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To the people of Aylesbury.... - Mark (RLBS)
Do any of you know the following things ?

1) Roundabouts, on occasions, have a number of entry lanes, and there is a reason for this.

2) Taking the 3rd exit at a roundabout when entering from the left hand of three entry lanes is generally not a good thing.

3) People who use the right hand entry lane when they are taking the 3rd exit are not breaking the law, they're not hooligans and they clearly have a better grasp of the highway code than you do.

I know in every place there are people who do not understand roundabouts, but I swear in Aylesbury that absolutely *nobody* understands, and I drive through there twice a day and have done for the last 6 months.

4) You do not get extra credit if when seeing a camera in a 60 limit you instantly brake and go past it at 30.

To the people of Aylesbury.... - patently
Are we a bit upset, Mark?

Didn't you realise that Aylesbury has had to build so many roundabouts in order to give the locals more practice?

When in Rome, cut the locals up as they wouldst cut you up. Just do it to them before they do it to you....

PS I had to drive through Aylesbury twice a day every day for about 18 months. Sad to hear nothing has changed.
To the people of Aylesbury.... - terryb
Possibly the people of Leatherhead could take note too..... Oh dear, this isn't going to turn into a "where are the worst drivers at roundabouts" thread is it?

Terry

"Just because I don't care doesn't mean I don't understand"
To the people of Aylesbury.... - Thommo
Nope because the definitive answer is...

Milton Keynes.

And one would have thought that the citizens of that fair metropolis had enough practice at them...
To the people of Aylesbury.... - No Do$h
Have to agree with Mark. Went through Aylesbury the other evening and had to stop to check my car for target roundels. What is it about roundabouts that turn a functioning human being into a quivering pile of indecision on wheels?

As for the speed camera thing, I also wish a plague of fleas upon all those that feel it necessary to brake sharply to 20 when they pass one in a 30 limit. For the love of all that's holy, have some confidence in your driving or give up your chuffin' licence and give the rest of us a chance!

Oooh, I feel about 3 inches taller for getting that off my chest.

ND
To the people of Aylesbury.... - OldPeculiar
Have to disagree with you there Thommo. Nothing compares with Swindon!!! Where the residents have so many roundabouts they treat them as T-junctions i.e. drive straight across them without looking into the 'side road'
To the people of Aylesbury.... - No Do$h
Ah yes, Swindon. Home to the Magic Roundabout and a large Financial Services company associated briefly with flying pigs. Two very good reasons for me to stay away (shudder)
To the people of Aylesbury.... - patently
Sorry ND. Swindon will forever remain in my memory as the epitome of driving heaven.

Words still fail to describe the feeling of climbing into a cab at Swindon rail station and saying those words that I had waited so long to say,

"Porsche Centre Swindon please"

And the drive home ... ahhh. The sight of a young lad in his daddy's BMW pressed up against the window pane to watch as daddy drove past.... unforgettable.
To the people of Aylesbury.... - Mapmaker
The boy or the BMW pressed against the window pane....? [sorry, couldn't resist]
To the people of Aylesbury.... - patently
OK.

Is it time to declare a truce yet?

www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=20470&...e

To the people of Aylesbury.... - Mapmaker
I was just about to mention Swindon. Only been there once in my life. In 3.5t Luton van; laden with entire possessions of a friend, plus washing machine & fridge freezer just collected from well known major electrical retailer on outskirts of Swindon.

Tottering out of carpark, doing 2 miles per hour, approach roundabout to leave retail park. Get on roundabout. Crunch to halt as friendly character who was 100 yards from the roundabout when I joined it cuts in from junction to my right and cuts across centre of roundabout in front of me.

I give gentle toad-like unnecessary 'poop' just to remind him that I was on there first. He screams to stop and gets out of car and comes up to my window and yells 'who the PFD has the priority at a roundabout you PFD? The person on the right!'

It's a new one on me, I must confess that a person approaching a roundabout has priority over somebody on the roundabout already, but that's obviously a feature of that part of the world.

