Forum Topic

Hanger Lane Gyratory system - the UK's worst?

If you pay attention to the lanes and mirrors then although reasonably un- nerving this is a fairly manageable junction. Traffic light control is very good.I think Marble Arch and Hyde Park are the real scary London junctions.

George Knox ● 5914d17 Comments

I've always hated going round the large roundabout near Stansted Airport where you can go onto the M11 etc. The Hanger Lane system doesn't seem as bad and if you pay attention to the lanes is quite straightforward.

J Smith ● 5914d

The Gyratory is no problem. It was though, more of a challenge with no lights.

Graham Weeks ● 5913d

" think Marble Arch and Hyde Park are the real scary London junctions."Hyde Park Corner was much more fun before they put lights everywhere.  For that sort of experience nowadays, I recommend Paris: the Arc de Triomphe (L'Étoile) is a roundabout with 12 roads entering it, room for about 8 lanes of traffic on the roundabout. (No lanes marked of course.)  Bastille is good too.In the UK, the Magic Roundabout in Swindon is an interesting experience: a ring of 5 mini-roundabouts.  You can drive round the ring in either direction!

Richard Jennings ● 5913d

We tend to avoid the similar one in Hemel.

Graham Weeks ● 5913d

There's one in High Wycombe as well, caused much confusion when it was first brought in to replace the enormous roundabout that was there before.

Susan Kelly ● 5913d

In Colchester there is a large roundabout that has small mini satellite roundabouts around it. Very confusing and nerve racking especially when you meet cars coming from waht appears to be the wrong direction.

J Smith ● 5913d

Never experienced the 'Magic Roundabout' myself, but after a quick google search I'd have to say that Hanger Lane looks a complete breeze compared to thishttp://www.bbc.co.uk/wiltshire/content/images/2007/10/22/msn_magic_roundabout_470x350.jpg

Philip Slater ● 5913d

"I think Marble Arch and Hyde Park are the real scary London junctions."Marble Arch is horrible, due to (last time I drove it) the lack of lane markings.  Hangar Lane I'm more familiar with, but it's still not a comfortable experience.

Thomas Barry ● 5912d

"Marble Arch is horrible, due to (last time I drove it) the lack of lane markings."You need to remember you're not driving a train, Tom.  We'll have to send you to Paris for training.The scary junction in Ealing that I don't like is the one at West Ealing (Uxbridge Road/Northfield Ave). There are always pedestrians risking life and limb because, amazingly for a major crossroads in a shopping area, there is no pedestrian phase apart from one arm.  When is this junction going to be improved?

Richard Jennings ● 5912d

My worst junction prize has to go to the approach to The Target if you have to join the slip road up to it west bound, not from the A40 but from the left. Emerging is hazardous.

Graham Weeks ● 5912d

"You need to remember you're not driving a train, Tom.  We'll have to send you to Paris for training.'My parents once spent an hour or so in a Paris cafe counting the number of cars with damaged or dented bodywork.  It was about 1 in 3, so assuming a constant ratio for the other side, it would be getting on for 66%.

Thomas Barry ● 5912d

Try Cairo where a road marked as 4 lanes will have 6 lanes of traffic and indicators are not used. People just honk horns and move across the traffic. funny that in the few days there i did not see a crash or any smashed cars. are the cars so valuable in relative terms that they respect each other? also in france people treat a car and a way of getting from a to b. so a few dents does not matter. we are very prescious about our cars but not about other peoples.

Peter Chadburn ● 5912d

I love going round and round on it on a bicycle.  The descent from Hanger Lane towards the A406 is pure magic.  Swing and bend into the corners, overtaking those in their flash Ferrari's, Porsches and BMW all on a bit of kit that cost around £300 - because of the tax relief on the Gov't's Cycle to Work scheme - you can get close to a top speed of 30mph without paying Vehicle Excise Duty.

Ben Owen ● 5912d

Yes the "flash Ferrari's, Porsches and BMW" are rather amusing. When driving my Nissan Micra into London to be sat alongside a machine that can do 170 mph being brought down to the same speed as me is quite funny. I can squeeze through gaps that terrify the flash folk. Bikers and Cyclists also enjoy that pleasure. When my girlfriend was alive she would say would you rather have that Ferrari. But it was usually driven by some ageing guy on his own, but my car was full of people!! So to get one up on the materialists is quite a nice feeling.

Peter Chadburn ● 5912d

Or try Kabul or Kano. Both are gridlocked with vehicles and beggars and no traffc controls save the congestion.

Graham Weeks ● 5912d

That's the Lido junction, Richard; it's designed for the culling of pedestrians, especially the elderly.

Susan Kelly ● 5911d

"My parents once spent an hour or so in a Paris cafe counting the number of cars with damaged or dented bodywork."That's caused by their parking techniques:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArEyWwpmtCEhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nif2gODVxm8

Richard Jennings ● 5911d