Roundabout Fun

Those who know me well know that I am a huge fan of Google Maps.

Well, toward the end of the day today I was pumping some addresses into Google Maps (uk) to see what it thought the best route home was. While looking about, I noticed how clearly you can see the funny little roundabouts everywhere. I also realized that the roundabout truly is the fundamental building block of the British road system. Truly brilliant!

Here is your basic everyday roundabout in the Chertsey area. Nothing fancy, one lane, simple stuff, 4 ways on and off. Perhaps 75-85% 0r so of our American intersections could be replaced with these.

And then we have the Crooked Billet Roundabout and this roundabout in Old Windsor. Neither are particularly complicated, but they are fun in that they each have 3 routes in and out, making them more of a "triangleabout" of sorts. Good fun... :)

For more craziness, however, here's the slightly more insane Runnymede Roundabout. It circles about in 2 lanes and provides for access in 5 different directions. That one is a little more fun to get in and out of, especially when traffic is heavy. Here is another one of those in Windsor.

And then here is a roundabout that can only be described to be shaped like a peanut. To the new driver in the UK, that's confusing just because of the way it goes around. Still fun, though.

And, lastly, the pinnacle of the roundabouts I have encountered so far - here are some roundabouts used to get on and off of the M4 Motorway and the M25 Motorway. These British use roundabouts for everything!

The crazy thing is, they work really well and just take a bit to get accustomed to. Do watch the signs, however. And always remember that if you miss your exit, you can always just go AROUND again...... :D