Maybe they want to keep DVLA in business by keeping the number of new registrations & transfers as high as possible - perhaps it's the people who work at DVLA who do it!
To the people of Aylesbury.... - CM
I think that every single r'bout in the country which has more than one lane approachin and on it has problems. Why oh why can't people stick to the proper lane (even though lines may not be painted to guide them) and not cut me up every bleeding time.


Hmmmm :-(


Ahhh, I get it - I drive an invisible car!
To the people of Aylesbury.... - patently
He screams to stop...


Voice activated brakes? I want one...
To the people of Aylesbury.... - No Do$h
Voice activated brakes? I want one...


Brakes

Surely I want those or I want them?

teehee......
To the people of Aylesbury.... - Dynamic Dave
Bad hair day Mark?

Perhaps you should have stayed here and done some moderating instead of galavanting around Aylesbury in the Land Bruiser ;o)

To the people of Aylesbury.... - Hugo {P}
Suggest you go an treat yourself Mark.

Retail therapy followed by a nice car wash to arrive home in clean condition!

Oh, and mind you take that arial in before hand!

H
To the people of Aylesbury.... - Mapmaker
Why not take the Garamond in beforehand, Hugo? :)
To the people of Aylesbury.... - Clanger
Didn't John Wyndham model Midwich as in "The Midwich Cuckoos" on Aylesbury?

Perhaps not.

Have you calmed down yet or do we look forward to some immoderate moderating this evening?

;-)


Hawkeye
-----------------------------
Stranger in a strange land
To the people of Aylesbury.... - HF
>>Oooh, I feel about 3 inches taller for getting that off my >>chest.

Does that make you as tall as me yet then, ND? ;)))

(Don't worry, only temporary internet access again!)
To the people of Aylesbury.... - No Do$h
Thank you HF. Just because I need a booster cushion to see the keyboard....
To the people of Aylesbury.... - peterb
"Swindon will forever remain in my memory as the epitome of driving heaven"

I once had a singing taxi driver in Swindon. I noticed he had some sheet music and asked him about it. Turned out he was singing Schubert's Ave Maria at his daughter's wedding - did I want to hear?

Well, his speaking voice had a nice resonance, so I asked him to go ahead. He put on the backing track and serenaded me. He was quite brilliant! I have no doubt that, had he started early, he could have been a pro (I get to hear lots of professional singers as my wife is a professional musician).
To the people of Aylesbury.... - SpamCan61 {P}
I'd just like to nominate Basingstoke for the scariest roundabouts in the country, both in terms of quantity and lack of lane discipline. Brighton Hill roundabout in first place. Some of them pictured over here :- www.bstoke.com/
To the people of Aylesbury.... - OldPeculiar
Ah but have any of these other towns ever produced a calender dedicated to their roundabouts? I've only ever seen one for Swindon
To the people of Aylesbury.... - henry k
Other candidates for "different roundabouts"

A30 and A308 where the dual A30 goes through the middle of the roundabout.

The M40 Junction 1 - The Denham Roundabout or how ever many there are.

A309 A307 Scilly Isles Roundabout
A offsit roundabout which has a short cut through the middle for north bound only A307 to A309 traffic which is not a problem.
But the A307 to A307 northbound traffic goes straight through while still actually going around the outside. This must be unusual in that taking the second exit from a roundabout is straight on with almost not steering input. It is a situation where to signal your exit would be dangerous.
To the people of Aylesbury.... - BazzaBear {P}
The roundabout just outside Stoke, where the A500 meets the A34. Almost everyone who uses it appears to believe that to leave the A500 and turn right onto the A34 towards Congleton, they require the left-hand lane.
They believe this so strongly that when you use the correct lane, you get glared at, and on occasion beeped and sworn at to boot.
I can only assume that in their relief at getting away from Stoke, they lose all driving skills. ;)
To the people of Aylesbury.... - Deryck Tintagel
Why has nobody mentioned Redditch? Only last week I hung back for a driver signalling right in the lefthand lane of a roundabout on a dual-carriageway. Should be thankful for the signal, I suppose :-)

