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Roundabouts - Swindon Style
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forky
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Joined: Sep 18, 2005
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Location: Helston

PostPosted: Fri Mar 07, 2008 9:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

DennisN wrote:
perussell wrote:
In fact a properly configured 'lane assist' screen would likely be most helpful for first timers at this junction

I don't suppose they'll be doing one for the Magic Roundabout in Swindon, though! Google Earth and get down close 51.56284207, -1.7714649. (I close my eyes, floor the pedal and pray!)


Dennis,

I take it you do not like the Magic Roundabout in Swindon. To be honest it is one of the easiest roundabouts to negotiate as long as you obey the highway code rule of give way to your right



Lane Assist would be as much use as a rubber beak to a woodpecker here IMO

Just to orienteer yourself, (there is 1 main roundabout and 5 satellite roundabouts, starting:
Top right: Shrivenham Road
Right: Queens Drive (to/from A420 Oxford)
Bottom: Drove Road (to/from Old Town)
Bottom Left: Fleming Way (to Town Centre)
Top Left: County Ground ( football stadium)
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Last edited by forky on Fri Mar 07, 2008 10:09 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Trevor1234
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 07, 2008 9:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi Forky
I have seen your Google Earth picture of the Magic Roundabout and I cant believe it. I have spent 10 minutes looking at the picture and I must admit that if I was suddenly confronted with the roundabout I wouldn’t have a bloody clue what to do. God help us.
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forky
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 07, 2008 10:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Trevor1234 wrote:
Hi Forky
I have seen your Google Earth picture of the Magic Roundabout and I cant believe it. I have spent 10 minutes looking at the picture and I must admit that if I was suddenly confronted with the roundabout I wouldn’t have a bloody clue what to do. God help us.


It looks worse than what it actually is. There are very few accidents .There are more on the main A420 Oxford road than here) It is slightly more tricky for buses and lorry's due to there length.

I can remember when this was first conceived in the early 70's, then all there was was traffic cones showing the layout.
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DennisN
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 07, 2008 11:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Wrong, forky! There isn't a central main roundabout any longer - there was when it was first built, but no longer. That central thing (if you look carefully at the road markings) is effectively an anti-clockwise roundabout.

Consider - Would you travel along the yellow arrows, or along the blue ones? For us country boys, just the question is difficult enough, never mind the execution!! The red route could be done by following the yellow - which is correct? Thank goodness I'm only going to the Link Centre tomorrow, so I won't be going over it!!


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forky
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 08, 2008 9:48 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

DennisN wrote:
Wrong, forky! There isn't a central main roundabout any longer - there was when it was first built, but no longer. That central thing (if you look carefully at the road markings) is effectively an anti-clockwise roundabout.

Consider - Would you travel along the yellow arrows, or along the blue ones? For us country boys, just the question is difficult enough, never mind the execution!! The red route could be done by following the yellow - which is correct? Thank goodness I'm only going to the Link Centre tomorrow, so I won't be going over it!!



At the end of the day the choice is yours. If you do not feel comfortable going anti-clockwise around the middle roundabout then treat it as one large roundabout and go all the way round the outside watching the road markings on where to give way.It is rare that you get traffic holdups on this roundabout compared to the one further up (Greenbridge) where you can wait an eternity to just to get on it.
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Trevor1234
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 08, 2008 11:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have driven through Paris and other large European cities and daunting it can be, but, I have never been confronted with anything like this Swindon horror. It looks horrendous on Google Earth and maybe its easier than it looks but I think I will give it a miss.

PS. I’m a village Swede with one pub and one Post Office in our village. Nothing like Swindon.
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Johnny_D
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 08, 2008 11:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

There is a great one in Colchester - Right near the university. So allmost every term time foreign drives who havn't got much of a clue to start with Are presented with a swindon-esq roundabout...

Funny as hell ;)

JD - Now also a Village Swede
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stuart
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 08, 2008 11:40 am    Post subject: Roundabouts Reply with quote

Pre TomTom SatNav days, I did a delivery into the center of Rome on a saturday morning, in a LWB Merc Sprinter. No problems, with my brother in the passengers seat making a roll-up, all the Romans just got out of the way and let us through. The magic roundabout is easy but I haven't tested it with my 520T yet..... Rolling Eyes Twisted Evil Rolling Eyes
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Trevor1234
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 08, 2008 5:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi Stuart
I have just sat in my arm hair with my Tomtom 720 and run the Route Demo through the Magic Roundabout. Poor Jane was quite breathless with all her voice commands coming one after the other. I suspect she had a quick Gin afterwards.
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perussell
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 10, 2008 10:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Personally, and living quite close to Swindon and consequently encountering the Magic roundabout from time to time, I don't think it's that difficult. As suggested above, all you need to do to successfully navigate this junction is keep an eye on traffic coming from your right and know which junction is your exit. It doesn't matter whether you go around it either clockwise or anti-clockwise you will get there in the end.

I still feel the Cherry Roundabout referred to above is much more difficult if you are doing anything else other than going straight ahead. Think of it as a cross road (with an extra road) surrounded by a roundabout. Invariably if you want to turn right coming from any direction you start off by going left Shocked For some turns you can then turn right at the next intersection, for others you need to go further around before you can turn.

When my employers relocated to nearby offices they considered it so dangerous that they brought in the IAM to take people out to demonstrate how to manage this junction.

I have rarely driven over this roundabout without seeing evidence of broken headlight/tailight glass.......

When opening the below image you need to expand it to the left as well to see the full horrors of this junction.

Link edited for brevity - DennisN
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SpikeyMikey
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 10, 2008 10:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

This is quite interesting too, at Hemel Hempstead near us.

Effectively 6 junctions in one, also called the Magic Roundabout locally.

http://tinyurl.com/29m3pq
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DennisN
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 10, 2008 10:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Trevor1234 wrote:
PS. I’m a village Swede with one pub and one Post Office in our village.


You lucky devil - we've got loads of pubs, but they're closing our post office! Evil or Very Mad

The Swindon Magic Roundabout is actually called Magic roundabout - officially on the A-Z.
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SpikeyMikey
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 10, 2008 10:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sorry Dennis, I realised just afterwards but didn't get the edit done in time before you spotted it. Embarassed

I must preview and test before I post.
I must preview and test before I post.
I must preview and test ...................


Grovel, grovel, sorry Dennis SIR!!
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DennisN
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 10, 2008 10:43 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Just so that all our confused fans can get this - he had the wrong link, I posted that he had, by the time I submitted it, he had edited and changed it, so I edited and changed my post to remove the ref to his wrong link.

Geddit? Goddit! Good.

Sorry, SpikeyMikey.

I must preview and test before I post.
I must preview and test before I post.
I must preview and test ...................

Grovel, grovel, sorry SpikeyMikey SIR!!

Note to myself - Golden rule number 1 - thou shalt not edit thy posts when there is the faintest chance that smartypantses will read them before they get edited.

That Hemel Hempstead one is actually worse than the Swindon one. What planet do these road designers come from?
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GPS_fan
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 10, 2008 10:48 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The Hemel Hempstead one was built first though wasn't it


post previewed and edited before DennisN spotted it Thumbs Up
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