Slightly unsafe roundabout off SH2 before Mellling Offramp

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lchiu7

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#233635 25-Apr-2018 14:19

The last exit on SH2 before Melling (heading north) is an overhead roundabout. If you want to go to LH then you go right around the roundabout and then down the ramp,

Driving instructors always tell you to slow down at a roundabout and if there is no traffic on the roundabout from the right, then proceed.

But this particular roundabout (perhaps because it's elevated) has barriers that prevent you from seeing traffic approaching from the right and so you have to stop to be safe.

You can see here you cannot see cars approaching from the right because of the wall. Perhaps if they had made the barriers more like motorway barriers that you can see through, then it would make for much more continuous and safer driving (IMHO)

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sbiddle

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#2002316 25-Apr-2018 14:38

It's the Maungaraki interchange and has always been that way. It's a very poor design and was pointed out at the time but clearly nobody wanted to do anything about it. I remember chatting to somebody about it a few years ago who was aware of a number of accidents that had been directly attributed to this.

The new Manor Park flyover is a similar design but doesn't have this fatal flaw.

BlakJak

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#2002319 25-Apr-2018 14:41

A stop sign would require you to stop. A Give Way requires you to simply give way, which you should do anyway (but does not oblige a full stop). If you are at the head of the queue you can see around the roundabout enough to determine if it's safe to proceed. I doubt they'll change the configuration here because all it'll do is encourage drivers exiting the main highway to keep up momentum/speed and we all know, road planners hate anything to do with speed that might then contribute to an accident, whether through fault or not.

To be fair i've had similar thoughts when using that interchange but it's safest to come to an almost-stop at the head of the queue by the limit-lines, if only because the barriers in the middle of the roundabout would act as a barrier to being able to see some traffic approaching from the opposite side of the interchange anyway, so even granting better visibility to the right as you suggest, doesn't eliminate all of the risk.

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Jase2985

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#2002328 25-Apr-2018 14:56

most of the roundabout interchanges in auckland you can barely see to your right either

BlakJak

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#2002426 25-Apr-2018 16:50

Jase2985:
most of the roundabout interchanges in auckland you can barely see to your right either

I reckon that's a bit unfair. The problematic roundabouts in Auckland aren't a problem due to visibility.

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timmmay

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#2002502 25-Apr-2018 20:30

It's not ideal. I stop at that intersection, or at least I'm going very slowly.

1eStar

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#2002672 26-Apr-2018 10:28

Drive a truck. Then you can see over it.

DjShadow

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#2002674 26-Apr-2018 10:34

My opinion of the design having driven it everyday for the past few years is that it should be a stop-sign at the top of the off-ramp as there is no way you can safely sail through that intersection unless you have a very high vehicle.

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Hammerer

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#2002688 26-Apr-2018 10:45

I disagree - it should not be a stop sign. We only ever stop if there is a vehicle on the roundabout so it doesn't require a stop every time. A stop sign would not increase the safety for most of us.

BlakJak

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#2002697 26-Apr-2018 11:03

DjShadow:
My opinion of the design having driven it everyday for the past few years is that it should be a stop-sign at the top of the off-ramp as there is no way you can safely sail through that intersection unless you have a very high vehicle.

It does not have to be a compulsory stop. Give way means to stop if its' not safe. A driver should be savvy enough to recognise when they don't have enough visibility to proceed without stopping, and stop if needed.

Noting that dropping to 1km/h is not stopping, but is more than sufficient with this intersection.

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lchiu7

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#2004168 28-Apr-2018 16:24

I drove it again today and wondered if a typical motorway barrier had not been used because somebody could jump over it! But then the current wall isn't that high anyway. I think it's poor design since traffic coming off the motorway should be allowed to flow freely and not have to stop, stop sign or not.

I don't know what it's like at rush hour but possibly traffic could back up onto the motorway.

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mattwnz

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#2004176 28-Apr-2018 16:57

If it was a stop sign, I suspect that it will cause traffic to build up behind it, as stop signs mean you actually have to stop rather than just slow down to a crawl. I have driven this intersection, but not really noticed it as a problem, although I always stop anyway, and visability on it from the right certainly isn't good.However I think the interection that this attaches to at the bottom, where you enter lower hutt is worse, due to visibility. It ju7st doesn't feel all that safe to me. For some reason councils also seem to plant plantings on the traffic islands and roundabouts is a good idead, and then don't keep them maintained, so sometimes they can grow very high, preventing visibility. It is worse in normal cars, which have lower seats than ATVs. This is why I think ATVs can be safer in cities, as your eye level is higher. I hate driving in Lower Hutt though due to all the roundabouts it now has. Many people don't know the rules, and don't signal.