane ones. They aren't being installed at intersections busy enough to justify multiple lanes.

And I don't have problems with these. I'm sure it would be more tricky in the multiple-lane ones.

So can we please keep that in mind before piling on here?

[Kogarashi]

If you want to see an interesting traffic situation, go to Plymouth, Utah. It's a tiny, tiny town really close to the Idaho border. There is an intersection there where the East-West traffic has Yield signs and the North-South traffic has Stop signs (or maybe the other way around--I forget). I was thoroughly confused the first time I went through it.

Pfft. We've got a good double-handful of those in the residential parts of New Haven (read: middling-size city, maybe a bit on the small end). It's not too unique.

And I, too, hate the people who think that stop signs don't apply to them. Though I'll ashamedly admit that I was one of those people on accident once. Driving a friend home, I didn't spot the stop sign at this one intersection until I cut off someone on the side street and then saw the sign in my rearview. I have no clue why I didn't see it, either. Some of the stop signs around here are partially obscured by tree branches (just like the street name signs), but not that particular one. Temporary selective blindness, I guess, and I'll gladly pay my CS penance. And hope I never do that again.

[Pagan]

actually no it wouldn't... because there aren't any direct flights from Salt Lake to Reno so I'd have to transfer... so it is more expensive and takes only an hour less than driving.

Southwest has some direct flights. I just looked at round-trip, but they do have them.

What's all the commotion about roundabouts? I happen to like them. You just turn right and make another right turn when you get to the road you want. If you miss your turn you just go through again.

We've got a few here. I like them, too. Except for the one behind my credit union in Rio Rancho. They've destroyed every sight line around the damn thing so it's pretty much useless.

[d962831]

ugh. I'm praying I don't have to deal with any crap next week. I'm making a four hour drive to go spend a few days with a friend.

[Evil Queen]

The only roundabout I'm familiar with is in the Museum District downtown. And boy was it badly designed!

@d962831: Short trips like that isn't bad. Just avoid the main streets in towns around sunset hours and you should be fine.

[ADoyle90815]

My city has a roundabout, and I try to avoid it as much as possible. There's even a local urban legend that says that the designer killed in an accident there.

[Ironclad Alibi]

Ironclad: So how many times have your gone around and around trying to get out of that damn inner lane at Dupont Circle during rush hour?

I don't drive through Dupont Circle very often, but I never gotten stuck in the circle. The circles I traverse the most are at Chevy Chase and at the intersection of Mass. Ave. and Western Ave. When I first encounted traffic circles many years ago, I quickly learned to avoid the inner lanes like the plague.