Road accidents and deaths time to take the Jungle of the roads

beastfromtheEast

I remember many years ago when the M50 was new and there was a head on collision newspapers at the time exposed that instead of a guardrail in the centre of the motorway there was chickenwire.

These days coming to roundabouts where visibility is very important we have overgrown Jungles.

There are many worse but the stupidity is mind boggling.

The rules are giveaway to traffic already on the roundabout coming from the right.

It is impossible to see another road user entering the roundabout from the opposite side indicating right with these stupid and dangerous jungles on Irish roundabouts.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058307222/road-accidents-and-deaths-time-to-take-the-jungle-of-the-roads

You don't need to see the other side of the RAB, you need to be looking to your right for oncoming traffic on a RAB

Killinator

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058307222/road-accidents-and-deaths-time-to-take-the-jungle-of-the-roads

It may be impossible to see them coming on to the roundabout but you will clearly see them.when they come around from the right. If you can't see them entering the roundabout as you get to it because they are on the opposite side then you really shouldn't have a problem.

beastfromtheEast

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120918099#Comment_120918099

Many people these days have no patience and enter the roundabout very fast you cannot see another user coming onto the roundabout from the other side what purpose does overgrown jungles on roundabouts serve?

ratracer

There was a very sad case in Galway a few years ago, where an elderly man was reported missing for a few days/ weeks, but no sightings.

Later, a passer-by on a double decker bus reported seeing a car crashed into the jungle of a roundabout along one of the main entry points into the city, it was unnoticeable from road level.

The poor chap had crashed his car into the roundabout at night, and nobody saw it to aid him. His remains were removed later by the fire service. It was such a tragic case, and for me, really highlighted the sheer stupidity of putting high growing hedges/ trees in the middle of roundabouts, yet it still persists!!

Allinall

Should we get rid of all buildings?

You can’t see through them either to see what might be coming around the corner.

OP, if you can’t safely negotiate a roundabout like the one you depicted, then perhaps driving isn’t for you.

beastfromtheEast

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120918139#Comment_120918139

I never seen a building in the middle of the road.

Also buildings serve a purpose what purpose does an overgrown jungle on a roundabout serve?

Don't say wildlife.

beastfromtheEast

42% of drivers have had 'near miss' on Irish roundabouts, 3% have had a collision. When approaching a roundabout, reduce your speed in anticipation of the fact that you may need to yield. You should also take this opportunity to read the roundabout directional sign to determine in advance the exit you will need to take

Taken from AA Ireland.

ZookeeperDub

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058307222/road-accidents-and-deaths-time-to-take-the-jungle-of-the-roads

You should be looking for cars coming from your right. Not straight in front of you

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120918170#Comment_120918170

If you are out on the roads you will notice over 50% of motorist have no idea what indicators they should use on roundabouts and its a pure guess to figure out what direction they are going in. At this stage I find it easier to wait for the clowns to get out of the way than try to guess. Of course you will have someone behind you beeping like crazy but better than getting into a crash.

The problem is not the roundabouts. The problem is the drivers who seem to have no awareness of the rules of the road

freshpopcorn

There was a Roundabout in Clonmel that used look like this.

Now it looks like this

beastfromtheEast

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120918188#Comment_120918188

I do look for cars coming from my right and I agree with you about the behaviour of 50% of drivers.

Seen a few crashers on roundabouts I have never been involved in one thankfully fingers crossed.

prunudo

The op raises a valid point, some roundabouts are seriously over grown with needlessly large planting schemes, but as usual the replies by some on boards are flippant in nature.

Slightly related, but with the wet weather and warm temperatures this summer, the ditches are very overgrown, ferns being particularly invasive this year. Making the roads naarrower and more dangerous than they needs to be. Of course, the councils and land owners will hide behind hedges cutting laws, but it is an accident waiting to happen.

beastfromtheEast

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120918119#Comment_120918119

How horrible.

ZookeeperDub

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120918226#Comment_120918226

You need to look from the right, not across the roundabout. If you are too busy looking across it then you won't see the cars coming from the right or entering from one of the roads on the right.....

Most of the large roundabout you can't even see straight across and it doesn't affect anyone so why do you need it on smaller ones?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120918113#Comment_120918113

Impatience and poor driving are different issues

beastfromtheEast

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120918297#Comment_120918297

I take a right on a small county road leading into a major industrial estate everyday and there is a massive jungle on the roundabout.

I agree with points about poor driving but I cannot see the purpose of having massive jungles on roundabouts.

Nobody has given a reason or purpose for these overgrown roundabouts.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120918334#Comment_120918334

So drive at an appropriate speed where you can safely stop within the distance you can see

This is basic stuff

beastfromtheEast

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120918342#Comment_120918342

I do many others don't.

prunudo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120918297#Comment_120918297

Not all roundabouts are perfect 0,90,180,270 entry points, not all vehicles have quick acceleration. There are roundabouts with badly overgrown planting, restricting sightlines. It can be particularly bad trying to pull away on busier roundabouts. So when trying to time, when to move off, improved sightlines help.

You might not believe it, but they are out there.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120918352#Comment_120918352

Then vegetation on a RAB won't make any difference

CramCycle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120918226#Comment_120918226

It's not an accident waiting to happen, it's an accident caused by ****s with no patience. A bit like when you see junctions getting cleared and surprisingly, incidents increase as ******ed ****holes go through as if they don't exist. Junction near me recently two cars late at night crushed when both drivers flicked off their lights at the same time to see was anyone coming. Some ****holes are stupid and thankfully they are not a majority but trimming back roundabouts won't improve safety, it may in fact make it worse.

