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More uncontrolled intersections?

I'm not sure about this being done in every single intersection, but I can see that it could work. In India they had hardly any traffic controlling means - it was what I considered, utter ****ing chaos. It scared me initially. However... it worked. I asked how many people died in traffic accidents and every time I asked, the answer was "hardly any", or something similar.

Just recently in town we had a near city-wide electrical outage at around 5pm. I expected a backed up horrible drive home since all of the lights were out. Surprisingly, the ONLY traffic backups were due to debris in the roadways from the storm. At the traffic lights, traffic was moving faster than it normally did.
 
I'm not saying it would work for all intersections, but the idea is very interesting. It would be a great change from the streetlights at every single intersection even if only one car goes through it in the perpendicular direction per cycle.
 
I'm not saying it would work for all intersections, but the idea is very interesting. It would be a great change from the streetlights at every single intersection even if only one car goes through it in the perpendicular direction per cycle.

Well that's pretty much what happened when the electric was out. This strange "natural" rhythmn happened where we just took turns. You could see it happening as you approached the intersection and knew that was what was expected of you when it was your turn.
 
This is one of the dumbest ideas Ive seen. In Chicago after a hard days work people would KILL each other. The accidents would be huge.
 
This is one of the dumbest ideas Ive seen. In Chicago after a hard days work people would KILL each other. The accidents would be huge.

Except there's no evidence of that happening in Britain, at least from what the interview shows. I know it sounds absurd at first, but I can't find a reason to bash it.
 
I just thought that I would post more videos about this.

Traffic is moving well here.


And I think this explains the concept and the benefits very nicely.
 
They work because everybody is careful. No one wants to get hit so everyone isnt as quick to punch the gas. The problem is when you get a dickhead who takes advantage of it. It also can slow traffic down during rush hours.
 
They work because everybody is careful. No one wants to get hit so everyone isnt as quick to punch the gas. The problem is when you get a dickhead who takes advantage of it. It also can slow traffic down during rush hours.



Explain the lack of accidents. People all seem to slow down because there is a tremendous risk of an accident if they don't.
 
Explain the lack of accidents. People all seem to slow down because there is a tremendous risk of an accident if they don't.
I already did, did you read my post?
 
I already did, did you read my post?

Yeah, I guess I read it a little too quickly. Those dickheads that you mention seem to be rare, and from what I've seen roundabouts deal with traffic better than streetlights, so I don't see the point in saying that they slow down traffic during rush hour. At least they're better than the alternative.
 
Yeah, I guess I read it a little too quickly. Those dickheads that you mention seem to be rare, and from what I've seen roundabouts deal with traffic better than streetlights, so I don't see the point in saying that they slow down traffic during rush hour. At least they're better than the alternative.
The idea really isnt manageable when you've got five or six lanes per side of the street, there's just too much going on
 
The idea really isnt manageable when you've got five or six lanes per side of the street, there's just too much going on

That sounds like a freeway, and a streetlight at such an intersection is just as bad (you should see the intersection of Wilshire/Westwood during rush hour). I'm not saying that interchanges are unnecessary, just that modern roundabouts and uncontrolled intersections handle traffic much better than traffic lights.
 
I thought of an example myself and it is one of the worst intersections in the city. The fact remains that streetlights are far less efficient than a roundabout would be.

Traffic Circles vs Roundabouts
 
In big cities many people already behave like intersections have no lights, and look at how many accidents there are.

No thanks. With the level of stupidity I've seen on the road, this would not be a good idea.
 
In big cities many people already behave like intersections have no lights, and look at how many accidents there are.

No thanks. With the level of stupidity I've seen on the road, this would not be a good idea.

Read these two things before you just dismiss it without giving it any thought.

Alaska Roundabouts

Alaska Roundabouts

Just the potential for accidents goes way down with roundabouts because you have so many less potential contact points.
 
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http://www.alaskaroundabouts.com/mythfact2.html

Does anything else need to be said? The number of accidents and the severity of the accidents goes way down with a roundabout as compared to a streetlight controlled intersection.
 
Actually, that looks like a good idea... problem is the cost of implementation, and urban planning. Most major cities follow a grid-like pattern now and the sidewalks and buildings conform to the square intersections. Changing it all now would cost way too much. It might be more effective to install roundabouts in high risk zones where there tend to be a lot of accidents. Everywhere else though, it might not be necessary.
 
Might not be, but I think the general point is that street lights are very dangerous, and that it would be safer to have slower traffic navigating itself than trying to control it remotely.

I don't know about the cost of implementation, but if we're building new intersections or are reworking intersections, then I think that this deserves to be a studied alternative at least.
 
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Actually, that looks like a good idea... problem is the cost of implementation, and urban planning. Most major cities follow a grid-like pattern now and the sidewalks and buildings conform to the square intersections. Changing it all now would cost way too much. It might be more effective to install roundabouts in high risk zones where there tend to be a lot of accidents. Everywhere else though, it might not be necessary.

Another point is that you don't need roundabouts. My first post was just about uncontrolled intersections, and even those seem to work better than streetlights.
 
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