Are Roundabouts In The Las Vegas Valley Working?
Comparatively, they haven’t been here very long, but are roundabouts in the Las Vegas Valley working? Are they keeping traffic moving? Or is it that people just don’t know how to use them?
All these questions came up on The Mike & Carla Morning Show the other day. For those that know how to use them, they’re great. However, for those that don’t, well they are the ones that seem to back things up.
If you are in the latter group, fear not, there are instructions on how to cope with these big traffic circles. The rules are very clear according to the Federal Highway Administration.
This whole conversation started with audio from an argument that was started because one guy in a big truck didn’t understand the concept.
Are The Roundabouts In Las Vegas Working
It’s very simple, if you’re in the roundabout, you have the right of way. If you’re trying to merge into traffic, you’re the one that has to yield.
Of course living in Las Vegas, we all know that “merging” and “yield” are two big problems when you talk about driving. For some reason, no matter where you came from, drivers have a problem merging even onto the highways here.
We’ll even go one step further, have you come to a four way stop with three other cars at the same time? For some reason, it all becomes a guessing game on who goes first after stopping.
All was discussed on the morning show where all three agreed that the roundabout system seems to work…if everyone knows how!
Of course, living here in the valley, they have done a pretty good job of putting them in random places throughout. In the “republic” of Summerlin, they seem to have manage very well with this new system. But in other parts, drivers are having a bit of issue.
The Latest Statistics On Las Vegas Drivers Is Actually Pretty Scary
Turning Right On A Red Light
An intersection near Sunset and Pecos in Las Vegas shows a cars lined up in a right-hand turn lane on the opposite side of the street. This is where many drivers in Las Vegas must brake quickly when they are cut off in the middle of the intersection by a driver turning right on a red.
The Nevada DMV’s website has a section about Las Vegas traffic laws and safety. When it comes to turning on a red light, the website states that drivers “must be in the extreme right-hand lane and yield to pedestrians and all traffic moving through the intersection.”
While I haven’t seen too many drivers turning right when they’re not in the extreme right-hand lane, I’ve seen plenty disregarding the second part. The part about yielding to traffic moving through the intersection. I’ve been cut off SO many times by someone turning into the right most lane of the oncoming traffic, just as I’m approaching that lane from the other side of the intersection. Forcing me to slam on my breaks in the middle of the intersection. Good times.
I’ve also seen the same driver turning right on a red turn into the middle or far left lane of the adjacent street, instead of the right most lane. And just as someone with a green arrow opposite them in the intersection is turning into one of those lanes. Also not good.
Turning Left When Someone Else Is Turning Right
The beautifully-drawn white truck that is about to turn into the neighborhood is yielding to the driver in the car turning right into the same neighborhood. This is a rare unicorn in Las Vegas called “a courteous driver”.
Oftentimes in Las Vegas, I’m turning right into a neighborhood. And a car (typically one NOT drawn by me) approaches from the other side of the intersection with the driver wanting to turn left into the same neighborhood. Most of the time, the driver turning left yields to me turning right, but other times they have been downright rude about having to wait.
For this one, we turn to the “Rules of the Road” section of www.leg.state.nv.us. NRS Chapter 484B.253 states that a someone turning left in an intersection has to yield to any oncoming traffic, as long as that traffic is in the intersection or close enough to it to be a hazard. On the other hand, if there aren’t cars close enough to be a hazard, then the driver turning left has the right-of-way, providing they have their turn signal on.
What I see a lot in Las Vegas is that even when the left-hand turning driver has the right of way, because nobody coming at him is close enough to be a hazard, someone approaching the intersection where the turn is being made will actually speed up to get to the intersection more quickly. I don’t know what that is. Maybe to “teach that driver a lesson”? Which is silly because, unless I’m reading it wrong, the law would make the driver going straight at fault in that situation.
Turning Left From a Left-Hand Turn Lane
An intersection in Las Vegas shows various cars ready to make a turn into an intersection. Drivers in left-hand turn lanes often don’t exit the intersection in the lane that corresponds to the lane they were in upon turning.
This is one that drives me the most mad in Las Vegas. Because it happens ALL. THE. TIME. Drivers are turning left in an intersection that has both a double left-hand turn lane and at least two (usually three) lanes in the intersecting street. And I would be a very rich woman if I had even a penny for every time I saw a driver turn into a lane not designated for them considering which lane they came from.
The City of North Las Vegas website, section 10.20.260 doesn’t specify where a turning car should land on a two-way street. But for “Left Left Turns on Other Than Two-Way Roadways”, subsection C states that a driver has to both exit the left hand turn lane and enter the intersecting street as close as possible to “the left-hand lane lawfully available to traffic”.
What happens a lot in Vegas is that the driver in the extreme left turn lane will turn into the middle or even extreme right lane of the intersecting street. Thereby forcing the driver who came from the rightmost left-hand turn lane out of their lane. And the especially rude drivers will then honk at the car that is “in their way” because they were actually where they were supposed to be. I always wonder if that driver knows what they lack in driving skills, they make up for in sheer laughable entitlement.
The 4-Way Stop
A 4-way stop in Las Vegas. Otherwise known as the “Area Of Confusion” for many drivers. When it rains in Southern Nevada and the stoplights stop working is when you’ll really see chaos in this situation.
Oh the dreaded 4-way stop in Las Vegas. This is another area where drivers are often shirking the rules of the road. But honestly, it’s not the drivers who aggressively ignore the laws that have frustrated me. It’s that driver in the white car across from me, who was clearly there before I was, who sits and waits for me to go. I don’t know if they are trying to be kind, but it just disrupts the flow of the intersection. Because the guy in the silver truck to the right is wondering why we’re all just sitting there.
When it comes to the 4-way stop in Las Vegas, there are concrete rules. Nevada Driving Academy states that “the first car to arrive at the intersection receives the right of way.” It doesn’t matter where they are in the 4-way stop, or where other cars are in relation. This is the “first come, first served” rule. When two cars arrive at the same time on adjacent streets, this is where the “yield to right” rule comes in. The car to the right of the other goes first. Simple enough.
Other areas of confusion involve the “straight over turning” rule. Which states that when two cars approach simultaneously head-to-head and one is turning, the person going straight has the right-of-way. The last rule is the “right over left” rule. Which gives a car turning right the right-of-way if there’s another driver turning left onto the same intersecting street.
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