A roundabout can significantly simplify traffic management.
Or just complicate things, like the “Magic Roundabout” in Swindon, UK.
We explain how it works.
Roundabouts are ubiquitous, but like so many traffic signs, the round traffic obstacle also puzzles many drivers.
It is not uncommon for the roundabout to be used incorrectly.
Especially when it's something as curious as the "Magic Roundabout" in Swindon, UK.
The singular is wrong in this case.
In fact, there are two concentric roundabouts running in opposite directions, which are connected to each other by five smaller roundabouts.
It sounds complicated, and it is.
So complicated that locals prefer to take detours to avoid the "Magic Roundabout".
"Magic Roundabout" in Great Britain: Europe's most curious roundabout
In the roundabout(s) built in 1972, you not only need a head for heights, but also strong nerves.
The curious thing: while traffic in the outer circle typically runs clockwise in Britain, traffic on the inside, like in the rest of Europe, is on the right.
It is therefore driven counter-clockwise.
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The traffic routing of the Magic Roundabout is a bit more complex than that of a normal roundabout.
© Matrix/Imago
As if that wasn't complicated enough, using the "Magic Roundabout" gets even more confusing.
If you want to leave the roundabout at the next exit, stay left outside the first small roundabout and turn left before the second.
So far so easy.
All other motorists use the mini roundabout to go clockwise to the next one until exiting the outer circle.
"Magic Roundabout" in Great Britain: Complex traffic routing
Motorists who come from the meeting streets and take the third exit at the respective small roundabouts enter the large inner roundabout, which runs counterclockwise.
You leave this at the desired exit via the respective small roundabout.
Unknown traffic signs?
Do you know the meaning of all the signs?
Unknown traffic signs?
Do you know the meaning of all the signs?
This principle makes it possible to ride the Magic Roundabout both clockwise and counterclockwise.
If the exit is missed, it is also possible to change the direction of travel by changing between the roundabouts.
Strictly speaking, however, only the mini roundabouts are really roundabouts.
The inner part is just a connection of five very short one-way streets.
Therefore, traffic entering the inner roundabout has priority.
And the traffic sign only shows five interconnected roundabouts.
"Magic Roundabout" in Great Britain: Numerous negative awards.
In Swindon, the roundabout is therefore also known as the "Traffic Circle of Hell".
In 2005, the "Magic Roundabout" was even voted the worst roundabout in a poll by a British insurance company.
The BBC also included it in its 2007 list of "The 10 Most Scary Crossbreeds in the UK".
More negative titles followed.
The Magic Roundabout in Swindon, southern England, is a hub consisting essentially of two concentric, counter-rotating roundabouts linked by five mini-roundabouts.
Rumor has it it was only built around pic.twitter.com/hVBLTg9QEC
— Infocomposter (@TmWesterwald) April 26, 2023
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However, the success proves the traffic planners right, probably also because the traffic is moving too slowly to cause serious damage in the event of a collision.
A rollover like that of a Land Rover in Birmingham would probably be almost impossible in the "Magic Roudabout".
And the traffic jams caused by the previous roundabout are also a thing of the past.
As a result, the principle has been implemented again elsewhere – just a little clearer.
And there is also a Magic Roundabout in Hemel Hempelstead.
List of rubrics: © Matrix/Imago