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FIRST TIME FOR ME..

Posted: Sun Aug 29, 2021 10:30 pm
by Larry e rutt
So I took Puddles for a trip through our new diverging diamond interchange... An old car new new idea.. not sold on it completely but it does move alot of traffic in a short amount of time..https://youtu.be/3GBqCnR3CLk

Re: FIRST TIME FOR ME..

Posted: Sun Aug 29, 2021 10:42 pm
by speedytinc
Larry e rutt wrote:
Sun Aug 29, 2021 10:30 pm
So I took Puddles for a trip through our new diverging diamond interchange... An old car new new idea.. not sold on it completely but it does move alot of traffic in a short amount of time..https://youtu.be/3GBqCnR3CLk
Congradulation. Was fun wasnt it?

Re: FIRST TIME FOR ME..

Posted: Sun Aug 29, 2021 11:45 pm
by DHort
I hate those things. Just give me a roundabout at both ends and I am fine. Thank God we do not have them in WI.

Re: FIRST TIME FOR ME..

Posted: Mon Aug 30, 2021 12:06 am
by PJK
DHort- There's one in Appleton, and I just read that there are more on the way. After two years, it still is unsettling to drive through.

Re: FIRST TIME FOR ME..

Posted: Mon Aug 30, 2021 12:36 am
by Steve Jelf
So that's what it's called. There's one of those in Springfield MO.

I've been driving through traffic circles since 1957 when I got my learner's permit, and before that I rode through them. My question: When did we go British and start calling them roundabouts?


L B Traffic Circle 1939.png
Familiar territory, 1939. Pacific Coast Highway & Lakewood Boulevard, east of Long Beach.

Re: FIRST TIME FOR ME..

Posted: Mon Aug 30, 2021 7:24 am
by Larry e rutt
No Steve it's not a circle... you switch lanes and travel on the left side, so that you do not need to cross traffic to go left..and the ramp traffic can merge right in. If you want to go right you do so before traffic switches sides..my old car was like an old horse it didn't want to drive on the left side in traffic..( I left a trail of oil so I know how to get through the next time )

Re: FIRST TIME FOR ME..

Posted: Mon Aug 30, 2021 7:39 am
by It's Bill
I must be getting senile, I can't make heads or tails of this. Guess I'll have to head out your way and check it out. Good video! Cheers, Bill

Re: FIRST TIME FOR ME..

Posted: Mon Aug 30, 2021 7:44 am
by Mark Nunn
I've been through the intersection in Springfield that Steve mentioned. The crossover length is short and tight, not like your video. I've pulled my camper through that mess for years and still get nervous about hitting a curb.

Re: FIRST TIME FOR ME..

Posted: Mon Aug 30, 2021 7:55 am
by Herb Iffrig
Exit 222 at St Peters, Mo on Highway 70 is a diverging diamond too. I've seen a car go the wrong way on the viaduct there. It is counter-intuitive if you are not familiar to what is going on. You have to pay attention to the signs. Since not every intersection is not the same a visitor to the area could be confused.

Re: FIRST TIME FOR ME..

Posted: Mon Aug 30, 2021 7:57 am
by Jonah D'Avella
A new one was just put up near me. I had to drive through it on my way home from the dmv in my T from getting my licence.

Re: FIRST TIME FOR ME..

Posted: Mon Aug 30, 2021 8:12 am
by Dan_Jensen
They are working on one up the road from me now, I will need to use it to get into Tucson. Here in Arizona we will have 3 diverging diamonds when they are done here. Looks like it will improve traffic flow if everybody follows the signs and arrows.

Re: FIRST TIME FOR ME..

Posted: Mon Aug 30, 2021 8:16 am
by TWrenn
Stupidist thing I ever saw. Bad as a roundabout on a major State Highway that intersects with a "country state highway"...the result will be a major traffic backup on the "big highway". The "country state highway" folks will never squeeze in. JMHO

Re: FIRST TIME FOR ME..

Posted: Mon Aug 30, 2021 8:36 am
by Loftfield
Like all things "new", the double-diamond intersection requires a bit of brain reorganisation. We've had one for three years now on the way to Asheville, intersection of a five-lane road with I-26. The first time or two through it was completely frightening. Now it is a piece of cake, it moves traffic very well, eliminates a left-turn stop light that caused major back-ups, and when pulling the 20' trailer with T inside, entry and exit from the Interstate road couldn't be easier. Yup, it's new, it's different, but it works. Just get used to it!

Re: FIRST TIME FOR ME..

Posted: Mon Aug 30, 2021 8:53 am
by TXGOAT2
"Can be built at lower cost".... Oh. Is it of French origin? Most important: Is it OK with Elon? (What does Elon drive, anyway? Does he drive at all?)

Re: FIRST TIME FOR ME..

Posted: Mon Aug 30, 2021 9:00 am
by TXGOAT2
We should mandate using only reverse for everyone. All cars should be recalled and fitted with forward gear lockout devices. That will reduce traffic speeds and crash severity. It's 2021, people. Time to mandate driving in reverse only on the left side of the road, just because! What about headlights? What about 'em? Cars have BACKUP LIGHTS, stupid!! C'mon, man!!! Time to mandate back up cameras!! Our future is REVERSE ONLY, augmented by VIRTUAL VISION!

Re: FIRST TIME FOR ME..

Posted: Mon Aug 30, 2021 9:01 am
by perry kete
Looks like an engineer dropped a bowl of spaghetti and then tried to draw what it looked like ! :shock: Lets see the police do a high speed chase thru one of those intersections at rush hour.


PH-521009997.jpg

Re: FIRST TIME FOR ME..

Posted: Mon Aug 30, 2021 9:43 am
by Steve Jelf
No Steve it's not a circle...

I know. In a circle the directions are not reversed. The diverging diamond in the video is a completely different critter.


Screen Shot 2021-08-30 at 8.37.45 AM.png
This is in Springfield.

Re: FIRST TIME FOR ME..

Posted: Mon Aug 30, 2021 11:11 am
by Norman Kling
I don't like the Spagetti type, however the Springfield type is fine. We have many of them in California. It costs a bit more to build, but much safer. I also do not like the circles unless there is only one lane around the circle. Changing lanes at the same time finding the right exit is very confusing. The best is the stop sign on the side streets and no sign on the through streets. However, if a child gets hit there or if a school bus has an accident they will then make it a 4 way stop which is more difficult, especially with traffic. Many years ago, there was a 4 way stop sign on Highway 101 through San Juan Capistrano. When traveling home from Los Angeles to San Diego on Sunday evening, it backed up for about a mile with a stop for each car to go through the intersection. Later it was bypassed by Interstate 5, which is much better, however going through Camp Pendleton, if there is an accident, there is no frontage road open to the public, so it can be a long delay there now.
Norm

Re: FIRST TIME FOR ME..

Posted: Tue Aug 31, 2021 4:35 am
by david_dewey
The other day I was driving through one of the roundabouts here in town when a big double-tanker truck just pulled into the roundabout right in front of me--fortunately I was able to stop in time, and I noticed the driver was not looking at me at all but fiddling with his or her hair. I go through this roundabout very carefully, as the main traffic is crosswise from where I'm driving and there's two lanes of traffic right there (the roundabout has half the circle in two lane, the rest is single lane and it seems many drivers do not know how to drive through it!

Re: FIRST TIME FOR ME..

Posted: Tue Aug 31, 2021 6:45 am
by Old school
Never have driven through a diverging diamond but here we have 2 lane traffic circles that you can legally exit to the right from the inside lane. A lot of summer tourism drivers aren’t aware of this. I refuse to pull my trailer through these circles.