Apparently people are too stupid to use the traffic circle at Pullen:

http://www.wral.com/traffic/story/11173856/

Over the course of two years, drivers have been so confused by the two-lane traffic pattern in the traffic circle at Hillsborough Street and Pullen Road that Raleigh has decided to pull the plug.

City and state traffic engineers will work together over the summer to reduce it to one lane, hoping to ease traffic and frustration. They expect the work to be done before North Carolina State University students return for the fall semester.



[Edited on June 5, 2012 at 6:06 PM. Reason : .]

6/5/2012 6:06:26 PM

message_topic.aspx?topic=416339&page=32

6/5/2012 6:09:21 PM

I don't always get into traffic accidents in the roundabouts on Hillsborough St., but when I do it's at the Morgan St. circle.

6/5/2012 8:11:08 PM

6/5/2012 8:22:15 PM

that's gonna make it even worse.....dammit

6/5/2012 8:58:33 PM

used to do laps around that thing on beer runs to the harry peeter just to be a jackass

6/5/2012 9:14:52 PM

i can see two lane circles being pretty awful if you're not used to the pattern

http://goo.gl/maps/ZdFD
uhhh, that's not cool


[Edited on June 5, 2012 at 9:17 PM. Reason : ]

6/5/2012 9:16:41 PM

^^I do that every time I go through a roundabout just for fun. same thing with revolving doors.

6/5/2012 9:31:42 PM

i always thought it'd be fun to get a bunch of friends and just fill the traffic circle bumper-to-bumper and shut down hillsborough st

6/5/2012 9:34:43 PM

We let these people vote.

6/5/2012 9:39:32 PM

First amendment one, now this

6/5/2012 9:56:22 PM

Quote :

"The city spent $800 in 2010 to print 2,000 pamphlets with detailed instructions on how to navigate the roundabout, which passes by the N.C. State Bell Tower. "

6/5/2012 10:02:59 PM

Look kids, Big Ben

6/5/2012 10:20:56 PM

as a civil engineer & proponent of roundabouts this makes me sad. amercia.

[Edited on June 5, 2012 at 10:48 PM. Reason : *]

6/5/2012 10:43:45 PM

Most people in this region have never been through a two lane traffic circle. Until they installed the one at Hillsborough & Pullen I fell into that category too. Considering the type of traffic that would traverse Hillsborough St. it's no surprise. A couple thousand pamphlets will do nothing when you have the State Fair, NCSU, and North Carolina's capital drawing people from all over the state to that strip of road.

It's no excuse for an accident, but anybody who didn't foresee a shit ton of confusion (and the occasional resulting accident) is a fucking nimrod.

Nobody is "too stupid to use the traffic circle." The problem is that people who have never even heard of a two lane traffic circle have difficulty figuring out how it works in the 15 seconds or less from the time they encounter one for the first time in their lives until they have to make a decision on how to use it.

It's like handing a PC to a person who has used nothing but Macs their whole lives and calling them stupid when they don't know how to do everything.

[Edited on June 5, 2012 at 10:55 PM. Reason : l]

6/5/2012 10:49:17 PM

having never been through it before, it was a bit... odd... to say the least. it's not exactly the kind of thing you see every day. having said that, making it into one-lane is probably going to make things much much worse

6/5/2012 10:53:21 PM

That roundabout was so awesome.

Rules for navigating a roundabout: Jump in when the coast is clear and figure it out once you're in there. Don't hit anybody. Once you figure out how it works, remember it so you can plan your subsequent approaches accordingly.

And stop for pedestrians.

6/5/2012 10:58:17 PM

^^^ Not buying it. Most people are confused by regular fucking driving; of course they're too stupid to navigate a traffic circle even if you give them hours of training.

6/5/2012 11:11:09 PM

^ yep.

6/6/2012 12:14:42 AM

I drove into the circle one day, only one in there was a car... she was going in reverse, in a circle. People can't drive worth shit here.

6/6/2012 12:28:34 AM

Quote :

"^^^ Not buying it. Most people are confused by regular fucking driving; of course they're too stupid to navigate a traffic circle even if you give them hours of training."

I could prove you wrong with 5 yokels from Eastern NC and a half hour, but it's not worth the effort. I'm going to hold to the argument that the problem comes from it being an entirely new device for most people. Put them all over the state and you'd see a paradigm shift in the ability to navigate them in a short period of time; put them in one location and you'll just create a bunch of problems.

