Drivers in West Cork - This is how a roundabout works:
Posted on March 14, 2006, by Conor O'Neill, under Bandon, Cork.
I hope the National Safety Council don’t mind me infringing their copyright but if publishing these pictures can save just one life then it’ll be worth it. Those lives will be saved by me not killing with my bare hands the next moron who can’t correctly negotiate the “new” mini-roundabout in Bandon.
Just because you’ve driven through that junction the same way for the past 60 years like Col. Michael Collins did before you and Gen. Tom Barry did before him, does not mean you can sail through the roundabout in your 4×4 at 60 MPH without pausing anymore.
Equally, just because the idiots in Cork County Council gave no warning of the change (or the previous junction change), it does not mean you have to have a nervous breakdown everytime you approach the new mini-roundabout and give way to everything including all cats and herons.
I admit the roundabout is a bit of a joke. Many people sail through it because they don’t notice it. They should have gone with the Birr approach and used cats eyes to mark it out. The thudda thudda should catch the notice of all but the most asleep.
But then these are the same road design experts who did the road markings for the Bandon Road R’Bout and Sarsfield Rd R’Bout. In other words, these are people who have clearly never driven a motor car. They also can have never watched anyone attempt to negotiate these roundabouts which involve three lane changes to turn right. And these are the same people who put the “conduire a droite” sign on the airport road.
Next week - my top tips for you staying on your side of the goddammed road.
[tags]Roundabouts, Sarsfield Road, Bandon Road[/tags]
4 Replies to "Drivers in West Cork - This is how a roundabout works:"
conor on March 15, 2006
It isn’t even that. It’s a small painted white cicle on the main T-Junction outside of Bandon!
You’ll be happy to hear that they are building a flyover on the Kinsale Rd Roundabout so the death trap will soon just be for local traffic. They’ll be doing the same on the other two roundabouts towards Bandon too but I fear we are stuck with our little white circle.
I kinda like driving to work on the back hilly lanes in pea soup fog. Wakes me up!
Frank on March 20, 2006
Reminds me of someone I know who was giving directions to their 80yr old grandfather as he was driving towards a notoriously busy roundabout.
“Turn right at the next roundabout grandad” she said. And he did….
conor on March 20, 2006
If that was the Tallaght roundabout on to the M50, I may have seen him in action.
We also shouldn’t forget our minister McDaid who left a horse racing meeting blind drunk and drove up the wrong side of the dual-carriageway. It’s a pity he didn’t make it to the Red Cow. Watching him negotiate that would have been a joy.
Podchef on March 15, 2006
I presume this is a new “baby step” to the Little Chef Roundabout on the way to Cork Airport? I traversed that death trap three times on my first day driving in Ireland and it made everything else seem a toddle–even negotiating the West Cork coastal roads in thick fog. . . Or the “mountain” pass over to Kerry. . . .