It has never ceased to amaze me how these dumbos in local authorities seem to introduce policies without ever checking them out.
My pet hate is roundabouts. I know I am not alone in this but which cretins thought it a good idea to
(i) Put trees and shrubs on roundabouts
(ii) Place signs on the roundabout/central reservation at exactly the right height to completely block your vision of oncoming traffic.
Now having worked as a manager in a couple of local authorities you can have it from me that many of the middle/senior staff haven’t a clue of the practicalities of life. The policy of Essex CC was to be born, educated, work, married, retired, care homed and die - locally, so they actively discouraged commuting regardless of the fact that a massively high proportion of people commute to London by rail very day.
Anyway back to roundabouts. It amazes me that either there is a standard ( a wrong one at that) or no one checks the height signposts are installed so as you approach in a truck you can’t see what Bloggins approaching in his Renault is indicating (if he is indicating at all - correctly or otherwise?). This means you often have to stop the truck - kind of mitigating against climate change , emissions etc. The same holds true for planting on roundabouts. Yeah great - absorbs the emissions - you mean the additional ones created because you can’t see what is coming in front of you therefore having to stop.
Whilst financial cutbacks have meant tree pruning has been reduced there are loads of examples of road signs being buried so you can’t see them. I’ve even noticed this with the odd motorway sign too.
Funny that the wizards at Microlise haven’t worked that one out and that’s before you attempt to decipher the intentions of the average car driver at roundabouts.
Yup, totally agree with your observations.
Also, having driven a left ■■■■■■ over here for a number of years, what is it with the angling of the top of a slip road onto a roundabout so you can’t see whats coming around the roundabout.
Most are ok and can be dealt with by your position on approach, and the addition of a fresnel lens in the O/S window can also help, but…
some are diabolical and you have no chance of seeing what’s coming without hanging back a car length or two, but this can also be impossible due to foliage to your right and then there is the worry of BMW/MERC/AUDI man on your nearside of the cab who is about 3 inches from you
Worst of the lot are those who come round into view doing about 60mph, you’ve no chance
Lost count of the number of times i have just gone for it and held my breath, had a few blasts of the horn and hand shandys from Mr/Mrs Ignorant
Many of them have the view obscured deliberately, it slows the traffic flow so the accidents are at lower impact .
I totally agree with the point about junction shape and sight lines in LHD vehicles especially vans, box trucks or artics with covered or box trailers .
Sand Fisher:
It has never ceased to amaze me how these dumbos in local authorities seem to introduce policies without ever checking them out.
My pet hate is roundabouts. I know I am not alone in this but which cretins thought it a good idea to
(i) Put trees and shrubs on roundabouts
(ii) Place signs on the roundabout/central reservation at exactly the right height to completely block your vision of oncoming traffic.
Now having worked as a manager in a couple of local authorities you can have it from me that many of the middle/senior staff haven’t a clue of the practicalities of life. The policy of Essex CC was to be born, educated, work, married, retired, care homed and die - locally, so they actively discouraged commuting regardless of the fact that a massively high proportion of people commute to London by rail very day.
Anyway back to roundabouts. It amazes me that either there is a standard ( a wrong one at that) or no one checks the height signposts are installed so as you approach in a truck you can’t see what Bloggins approaching in his Renault is indicating (if he is indicating at all - correctly or otherwise?). This means you often have to stop the truck - kind of mitigating against climate change , emissions etc. The same holds true for planting on roundabouts. Yeah great - absorbs the emissions - you mean the additional ones created because you can’t see what is coming in front of you therefore having to stop.
Whilst financial cutbacks have meant tree pruning has been reduced there are loads of examples of road signs being buried so you can’t see them. I’ve even noticed this with the odd motorway sign too.
Funny that the wizards at Microlise haven’t worked that one out and that’s before you attempt to decipher the intentions of the average car driver at roundabouts.
That’s a great post, totally agree with it.
Interesting bit about Essex CC, I never knew that. Is that why they built the place (whose name escapes me) that I always though was a town that had been there forever, but is actually an enormous housing estate?
I can kind of see why with the amount of industry that was in Essex, but it does give me the creeps a bit too!
grumpyken52:
Many of them have the view obscured deliberately, it slows the traffic flow so the accidents are at lower impact .
Looks a good point. If boy racers in cars get a clear line of sight theyll only come around even quicker so heavy vehicles will find it even harder to find a gap. Maybe low level shrubs so cars cant see, but heavy (high) vehicles can?