It doesn't help that people from the Hillsborough St. sides have great visibility and enter the circle at far more than the 10 MPH speed limit posted on the signs (iirc) whereas the people entering from the other two directions have poor visibility and very little time to react when someone enters at speed. Looping a traffic circle at 25 MPH doesn't make you a good driver; avoiding the dickhead who entered the traffic circle at that speed is a much greater accomplishment.

[Edited on June 6, 2012 at 12:56 AM. Reason : s]

6/6/2012 12:55:45 AM

We're talking about people that can't master 4-way stops.

I don't have much faith.

6/6/2012 1:04:44 AM

So is Hillsborough between Morgan and Pullen going down to two lanes?

As of this evening it looks like they're restriping and adding bike lanes, which will be very nice.

6/6/2012 1:06:30 AM

they're putting bike lanes in the circle?

kiss the fuckers goodbye, someone will run one of them over within a week

[Edited on June 6, 2012 at 7:59 AM. Reason : question mark]

6/6/2012 7:59:12 AM

Quote :

"Skack: Most people in this region have never been through a two lane traffic circle. Until they installed the one at Hillsborough & Pullen I fell into that category too. Considering the type of traffic that would traverse Hillsborough St. it's no surprise. A couple thousand pamphlets will do nothing when you have the State Fair, NCSU, and North Carolina's capital drawing people from all over the state to that strip of road. It's no excuse for an accident, but anybody who didn't foresee a shit ton of confusion (and the occasional resulting accident) is a fucking nimrod. Nobody is "too stupid to use the traffic circle." The problem is that people who have never even heard of a two lane traffic circle have difficulty figuring out how it works in the 15 seconds or less from the time they encounter one for the first time in their lives until they have to make a decision on how to use it. It's like handing a PC to a person who has used nothing but Macs their whole lives and calling them stupid when they don't know how to do everything."

See, this is a reasonable response.

I'd never used a two-lane circle before this one either, and at first sight it is confusing. Navigating it isn't even the tough part really; it's knowing when it's "open" and when the driver coming around the circle isn't going to hit you. I could see drivers having trouble with that, assuming the person is exiting when they aren't.

[Edited on June 6, 2012 at 8:24 AM. Reason : .]

6/6/2012 8:23:55 AM

Quote :

"I drove into the circle one day, only one in there was a car... she was going in reverse, in a circle. People can't drive worth shit here. "

hah that doesn't surprise me sadly.

6/6/2012 8:46:16 AM

get off your cell phone when driving and maybe you can devote enough attention to figuring out the roundabout

6/6/2012 9:11:10 AM

i am fully aware that a multi-lane traffic circle can be confusing and intimidating to anyone who has little experience with them...but they are unarguably more efficient and the solution isn't to simply get rid of them

6/6/2012 9:18:13 AM

^ but if something is initially difficult we should give up

6/6/2012 9:23:17 AM

What the fuck did they think would happen when the state hands out drivers licenses like candy on Halloween. Requirement to own a driver's license: be 17+ and breathing.

These fucks can't even navigate 4 way stops (as mentioned by jaZon) so maybe we should get rid of those too?

These fucks don't understand how to yield to traffic when making a left at a light, so now we have all these blinking yellow arrows. Like that's gonna help anything.

If these fucking assholes in the government don't require proper driving training what do they think the end result would be?

Fuck you America

6/6/2012 9:24:15 AM

I'd like to see us have a similar driving test to Finland.

6/6/2012 9:31:28 AM

i'm glad i didn't have to parallel park when i got my licence because that's HAAAAAAARD!

6/6/2012 9:49:51 AM

There's really no reason for a 2-lane traffic circle there. It was unnecessarily complicated, it wasn't even symmetrical. One lane should do just fine.

And since everyone in here is the motherfucking Stig, we can all agree that those of simpler mind will have an easier time as they can just drive up and feel relaxed because "hurrr this is just like that circle what goes round the courthouse back home."

6/6/2012 9:50:40 AM

Quote :

"It's like handing a PC to a person who has used nothing but Macs their whole lives and calling them stupid when they don't know how to do everything."

No. Using your same analogy, its like they get frustrated when they don't know how to use the PC and instinctively toss it across a room of crowded people. Not knowing how to handle something is no reason to freak out and make a bad decision that could affect others. Pause and figure it out.

