Roundabouts of FUTURE including £20m ‘Russian Doll’, ‘turbo’ dividers & monster ring with 48 traffic lights
IT doesn’t matter if you’ve had your driving licence for five minutes or 50 years, roundabouts are never fun.
We’ve all hated a traffic circle at some point behind the wheel, but some rotary islands are far worse than others.
From a ‘Russian Doll’ roundabout which drivers complain about “every single day” to a monster ring with 48 traffic lights, here are some of the most stressful road junctions.
Russian Doll
The Brighton Hill Roundabout took nearly two years to build in a “£20 million improvement scheme” by Hampshire County Council.
The work was first proposed in September 2018 before being approved some two years later.
The building work was completed last winter.
The updated roundabout was built to improve access to the town and reduce congestion through the installation of a traffic light system with overpasses.
But drivers across Basingstoke, Hampshire, are said to complain about the roundabout “every single day”.
Despite the controversial infrastructure being built with the intention of “making travel easier” many are confused about how to navigate it.
The roundabout markings and signage make no sense and some turns are not doable.
Stephen Sillitoe
Photos show one road sign being partially obscured by traffic lights, a bus stop and another sign.
Now – just months after the roundabout was complete – the council are relocating two traffic signs to a “more suitable location” and to “improve visibility to the traffic signals” after an influx of complaints from drivers.
Turbo Roundabout
The three-lane road feature, which has dividers to help drivers pick a lane, is being constructed near the city of Gilroy, San Benito County, California at the busy crossing of highways 25 and 156.
The $15million (£11million) project has been designed to help improve driver safety at the well known deadly intersection.
The site, which has double the road traffic accidents of similar intersections across the state, saw 45 collisions and one fatality last year.
But the new turbo roundabout is being constructed to drastically reduce those numbers and will fully open in the spring.
It will be just the second of its kind in the US, following the opening of the first turbo roundabout in Jacksonville, Florida, in February 2022.
Originally devised in the Netherlands, the giant roundabout is dubbed turbo for its spiral shape rather than its speed.
The three lanes will be separated by three-inch high dividers to guide drivers through the roundabout.
The purpose of the dividers is to discourage lane changing once a vehicle has entered the roundabout.
Monster Ring
A monster roundabout with a British record of 48 traffic lights has been dubbed the UK’s most confusing.
Drivers muddled by the North Station Gyratory’s maze of signs and markings can end up heading into traffic.
More lights have gone in to control rising traffic in Colchester, Essex, and the network’s total has overtaken the 42 sets at Grovehill Junction in Beverley, East Yorkshire.
This is a monster of a roundabout – easily confusing as you have to swap lanes to go anywhere. Out-of-towners don’t stand a chance.
Mary Adams
Councillor Martin Goss said: “There are dash-cam videos on the internet of vehicles going in completely the wrong direction.
“Several drivers have dropped serious clangers. We need a safety audit.”
Dutch-style Roundabout
Britain’s first ever Dutch-style roundabout opened in Cambridge to prioritise cyclists and pedestrians, but was quickly blasted by motorists.
Many have called it a cyclist “killing zone” and slammed the local council for spending £2.3million on the project.
Cyclists have an outer ring on the new roundabout, with cycle crossings over each of the four approach roads in a contrasting red surface.
It also features zebra crossings over each approach road for pedestrians.
Motorists must also give way to pedestrians and to cyclists when joining and leaving the roundabout.
Reduced lane widths on the roundabout and at exit and entry points are designed to encourage drivers to slow down.
Is it illegal to drive over a mini-roundabout?
EVERY time you head out on the roads in the country, vehicles can be seen driving over mini-roundabouts.
While it can infuriate other road users, most drivers are unaware of the rules of approaching these obstacles.
What are the rules for mini-roundabouts?
The rules for mini-roundabouts are the same as normal roundabouts.
However, when driving around mini-roundabouts there is less room to manoeuvre so extra care must be taken.
The Highway Code states that when approaching a roundabout you should use the mirror-signal-manoeuvre process and adjust your speed depending on the traffic around you.
When taking the first exit, you should signal left just as you would with a regular roundabout.
It is important to watch out for pedestrians crossing the approach and exit roads as endangering pedestrians is a serious offence.
Something worth noting is that a change in the law also states that under Highway Code rule 186 that priority is also to be given to cyclists in such situations.
If you are faced with a double mini-roundabout, or a set of mini-roundabouts, you should treat each roundabout separately and continue to give way to traffic coming from your right for each.