A roundabout known loaclly as "Kamikaze Island" is not one for the nervous - quite a small island with five roads converging so any signal is very useful. I managed to get the whole car on the junction still giving way because of the locals' inability to signal. Perhaps that's the answer ...
To the people of Aylesbury.... - Wilco {P}
Ah but have any of these other towns ever produced a
calender dedicated to their roundabouts? I've only ever seen one >> for Swindon


Sad to say but capital of roundabouts, Milton Keynes, also has a calendar - they flog a few others too in the shopping centre, but I'm glad to say I can't remember which towns/cities they covered...
To the people of Aylesbury.... - PST
Henry K mentions the Denham Roundabout (my local)...

Initially quite intimidating but once you get used to it, it's actually quite a clever design - one very big roundabout surrounded by 4 'satellite' roundabouts and 2 sets of traffic lights.

Its best feature though is that you can drive round it either clockwise or anticlockwise depending on your mood or if you fancy balancing the wear on your tyres.

Re: Aylesbury - I collected my new car on Monday from there and the car dealership is right on the junction of this funny double roundabout thing....nearly got it rammed with 20 miles on the clock.
To the people of Aylesbury.... - malteser
I nominate ANY roundabout ("Glorieta" yes - really!) in Spain.
Generally the Spanish don't DO roundabouts as evinced by the number of vehicles I see in the middle of roundabouts surrounded by palm trees, oleanders and bits of broken car.
Roger.
To the people of Aylesbury.... - mab23
My nomination for worst roundabout is J4 M40/A404 (Handy Cross) roundabout in High Wycombe.

Lanes on the roundabout that go all over the place, traffic lights, traffic jams on the A404 approach for most of the day, PFDs who cut up people who drive in the proper lanes. A right NOIGHTMARE! :-)

mike
To the people of Aylesbury.... - commerdriver
Totally agree on the Handy Cross vote. What really annoys me about it was that it used to work. You could get in the correct lane when you got on to the roundabout and as you went round, if you followed that lane you would be in the right place to exit. Then "they" decided it needed to be changed and repainted it! It's hard enough if you're local and know what it's like I hate to think what it's like for visitors to the area.
To the people of Aylesbury.... - patently
Yes, Handy Cross takes some beating. Don't know why I didn't think of it before, actually..

Speaking as a former visitor and now a local, I can say that for the unfamiliar it becomes an object of terror to be avoided at all costs. When you do know it, it is an irritant made worse by those poor benighted souls for whom it is an object of terror.

The only bright spot is the fun to be had herding the confused visitors from lane to lane by judicious use of the horn. I think there's a Galaxy there today that has been going round since 6:45 this morning.
To the people of Aylesbury.... - patpending
I agree about the Scilly Isles, it's a scilly design for scilly people. Turning right from the A307 SW-bound to the A309 N-bound, you have to stop twice, accelerate out of the first stop and you'd better hope you've got enough space to stop at the second!

Or to join the A307 towards Esher, two lanes of traffic become one, that's interesting.

The A30 / A308 roundabout you mention is I think called the Crooked Billet. Have you ever looked carefully at the pub? it seems to be custom-built to look like it's falling down.

Generally, I think a lot of progress could be made if there were fewer lanes painted at roundabouts, especially where two lanes turn back into one in a very short space of time. People from all over the UK could deal with that...
To the people of Aylesbury.... - henry k
I agree about the Scilly Isles, it's a scilly design for
scilly people. Turning right from the A307 SW-bound to the
A309 N-bound, you have to stop twice, accelerate out of the
first stop and you'd better hope you've got enough space to
stop at the second!


It is my local fun spot half a mile away but over many years and a daily commute I have never seen an accident there.
The A30 / A308 roundabout you mention is I think called
the Crooked Billet. Have you ever looked carefully at the
pub? it seems to be custom-built to look like it's
falling down.

