Monday, November 07, 2011

Roundabout ...

Today I was made to face one of my lurking fears: the fear of roundabouts. Now before you ask, yes: I've been driving for 30-odd years, and I'm not a bad driver. I am, however, a Dunoon driver. I learned in Dunoon, I sat my test in Dunoon. I can cope with single track roads, and am quite happy on one of the most dangerous roads in the country, but motorways and big roundabouts leave me quaking and completely daunted, for there are to this day only two roundabouts - both of the mini variety - in Dunoon, and one of them is covered by Scottish Water travaux just now and has been for months. Not much practice there, then - and people tend to drive over the top of them anyway.

But today I had to undaunt myself and get to the Southern General hospital with a friend who needed to be there. The people who do such things have strewn the road through Greenock/ Port Glasgow with new roundabouts, and today whoever arranges the weather had provided a pea-soup fog to complicate my life. Throw into the mix the last roundabout before the hospital, with not one single road marking anywhere on it, and the confusion that took me back to the M8 via Braehead and its multiplicity of roundabouts, and you have the second circle of my personal hell.

But I did it. I didn't kill anyone, nor did I cause any accidents. Only one rotter hooted at me, and he wanted to speed anyway. No moral high ground for him. Funny thing is - it all looks so logical in my nice little picture. I have a feeling it's the other drivers I hate. I'd manage fine on an empty road ...

7 comments:

  1. Under no circumstances, then, drive in East Kilbride, a town built entirely around roundabouts - which all have names, as if this made them more friendly and approachable.

    Aeons ago, when I was a student bus conductor (parse that how you will), my driver and I had to make three trips to EK. On none of them did we use the same route twice. The locals tried to be friendly; but this consisted of telling us that the correct route was the one that coincidentally passed their front door. After that we were on our own.

    Incidentally, Leila I's sister-in-law lives in EK, and I knew her in childhood when we went on holiday to a farm outside Campbeltown owned by her family. (This last comment is gratuitous.)

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  2. Your little picture needs some lane markings. I once met someone head on going the the wrong way round a roundabout. Luckily I swerved left and he didn't and there was no one in the outside lane.

    I had to pull over and wait til my little heart stopped going pitter patter!!

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  3. It's a little government picture! Good practice for the scabby roundabout near the hospital.... By the way, we found NZ traffic rules quite terrifying the first time we came upon a car turning right across the oncoming traffic ... Which included us!

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  4. I wouldn't drive in France then, especially in a right hand drive car. Roundabouts going the "wrong" way are seriously scary! And that's just from my perspective as navigator! I chickened out of the actual driving...

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  5. Strangely, Mal, I have done just that - driven our car in France! Musta had better nerves in these days ...

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  6. Roundabouts are a motorcyclist nightmare as well. Drivers either don't see you at all or they think they have priority over you at all times and / or you don't need much room because you are on a bike.

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  7. abf, RR - let us not, then, attempt to drive in Swindon, where I have been driven but never druv.

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