Wednesday 19 May 2010

Roundabout of death

At the back of Darling Harbour, there is a roundabout that I call the "roundabout of death". When heading south, cars come flying into the roundabout from the city via a downsloping ramp, and as they are coming off what you might call a freeway, they are sometimes doing about 80. Some show no desire to slow down, or even look, as they enter the roundabout.

In the case below, a taxi comes down the ramp and then proceeds into the roundabout. I was far enough away for the taxi to not have to stop and give way to me. However, the car behind the taxi was a different matter - he should have given way. He saw the taxi going, and figured that if the taxi was going, he could go as well without bothering to check if there was any traffic in the roundabout - like me.


There is a bike lane on the far left hand side of the road, and I avoid it like the plague. Riding over there means you have absolutely no sight lines up the ramp, so you can't see cars flying down, and they can't see us. I get right out into the middle of the road - or the far right hand side - and open up the sight lines as far as humanly possible.

It's the little things like that which keep you alive.

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