The Crooked Billet was as you described but has been boarded up for while and part of the roof is burnt out.
To the people of Aylesbury.... - patpending
henry k, just seen your post. it's true that I have seen a lot of close shaves at the Scilly Isles but can't recall an actual acccident.

I'm sorry to hear about the Crooked Billet. The strange thing is that a short drive to the Bell in East Molesey reveals an old pub which looks like it might fall down any minute. One night when I was coming out I was looking at it and a passer-by said "don't worry mate, it's stayed up 500 years, it won't fall down tonight"...

Like the Hinchley Wood a bit down the road from the Scilly Isles pubs on these big junctions seem to be in danger. We motorists should make it our mission to visit the pubs (always making sure the driver stays off the booze!).

pat
To the people of Aylesbury.... - henry k
Like the Hinchley Wood a bit down the road from the
Scilly Isles pubs on these big junctions seem to be in
danger. We motorists should make it our mission to visit
the pubs (always making sure the driver stays off the booze!).

I was seriously involved in the Hinchley Wood Pub saga.
RAM - Residents against McDonalds still holds the world record at 552 days continuous occupation of the site til they gave up.
Hence the new flats.

To the people of Aylesbury.... - henry k
Other interesting roundabouts:

The A24 by Box Hill north of Dorking.
Northbound through the roundabout and the traffic already on the roundabout should give way. Stangers in the nearside lane must be surprised as we locals tend not to ease up at that point.

The roundabout over the M4 at J8/9.
Not too many motorways have traffic lights on them.
From said roundabout the A308(M) must be one of the shortest motorways in the country.
To the people of Aylesbury.... - patpending
Who else remembers the old Wetherby roundabout? it was the first northbound after miles of trouble-free motoring on the A1. traffic in the fast lane had some serious stopping to do...

I do due to being in the car with my sis driving and my mum going "brake...brake..BRAKE NOW!!!ohmigawd...."!

HenryK said: "I was seriously involved in the Hinchley Wood Pub saga. RAM - Residents against McDonalds still holds the world record at 552 days continuous occupation of the site til they gave up.
Hence the new flats."

Henry, I can visualise you in that caravan.

So which doorbell to we have to ring to get a drink nowadays?

it's good, and better than McChav paradise, but it's not what the founding fathers of HWood wanted is it?

pat
To the people of Aylesbury.... - Hawesy1982
If Swindon has a "Magic Roundabout" it must have copied it from the one in Hemel Hempstead i think! Legendarily known for making learner drivers cry!

Basically it's SEVEN (i think) mini-roundabouts based around one large roundabout (which isn't, technically, a roundabout of course). However i must say when there's only locals using it it works like a dream!

And whilst i agree that the A404/M40 roundabout is bad, if you are turning east from the A404, the lanes DO actually work!
To the people of Aylesbury.... - patently
And whilst i agree that the A404/M40 roundabout is bad, if
you are turning east from the A404, the lanes DO actually
work!


A404 north or south?

Yes, it works for them because cars using the 404 to Marlow are the vast majority. The rest of us are a bit caught in the melee...
To the people of Aylesbury.... - Hawesy1982
Sorry A404 from Maidenhead turning onto M40 London (ie turning right) works fine.

....After queueing for 20 minutes to reach the roundabout that is!
To the people of Aylesbury.... - helicopter
Henry - I hope you ease up pretty quickly after the Box Hill Roundabout on the A24 cos those Michelham bends are a regular killer, especially Sunday morning now the Bikers use it as a race track since the spoilsports put speed humps on the Box Hill Zig Zag....

To the people of Aylesbury.... - henry k
Henry - I hope you ease up pretty quickly after the
Box Hill Roundabout on the A24 cos those Michelham bends are
a regular killer, especially Sunday morning now the Bikers >>use it as a race track.


I treat the whole area with a great deal of caution.
How ever hard the BiB try to stop them the bikers still try to kill themselves.
It has been like that for decades. They suddenly appear in your mirror, either mirror, from nowhere, especialy on sunny Sundays.