Not me being selfish of course: I drive trucks and cars.
RIPPER:
Yup, totally agree with your observations.
Also, having driven a left ■■■■■■ over here for a number of years, what is it with the angling of the top of a slip road onto a roundabout so you can’t see whats coming around the roundabout.
Most are ok and can be dealt with by your position on approach, and the addition of a fresnel lens in the O/S window can also help, but…
some are diabolical and you have no chance of seeing what’s coming without hanging back a car length or two, but this can also be impossible due to foliage to your right and then there is the worry of BMW/MERC/AUDI man on your nearside of the cab who is about 3 inches from you
Worst of the lot are those who come round into view doing about 60mph, you’ve no chance
Lost count of the number of times i have just gone for it and held my breath, had a few blasts of the horn and hand shandys from Mr/Mrs Ignorant
There’s a few service areas that are like that when you’re in a RIGHT hand drive! When you pull off the HGV pumps you have to give way to whatever’s coming from your left, but the way the road’s angled you can’t see what’s coming from your left. I can’t remember which services it is.
RIPPER:
Yup, totally agree with your observations.
Also, having driven a left ■■■■■■ over here for a number of years, what is it with the angling of the top of a slip road onto a roundabout so you can’t see whats coming around the roundabout.
Most are ok and can be dealt with by your position on approach, and the addition of a fresnel lens in the O/S window can also help, but…
some are diabolical and you have no chance of seeing what’s coming without hanging back a car length or two, but this can also be impossible due to foliage to your right and then there is the worry of BMW/MERC/AUDI man on your nearside of the cab who is about 3 inches from you
Worst of the lot are those who come round into view doing about 60mph, you’ve no chance
Lost count of the number of times i have just gone for it and held my breath, had a few blasts of the horn and hand shandys from Mr/Mrs Ignorant
There’s a few service areas that are like that when you’re in a RIGHT hand drive! When you pull off the HGV pumps you have to give way to whatever’s coming from your left, but the way the road’s angled you can’t see what’s coming from your left. I can’t remember which services it is.
RIPPER:
Yup, totally agree with your observations.
Also, having driven a left ■■■■■■ over here for a number of years, what is it with the angling of the top of a slip road onto a roundabout so you can’t see whats coming around the roundabout.
Most are ok and can be dealt with by your position on approach, and the addition of a fresnel lens in the O/S window can also help, but…
some are diabolical and you have no chance of seeing what’s coming without hanging back a car length or two, but this can also be impossible due to foliage to your right and then there is the worry of BMW/MERC/AUDI man on your nearside of the cab who is about 3 inches from you
Worst of the lot are those who come round into view doing about 60mph, you’ve no chance
Lost count of the number of times i have just gone for it and held my breath, had a few blasts of the horn and hand shandys from Mr/Mrs Ignorant
There’s a few service areas that are like that when you’re in a RIGHT hand drive! When you pull off the HGV pumps you have to give way to whatever’s coming from your left, but the way the road’s angled you can’t see what’s coming from your left. I can’t remember which services it is.
Getting out of the truck park at Gateway (nee Scratchwood) is like that. The exit of the car park is angled poorly and even though they should give way they never do
Top of Barnetby, where the A18, A180, M180 and A15 meet, they’ve just ( today in fact!!) installed a visual barrier, “to slow traffic down entering the roundabout”.
It’d be alright, but the A18 junction they’ve installed it on is a pig to get out of anyway… The A15 junction is the one where traffic needs to be slowed down…
Yes, who the hell designs these “systems”
Another way of tricking you at roundabouts is when turning right at large roundabouts, painting the name of the town you want to head for or A13 E, for example and then when you get onto the roundabout a lane on your left is introduced for your direction, just as you lose sight of that side of the trailer; sure you can take the leftish rightish lane on aproach and if you’re new to that particular R/bout and if it gets a bit messey make a mental note for next time.
Doesn’t seem so bad if R/bout has traffic lights
3 examples
A12 South turning right northbound on to M25, (lines /paint has long gone)
Turn right from A10 South onto M25 direction Watford,
Turn right form A11 on to A47 direction Great Yarmouth,
this looks like the very thing, that orange truck is going to need to get left before the exit, i allways head up the right hand A11 Norwich lane and find it all works out when i get round there…
in fact i just looked at that r/bout in satalite view you can see the introduction of the additional lane for Great Yarmouth
just saying.
at Microlise haven’t worked that one out and that’s before you attempt to decipher the intentions of the average car driver at roundabouts.
