[Backpacker Joe]

RANT RANT RANT! WHOOP WHOOP WHOOP@! Off topic! Off topic! Sorry bout that. Back to Miss. Jen Jen's business. I dont suppose you were able to get a license plate number Miss. Jen Jen? That kind of thing can be reported...

[Dante]

Just teasin' old man

[Backpacker Joe]

[jenjen]

[Overlander]

[polarbear]

How about people passing you on the right shoulder while you are driving normal speeds. Is that just a Rainier Beach thing? Should I give them the paw?

[Allison]

[Mtn Dog]

There is at least one great answer to road rage, even though they wouldn't have helped much in this situation they accomplish quite a bit at intersections:

The multilane roundabout on Hwy 101 on the west side of Astoria

Modern roundabouts move as much traffic as signals but everyone using them must slow down to around 15 to 20 MPH in order to negotiate them, even if there isn't opposing traffic in the circulatory roadway. These types of intersections reduce accidents by up to 70% and have fewer conflict points compared with other intersection types. There is a new one near Bellis Fair Mall in Bellingham and there will be more soon on Guide Meridian Road. ( Sorry Slugman, the Traffic Engineer in me just couldn't resist! )

[Allison]

I'd like to see more roundabouts in a lot of places. In urban Seattle, they have slowed people down a lot and made unregulated intersections much safer. I have one at the end of my block. In places where traffic moves faster, like 30-40, I think they would work wonders.

[jenjen]

There are actually 2 roundabouts near Bellis Fair, and they work great. I've heard some people complain about them being confusing, but I've never had problems figuring them out.

[Toonces]

Have to add my $.02 that driving "roundabouts" around here is not quite the same experience as it is in the Boston area (where they're known as "rotaries")! Anybody who has done so knows what I mean.

[mgd]

That is a neat looking roundabout, but why not bank the turns a little so you can drive faster??

[Sore Feet]

[Mtn Dog]

The little concrete islands in many of the Seattle neighborhoods are referred to as Traffic Calming Circles. Although its discouraged, it is legal to turn left of the island but they're not considered roundabouts (mini roundabouts perform the same function but left turns must go around the island and they also fit inside existing neighborhood intersections). Rotaries or Great Circles are not roundabouts because they are much larger in diameter and have different traffic control - either signals or stops at each entry or traffic in the circle yields to entering traffic. These are inefficient and dangerous because they allow higher travel speeds and don't prevent vehicle conflicts. Here's a great circle being replaced with a modern roundabout in New York:

Kingston, NY

Modern roundabouts are 100'-200' in diameter (the old rotary above was 600' across), have splitter islands at each entry to direct drivers to the right as they enter, and all traffic yields to vehicles already in the circulatory roadway. All vehicles moving through the intersection travel between 14 and 25 MPH. This allows the roundabout to move traffic efficiently without creating potential for collisions. There are now over 70 roundabouts in Washington with many more on the way.