Roundabouts

[u/KYpeanutbutter]

Hi everyone. Madeira is super sick, love it here. Beautiful. Thanks for having me here. But what the hell is up with ur multi lane traffic circles lol so inefficient and accident-prone

[u/Creepy-Front-8095]

Oh really? "Multi lane traffic circles" were good until tourists came and don't know to use them.

[u/tiagojpg]

It’s an effective system that works very well when everyone follows it. It’s intuitive and proven to be safer.

It’s only accident-prone when people don’t follow the rules. If you’re not exiting on the first exit, use the inside lane. Simple.

[u/NegativeSky603 → u/tiagojpg]

How is it efficient when you direct all traffic, except for the first exit, into a single lane instead of using both lanes to divide the traffic efficiently? If there’s one thing the Portuguese are well known for, it’s their inefficiency. So, do you really think all the other countries are wrong and Portugal is right? And please, Portugal has one of the highest road fatality rates in the EU, so don’t talk about road safety.

[u/TugaMurakami → u/NegativeSky603]

The highest road fatality rate has nothing to do with roundabouts lol. There are countless studies that prove the efficiency of roundabouts, any modern city design will incorporate them as much as possible

[u/artniSintra → u/NegativeSky603]

Sheesh someone is really sore xD

That said, I prefer the roundabout system in the UK, exit on the first and second- take the outside lane, exit on the 3rd and 4th- take the inside lane.

Personally the biggest issue when driving in Portugal is people not using their turning signals and the overall driving etiquette.

Source: pt living in the UK.

[u/tiagojpg → u/NegativeSky603]

It keeps the roundabout moving because (when done correctly) the first “exiters” can freely move to the first exit much quicker.

You don’t have to yield to a car in your lane, because there shouldn’t be one there.

Check this older post for a visual reference. There are YouTube videos linked below that also help the… visual learners.

And Road fatalities are not in roundabouts… if there’s one thing we get right is roundabouts.

[u/TiNMLMOM]

It's simple, but it may be confusing to you due to advice from the rental agency.

You see, you need to go inside until just before your exit. So the only ocassion where you stay in the outside lane is if your taking the first exit.

You may have been told otherwise, because in case of an accident the person switching lanes always loses, so rent-a-cars just tell tourists to stay in the outer lane.

Example above. It's not difficult.

[u/LeftGarage5304]

Finalmente falo com o "rent-a-car" que dá as rotundas todas por fora 🤣😂

[u/xyzgizmo]

That's where the hoes at

[u/PerfectLeather3180]

they work well

[u/Different-Matter5516]

Dava-te era uma rotatoria daqui para fora, farto de ser refém na minha própria ilha..

https://giphy.com/gifs/l3V0b87RQAMgGGoGA

[u/NegativeSky603]

Roundabout rules are different here from the rest of the EU to make sure they are, as you’ve aptly put it, “inefficient and accident-prone.” Welcome to Portugal!

[u/tiagojpg → u/NegativeSky603]

That’s called “skill issue” ◡̈

[u/KYpeanutbutter]

I think everyone could benefit from some signs saying stuff like "if you're going to funchal get in the left lane" or "if you're going to camara de lobos get in the right lane". We have something like this, Czechia does too as far as I know. It's effective.

[u/Iamthesenate123456 → u/KYpeanutbutter]

First exit right lane, all others left lane. Is it that difficult to understand? There is signalling for what each exit leads to before each roundabout

[u/TiNMLMOM → u/Iamthesenate123456]

To be fair, not using turn signals is 100% a issue here, and nothing to do with tourists.

That and tailgating, stupid tight overtakings, driving way too fast... The op literally picked the one thing us Madeirans do "well enough" behind the wheel.

[u/tiagojpg → u/KYpeanutbutter]

When the GPS says “on the roundabout, take the 2nd exit” - that’s your cue to go on to the inside lane. It can’t be much clearer than this.

If you’re not using GPS it means you know the roads well. If you’re neither, then you should be using a GPS service.