Remember my post about how states refer to their Departments of Transportation ?

I was looking for information about whether semi trucks are able to negotiate traffic roundabouts, and came across a new-to-me acronym: WSDOT. My guess was correct: Washington State DOT. Now I wonder how the TV people up there pronounce that: Double-Yew-Ess dot? (They're not Texans, so 'dubya' is not their thing.)

Anyhow, back to the roundabouts. I don't know about where you live, but in Colorado we are seeing more and more traffic roundabouts proposed and sometimes implemented as the solution to problem intersections. Usually these are the ones where several streets come together close together. Increasing population and road traffic have put pressure on road planners to make improvements and roundabouts aka traffic circles are the latest solution.

England is full of them, and that's where we first experienced the thrill of driving on the wrong side of the road, looking in the wrong direction for oncoming traffic, and figuring out how to get in proper position to bail out. To us, it looked like a free-for-all, and a driver could just keep circling until he was in the mood to eject himself from the mix. We got honked at once, so probably broke some Rule of the Roundabout.



They may be a good solution, but I don't know about you, when I come upon a roundabout I grit my teeth and hope I do it right. Where I live, they are usually in low-volume traffic areas, so I have the luxury of time to figure out what to do, but one of these days traffic will be heavy like we saw in England, and that will be a challenge.

The hard part is where I am unfamiliar with the area and it's hard to read and comprehend the signs in a glimpse while driving and watching for other traffic.



Roundabout opponents cite the problem of getting semi-trucks through them, which is what led me to the WSDOT page: How To Drive A Roundabout

So here's the scoop:

"Trucks/oversize vehicles and roundabouts
Roundabouts are designed to accommodate vehicles of all sizes, including emergency vehicles, buses, farm equipment and semitrucks with trailers. Oversize vehicles and vehicles with trailers may straddle both lanes while driving through a roundabout.

Many roundabouts are also designed with a truck apron, a raised section of pavement around the central island that acts as an extra lane for large vehicles. The back wheels of the oversize vehicle can ride up on the truck apron so the truck can easily complete the turn, while the raised portion of concrete discourages use by smaller vehicles.



Because large vehicles may need extra room to complete their turn in a roundabout, drivers should remember never to drive next to large vehicles in a roundabout. "


That last sentence is what we all need to remember. But it sounds like it would slow down the flow of traffic if there are a lot of trucks, doesn't it? Makes I wonder about the value of this solution where a lot of trucks are coming into town to make deliveries. We'll see.

This drawing is of a proposed roundabout in Fort Collins, Colorado. A lot of semi trucks go through this intersection, coming from Laramie, Wyoming, and if you look closely you can see the 'truck apron' around the center.



I always tell myself, it's an example of being uncomfortable with change, so I'll just do the best I can to get through them when I come to them. And if I get honked at, so be it.