6/6/2012 9:52:32 AM

Quote :

"And since everyone in here is the motherfucking Stig, we can all agree that those of simpler mind will have an easier time as they can just drive up and feel relaxed because "hurrr this is just like that circle what goes round the courthouse back home.""

So you're all for catering to the lowest common denominator then? If something's tricky let's just get rid of it altogether eh? You know how I figured out the nuances of this traffic circle with its asymmetrical layout? I READ THE FREAKING SIGNS

[Edited on June 6, 2012 at 9:55 AM. Reason : I weep for humanity]

6/6/2012 9:54:22 AM

I'm saying there was no reason for nuance. And they're not getting rid of it, they're changing it to one lane. It will still be an improvement on the clusterfuck light system that used to be there, and apparently an improvement on the current situation.

6/6/2012 10:00:57 AM

fair enough. I disagree though...I mean I figured it out after going there once.

6/6/2012 10:30:44 AM

and most people CAN figure it out, but you have to admit there a lot of pretty stupid people out there driving, and this pattern really is not the most simple thing in the world.

6/6/2012 10:37:17 AM

Fuck it, let's expand the thing

6/6/2012 10:40:57 AM

Quote :

"everyone in here is the motherfucking Stig"

6/6/2012 1:07:58 PM

given the number of people too stupid/considerate to use turn signals, it's no surprise when they can't/won't comprehend the instructional signs

6/6/2012 1:14:59 PM

i agree with skack

the rest of you must be trolling for the record, he said nothing about it being a stupid or inefficient design.

Quote :

"Rules for navigating a roundabout: Jump in when the coast is clear and figure it out once you're in there. Don't hit anybody. Once you figure out how it works, remember it so you can plan your subsequent approaches accordingly."

nope. someone (n00b) is going to take the outer lane when they should have been in the inner lane or vice versa. he/she is going to brake, cut in, whatever, and there you have another cluster.

it wouldn't be bad if the roundabout wasn't as busy as it is so n00bs can see and think about the painted arrows

[Edited on June 6, 2012 at 4:51 PM. Reason : ]

6/6/2012 4:50:21 PM

late night I very frequently have to avoid getting T-boned by drunk idiots in these traffic circles

with that said I am highly in favor of the circles

6/6/2012 9:18:43 PM

There is limited throughput to be gained by adding extra lanes to a traffic circle. I like 2 lane traffic circles but think 4 lane is usually a bad idea...at least unless all drivers drive on it daily.

6/6/2012 10:00:12 PM

The signs on the circle were pretty clear.

I think knocking it down to 1 lane is going to slow things down substantially during the busy times. RIP driving down Pullen.

6/6/2012 10:06:36 PM

Doha, Qatar has 3-lane roundabouts for pretty much every intersection on the main thoroughfares. Also, few people give even the slightest fuck about any semblance of traffic rules or courtesy. It is even worse than driving in America.

6/6/2012 10:50:43 PM

I'd have to say that I wouldn't have to try to get hit in the Pullen circle. I've managed to avoid collisions on 3 occasions that immediately come to mind. In the middle of the day. I'm sure there are many others in the back of my mind. Those were the most recent, and I almost never drive through there, opting for the Morgan circle and cutting through Ashe to Western. And that one is pretty bad itself.

There's one basic premise that a lot of folks totally ignore or are totally ignorant of concerning traffic circles: The traffic already in the circle has the right of way, and those entering the circle must yield to existing circle traffic. And of course, nobody pays attention to that...or nobody knows to.

6/6/2012 11:25:23 PM

Ugh, fuck me. Went through a 4-way stop today and sure enough the some stupid fucker that stopped at it before me didn't have the slightest idea that he was supposed to go first.

People are worthless.

6/6/2012 11:43:31 PM

fun fact: insurance companies in france typically do not even attempt to determine who is at fault when accidents occur in this traffic circle.

6/7/2012 12:10:04 AM

My problem with the Pullen Traffic Circle is the 2 lane implementation is shitty to say the least. The right lane should be an "express" lane that takes you over to the next "exit" without needing to stop. The outer lane should take you to anywhere you want to go. There is a similar traffic circle in Pinehurst, NC that is 2 lanes (though it's MUCH larger and acts as a traffic circle for a friggin highway (15-501), so traffic sucks ass anyway, though typically when the high school gets out is the only time it's really bad.

This implementation is a lot more simpler and just as effective.

6/7/2012 1:36:40 AM