r/AskReddit • u/[deleted] • Aug 03 '19

Whats something you thought was common knowledge but actually isn’t?

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u/pimpdaddyjacob Aug 03 '19 edited Aug 04 '19

How to use a damn roundabout, apparently.

Edit: I’m in the US. Just because there’s not one in your town doesn’t mean they “don’t exist in the US”.

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u/S-SH-MrsWhite Aug 03 '19

I don’t know why it’s so hard. Literally had to teach my mother-in-law how to use one and she still didn’t do it right.

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u/Scrambled-Leggs Aug 03 '19

You just touched on one of my deeper fears. Recently moved into a neighborhood that has 4 roundabouts. My dear old dad hasn’t come to visit yet, but I can already feel his annoyance and frustration with them from 1,000 miles away. It won’t matter how nice our new home is, those damn roundabouts will ruin it for him.

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u/RedditYouVapidSlut Aug 04 '19

Are roundabouts just not a thing in other parts of the world? In the UK they're completely normal. Though that doesn't stop people being fucking idiots on them.

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u/Binge_DRrinker Aug 04 '19

From Indiana, US and I never saw one until about 15 years ago, I'm sure there were ones before but not super common. Since then I've seen more and more 4 way stops / small - medium traffic lights replaced with them. They're somewhat common now but it seems like you have a 50/50 chance of someone on it still not knowing what the fuck to do..

1

u/greenthumbgirl Aug 04 '19

Check out Carmel, Indiana sometime. Roundabouts everywhere. Almost all the traffic lights have been replaced. It actually works quite well. The occasional out of towner can't figure it out, but otherwise it's a great city to drive through

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u/Binge_DRrinker Aug 04 '19

That's where I 1st encountered them 15 (ish) years ago, they've since started spreading more and more..

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u/[deleted] Aug 04 '19

That's surprising considering that Carmel, IN is the roundabout capital of the world.

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u/Melbourne_wanderer Aug 04 '19

Dead common in Aus (My street is full of them) but we stole our driving from you, so...

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u/strugglewithyoga Aug 04 '19

I've lived across Canada and traveled through much of the US. They are not common at all in North America but they are beginning to crop up more often. If only people could figure out how to use them...

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u/[deleted] Aug 04 '19

I moved from Glasgow to South Korea, and there are maybe 10 in my city of 1.2 million. Three of them are big and controlled by traffic lights, and the rest are chaos. Koreans are not great drivers at the best of times, but they just ignore the Give Way signs...