Attention All You Crazy Drivers In The Fair Oaks Neighborhood: Those Traffic Circles Are There To Slow You Down

September 10, 2008

Having spent much of my life in former British colonies, I am well versed in various British-isms:  marmite (yuck), lifts (not elevators), sprinkling my words with extraneous u’s … and the correct use of roundabouts — or “traffic circles” as they’re commonly known on this side of the Atlantic.  Sadly, many of the folks here in Silicon Valley seem to have missed that part of driver’s ed.

To reduce the tempatation of using the streets of Fair Oaks (in Menlo Park) as a convenient shortcut to avoid delays on Marsh Road and on Middlefield Road, the local neighborhood installed roundabouts traffic circles a while ago.  Most drivers slow down as they navigate around these obstacles, but some of the more aggressive drivers see them as a handy and challenging obstacle course, careening around them at full tilt, seemingly on two wheels.  Both the fast and the considerate drivers, however, still don’t seem to understand the most basic rule of traffic circles:  if you’re in the circle, you have the right of way.  If you’re not in the circle, you don’t have the right of way.

Simple, really — or it should be.  Alas, nearly every day brings about a near collision as a rule-following driver makes a left turn around a circle, while a non-rule-following driver comes merrily towards him, with no obvious intention of yielding.

People!  Slow down!  Yield the right of way to cars in the traffic circle.

‘Nuff said.

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Written by Kevin · Filed Under Articles, Consumer 

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