[colmvp]

I'm not sure why roundabouts are so uncommon in North America.

Where I live, at a 4 way small street intersection, two of the entrances have stop signs with a roundabout in the middle. At that point, you might as well get rid of the roundabout.

[coolhand2120]

I think I live in a typical US CA city and there are dozens if not hundreds of roundabouts in this suburb. And I don't understand why you would have stop signs AND a roundabout. I am hoping someone can explain this feature to me. It just seems like extra chance for confusion and extra source of danger because of that.

[jedberg]

> And I don't understand why you would have stop signs AND a roundabout

You shouldn't. It's a poor design choice to cater to Americans who aren't used to roundabouts and yield signs. It makes things less safe.

[rootusrootus]

It's also a reaction to poorly placed roundabouts that are severely unbalanced and heavily used. Not every intersection is well suited to become a roundabout.

[badpun]

Wait, Americans aren't used to yield signs? Is this in general, or only in the context or roundabouts?

[jedberg]

I've been driving in America for over 30 years and while I've seen them occasionally, they are very rare. And when I do see them, almost no one understands how they are supposed to work (go slowly until you know there is no one already there). They basically either don't slow down at all or stop like a stop sign.

It's not really covered when we learn how to drive. We get maybe a page on it in the handbook and one question on the driver's test. And then the road test almost never has one since they are so rare.

[eropple]

Your post as a sibling to mine cracks me up. It really underlines how different road design is in the Northeast to the rest of the country; I can hit four roundabouts to go three towns over if I picked my route to avoid the highway, and probably see another additional yield along the way. And it was one of the most important things drilled into us (Maine) during our driving lessons and exam, where we were taught “default to stop unless you know you’re clear”.

[rootusrootus]

Not just northeast. GP is talking from their own narrow perspective. I've driven all over the country, and roundabouts (as well as yields) are common in some places and nonexistent in others. GP just seems to have a narrow experience.

[badpun]

That would explain why there are so many stop signs in the US suburbs on intersection with excellent visibility and little to moderate traffic (at least, that's what I see in US movies). Must be super annoying to drive through. Where I live (Poland), stop signs are an exception, used only in circumstances where a mere yield sign is deemed too unsafe.

[eropple]

Yield signs, IME, are way more common in the Northeast than the rest of the country. They’re taught specifically in driving schools, too, or at least were when I attended, complete with “if you aren’t sure, treat it as a stop sign” (which might annoy drivers behind you but is the safer play).

We also have a lot of rotaries/roundabouts here, too, so you get a lot more practice.

[rootusrootus]

You can't generalize across 340 million people across an an entire continent. Some regions have lots of yield signs and lots of roundabouts, some have very little of either one. The feds provide guidelines, but there is plenty of regional variation in preferences.

[rootusrootus]

The only situation where I could see stop signs making sense is an unbalanced roundabout. It can be hard to get an opening to enter a busy roundabout that is dominated by cross traffic flow.

[jedberg]

I have it even worse near my house. A roundabout with a stop sign at every entrance. It actually causes more problems than a four way stop sign, because people enter without signaling and then get mad when you assume they're going straight.

There is literally no difference between someone going straight and someone turning until they are right in front of you (unlike with a regular intersection where they would at least angle the front of their car to indicate turning).