CramCycle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120918411#Comment_120918411

Or they see you and think, grand, they'll be clear and keep the foot down. Let's not pretend that isn't realistic

prunudo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120918540#Comment_120918540

Plenty of roads around me with ferns over growing on both sides, significantly reducing the width of the road. Surely as a cyclist you can see the potential for an accident in this.

CramCycle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120918598#Comment_120918598

As a motorist I'm not sure I understand. I drive around all the time in summer on apparently narrower roads but I still manage to pass people without ripping the sides off other motorists or hitting pedestrians or cyclists. Maybe it's me, but maybe the issues aren't the ferns (that won't stop or hurt my car). Maybe it's the behaviour of certain people causing issues.

_Kaiser_

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120918419#Comment_120918419

The point is that there's no obvious reason for overgrown roundabouts to exist at all. I know we're all into this notion of letting greenery grow wild for nature nowadays, but safety and common sense has to override stuff like this when there are multiple fast-moving vehicles involved.

Let's not forget the mini-roundabouts or painted circles on the road where the junction itself isn't wide enough for them.

Personally there's many roundabouts I can think of where a proper junction with lights would be far better and safer - take the infamous Walkinstown roundabout in Dublin for example. How is that chaotic high-speed last-minute free-for-all safer and better than installing proper signalled junctions?

Seth Brundle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120919347#Comment_120919347

The point is that there's no obvious reason for overgrown roundabouts to exist at all. I know we're all into this notion of letting greenery grow wild for nature nowadays, but safety and common sense has to override stuff like this when there are multiple fast-moving vehicles involved.

I think the point was that people shouldn't be travelling around these at a speed in which they cannot stop if necessary and not everyone can or wants to travel fast. On some of these roundabouts, there will be people driving slown moving cars, people on bikes, pedestrians crossing at an exit - it's not a racetrack!

_Kaiser_

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120919383#Comment_120919383

And while that's nice in theory, and even correct in theory, the reality is very different for exactly those same reasons and you won't get everyone to operate at the speed/ability of the lowest common denominator - which is why for example there's issues with dawdlers on motorways rather than everyone trundling along at 80 km/h.

In the real world you remove unnecessary obstacles to improved flow and safety, not make excuses for them. Those who can't meet the standard needed probably shouldn't be there in the first place.

Seth Brundle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120919414#Comment_120919414

So pedestrians and cyclists cannot exist in your roundabout utopia? Like I said, it's not a race and if some people cannot navigate a roundabout safely because of others on it, then the issue is those people!

_Kaiser_

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120919485#Comment_120919485

If we're talking utopia then they should be off the main carriageway as for example they would be in the Netherlands.

But there are many people who just aren't suited to driving too - poor spatial awareness, hesitant, nervous etc. They shouldn't be on the roads either.

This mentality that we must enable and accommodate everyone regardless of ability or common sense is why there are so many issues.

Seth Brundle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120919511#Comment_120919511

I didn't say (or even imply) that we should accommodate everyone. I said that people who cannot drive at a safe speed on a roundabout are the problem. As for the Netherlands, people still cycle on roads there and pedestrians still cross roads so not sure what your proposal is exactly.

And I'm only too aware that there are loads of people driving who are completely unsuited to the task but this is largely irrelevant when it comes to someone driving in an unsafe manner around a roundabout.

Anyhow, this will go around in circles (excuse the pun) so I'm leaving it there. If you wish to choose to think the problem isn't people driving unsafely then so be it.

whisky_galore

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120918119#Comment_120918119

In fairness, it's possible to crash in heaps of places along our roads and the car not be visible from the road afterwards. Happens in the States quite a lot, crashed cars not being found until maybe decades afterwards.

Podge_irl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120919414#Comment_120919414

Improved flow and improved safety can quite often be contradictory goals.

Beta Ray Bill

Doesn't matter if there is hedges in the centre of a big round about. You can still see to the right to join safely.

If you're unable or are extremely nervous when joining a round about with hedges, then you probably shouldn't be driving.

Do more lessons, skill up, practice or what ever.

The amount of people on the road that really shouldn't be is a joke. (a large number of people do not get the rules of a roundabout despite having passed their test)

hoodie6029

The Beast from the East was gone within a week, hopefully this troll is too.

Tackling thousands upon thousands of uninsured and unlicensed drivers should be a bigger priority than pruning some roadside shrubs.

liamog

Can this be summed up with, "I have to slow down when approaching roundabouts to safely traverse them because I can't see traffic approaching from the other side?"

If so it seems to me that the vegetation on the roundabout is doing a stellar job and is causing most drivers to slow down and concentrate on traffic coming from the right hand side, this is the kind of passive infrastructure design we should be encouraging. Speed is a function of the road conditions not paint on a sign.

beastfromtheEast

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120920910#Comment_120920910

I am not a troll and I totally agree with taking unlicensed and uninsured drivers off the road.

It's not either or improving visibility has no bearing on lawbreaking drivers.

In my opinion better visibility or roundabouts can only be a good thing.

I have never been involved in a road accident but I do find behaviour at roundabouts has gotten worse over the years.

More and more people don't bother using their indicators or yield to the right.

In my personal opinion I would like to be able to see these people entering the roundabout that does not make me a troll.

I accept that I hold a minority opinion on this thread but I fail to see what purpose having mini jungles on roundabouts serve.

I have had my say others are free to disagree fine.

Podge_irl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120922855#Comment_120922855

In my opinion better visibility or roundabouts can only be a good thing.

Except that's not true, because it encourages drivers to take the roundabout at speed. There is an argument against greenery on roundabouts, but it is categorically not "only a good thing" to remove them.

beastfromtheEast

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120923167#Comment_120923167

I can see your point it's a tricky one.

People seem clueless on the use of roundabouts.