Retread topic.... roundabouts.

[RockmartDawg]

There was a bad, fatal accident to occur recently, where someone ran through a stop sign and got hit by a tractor trailer and were killed on impact. I read within the article where they said something along the lines of, "There are 2 to 3 fatal accidents at this intersection every year."

????!!!!!!?????

They went on to say that a roundabout is going to be deployed there, but they haven't yet gotten started on the project.

This... to me... is what is STUPID about how the state DOT goes about doing things... or better said, NOT doing things. If people are getting KILLED at this intersection, 2 or 3 times per year, then what on EARTH is holding up the project to get the roundabout put into place??????

I live very close to a very busy state highway which is PACKED full of tractor trailers who have chosen to route through this area to get from the big Austell intermodal yard and make their way to I-75, rather than going the short distance down Thornton Road and getting on I-20, then NW on I-285, and then north on I-75. I get the idea behind it... traffic through that I-20/I-285/I-75 route can be downright brutal. For truckers it is about cost. They opt to go this way for financial reasons. But aside from the truckers on this local area state highway, there are tons of passenger cars, too, as this is a huge residential area. There is one three-way intersection into that state highway where traffic enters with there being a stop sign on the side road entering the state highway. I cannot tell you how many times I have seen wrecks at that intersection. Cars come out of the side road and pull right out in front of a car or truck coming up or down the state highway, and there is a wreck. Cars crossing directly across lanes of traffic... it is only a matter of time before an accident occurs. It creates a traffic backup nightmare when it happens. But more so, there are most likely injuries and could be fatalities. The DOT has had plans in place now for more than FIFTEEN YEARS to four-lane the state highway, and to install a roundabout at that intersection. But based on what work they are doing on other stretches of that same state highway, it will probably be at least five more years before they even get started on this particular stretch of highway... if not ten more years. Meanwhile, how many wrecks will happen at that very intersection before they deploy the roundabout. Shoot, just build the roundabout and doing it in such a way that when the four-lane work occurs it will just blend right into the already existing roundabout. Nah... 

Man... wrecks are happening and they're not giving it any level of priority... or they don't seem to be.

That intersection where the wreck occurred that I was reading about where there was a fatality (ANOTHER fatality). Again, they said there are 2 or 3 fatalities every year at that one intersection. Get the doggone roundabout put into place. Somebody got killed there, yet again. DO IT!! Get busy!!

[viper2369]

Matter of resources to get it done IMO.  I live close to 316 and they have slowly closed down cross roads, and have a few more to go.  It is a government organization with all kinds of red tape, but there are also only so many resources to go around. 

As for the trucks, it may not be up to them.  Trucks are sometimes required to take a certain route.  Growing up the son of a logger, this is one that always frustrated my dad.  When they turn onto a county maintained road they HAVE to take the shortest route to the closest state road.  Even if it causes them to go 20-30 miles further overall, they have to go that way or face stiff fines.

[wayxpython]

I recall being in Saudi Arabia back in early '90s and a dog handler, working night shift, ran through a roundabout at about 60 m.p.h. and injured his dog.  His career ended that fateful night.  Military Working dogs ain't cheap.  I always think about that accident every time I hear about a roundabout.    

[RockmartDawg]

I recall being in Saudi Arabia back in early '90s and a dog handler, working night shift, ran through a roundabout at about 60 m.p.h. and injured his dog.  His career ended that fateful night.  Military Working dogs ain't cheap.  I always think about that accident every time I hear about a roundabout.    



[/quote]

I wonder how they ran through a roundabout? I guess if it were an intersection... the way they were apparently driving... they could have pulled right out in front of some oncoming vehicle. The big safety factor for roundabouts is that it virtually eliminates the scenario where cars pull across lanes of traffic, which is the most common scenario where accidents occur. I think about how many times I have seen someone blow right through a red light and narrowly miss hitting somebody coming across and through the intersection.

---

Matter of resources to get it done IMO.  I live close to 316 and they have slowly closed down cross roads, and have a few more to go.  It is a government organization with all kinds of red tape, but there are also only so many resources to go around. 

As for the trucks, it may not be up to them.  Trucks are sometimes required to take a certain route.  Growing up the son of a logger, this is one that always frustrated my dad.  When they turn onto a county maintained road they HAVE to take the shortest route to the closest state road.  Even if it causes them to go 20-30 miles further overall, they have to go that way or face stiff fines.
[/quote]

Yes. The DOT does depend upon revenues and resources. I have wondered what that looks like since they changed the state gas tax model several years ago. We were the cheapest state in the country, and I want to say the state was collecting something like 18-cents-per gallon sold. They changed to a percentage-based model, which put us right in the middle, nationwide, for state gas tax. Since that time gas prices have skyrocketed several times, to a point that the governor has actually placed a cap on the tax collected because it was only adding to the rising cost of gas.

I know that a road project is an enormous undertaking. They've been working on one fairly long stretch of nearby state Hwy. 92 for more than a year, and it has been all clearing, moving telephone poles, laying underground pipe, moving underground pipes and lines, restructuring the lay of the land (leveling some parts and filling in other parts), stuff like that. The actual road work won't come for probably yet another year. They just seem to be very slow getting started. I moved into my house in 2007, and they already had plans to four-lane the stretch of state Hwy. 92 through here. We're at 17 years and counting. They ARE working on the stretch just north of us, though, which is a definite positive.

[Rogasingingdawg]

Some folks aren't smart enough to drive regardless whether it's a crossroads or a roundabout. Had a young lady in Chattanooga drive straight across a roundabout in East Brainerd are managing to hit 3 other vehicles. Fortunately no one died in the accident. There were reports cell phone usage was involved by the young lady.

[RockmartDawg]

Cell phone usage will definitely do it. Must have been important. 

[Branton]

call you elected officials and say your voting for the other party because of it, only way they care about anything

[JC-DAWG83]

If someone runs a stop sign into the path of a big truck and is killed, the problem isn't the lack of a roundabout.

[RockmartDawg]

True, and the same is true if someone comes to a full stop at a stop sign, but pulls out in front of someone anyway (that happens a lot, too). People make bad mistakes driving. But with a roundabout you pretty much eliminate the results of a multitude of errors through which someone is driving across a lane of moving traffic (sometimes high speed) and someone t-bones them. It would bring down the number of accidents, dramatically, not to mention how much idle time... sitting needlessly at traffic lights when no traffic is coming from other directions... wasting gas and time. Plus... there is (big spooky echo voice)... "The Planet".

[GriffWoody]

Carmel, IN is the epicenter of roundabouts in the US…and maybe even the birthplace of them in ‘murica.

[RockmartDawg]

I wonder if that is the place where I read that the local government (mayor and council) have pushed to get them in everywhere?

Sarasota, Florida is also putting them in, and doing so on major roads. U.S. 41 goes right through the heart of downtown Sarasota, and they have at least 3 there on U.S. 41, which is a four-lane major highway. The latest one they put in is where the main road coming in from Siesta Key and Longboat Key intersect/cross U.S. 41. It is a huge one.