Roundabout or Rotary

hags1960 · Joined: 17 Nov 2009 Posts: 45 Location: Boston, Mass

Was using my nuvi the other day
and was doing fine with all the directions on it until i came upon what the GARMIN calls a "ROUNDABOUT" HERE FROM BOSTON WE CALL THEM "Rotary" but any ways it showed the lane assit on the nuvi for i have the 755t upon approaching the roundabout it take third exit at roundabout how do i figure out what the third exit was there.I ended up missing what it called a third exit at the roundabout but it was able to recalculate itself.Is there any way in the future for any body approaching a round and it tells u what exit to take at it what to look for.

navxguy · Joined: 17 Jan 2010 Posts: 332 Location: USA

i had a similar experience the other day, and i guessed that the 1st exit was the first road option as i began the rotary ... and when i got to the 3rd exit option, i took it ... seemed to work fine; but i agree a bit confusing ...

JeffGoobs · Joined: 21 Dec 2009 Posts: 34 Location: Denver, CO

I grew up in the Boston area too, and I still call them 'rotaries.'

"Roundabout" just sounds so... British.

Tim · Thu Feb 04, 2010 4:08 pm

"Traffic Circle" is another term often used. In some areas (more common in the UK, I believe) there is a difference between a "roundabout" and a "rotary" or "traffic circle". The difference is the rules applied to entering the intersection. In a roundabout as you approach the intersection you are required to yield to any vehicle already in the roundabout, regardless of lane. While in traffic circles and rotaries if someone is in the inner lane of the intersection but the outer lane is open, you can enter the outer lane.

patruns · + Joined: 04 Jul 2007 Posts: 1956 Location: Long Island

he he he.........

I remember the episode where Homer gets stuck in the roundabout in London.

darrengsaw · Joined: 14 Jul 2009 Posts: 113 Location: UK

Roundabout is the term we use here in the UK as you suggest.

corsairoz · Joined: 25 Sep 2009 Posts: 23 Location: United Kingdom

Perhaps the confusion stems from the USA's insistence on driving around roundabouts in the wrong direction. Were you to drive on the left roundabouts become simple and intuitive.

Here are some real pics (not photoshopped) of one of our 'special' 'tourist confusing' advanced roundabouts.......There are no islands to help...its all just painted on the road.......

I wonder what a Nuvi would make of this?

Enjoy
Corsairoz (in the UK, with a Nuvi) Laughing

maptechie · Joined: 21 Jan 2010 Posts: 283 Location: Ontario, Canada

Beautiful photo! If Toronto drivers got on that thing, it would be "close your eyes and go for it!" Very Happy

kenp · Joined: 29 Nov 2009 Posts: 322 Location: Northern Virginia

navxguy · Joined: 17 Jan 2010 Posts: 332 Location: USA

back to my original post relating to this rotary topic, my Nuvi announced "take the 3rd exit of the roundabout" (or something like that) before entering, so i started counting and took the 3rd right out of the traffic circle Wink

... seemed to work well for me

susanm · Joined: 26 Dec 2009 Posts: 34

They are called "roundabouts" in Indiana. Most around here are at an intersection of two roads, whereby taking the "first exit" would be the same as turning right at the intersection; "second exit" would be the same as going straight; "third exit" would be the same as turning left; and "fourth exit" would be a U-turn. Does that make sense? Rolling Eyes

gatorguy · + Joined: 15 Dec 2007 Posts: 8594 Location: Florida

kenp · Joined: 29 Nov 2009 Posts: 322 Location: Northern Virginia

I've read Tim's article, and it makes a lot of sense. But...

When I look at the satellite screen on my 255W, it rarely states an estimated accuracy of better than 50 to 80 feet. There are often discrepancies on that order between how far the unit says I am from a turn and how far I usually am - like it will say turn in 50 feet when I'm right at the intersection.

My NAV200 (which I think had WAAS) had a little count-down graphic that always hit zero exactly where I was to turn. It also reacted virtually immediately if I ignored a turn, even just an off-ramp. It's kind of fun seeing the Nuvi think I'm on a ramp that I decided to ignore, and snap back only when the road I'm actually on is maybe 100 feet from where the GPS thought I was going.

IMHO, for situations like the Magic Roundabout, the old ways (looking at the sign) have their distinct advantage. The real value of a GPS in those situations is not for it to drive the car for you, but to get you back on route if you make a mistake.

Ken

Tim · Sat Feb 06, 2010 9:56 pm

That isn't likely due to GPS signal accuracies, but rather issues with the software being able to keep up and draw your position in real time. The "lag" is a different phenomena from the accuracy of the coordinates.

Boyd · + Joined: 05 Jun 2008 Posts: 9529 Location: New Jersey

Do the math... at 60mph you travel 88 feet in a second. The older Nuvi's only update the screen about once per second. The newer models have faster screen updates (especially the 1200/1300/1400/1600 series), BUT the gps sensor only provides a position update once per second. So the software is just estimating your position between actual updates from the chip.

kenp · Joined: 29 Nov 2009 Posts: 322 Location: Northern Virginia

Might just be a mapping or software thing...it has the inaccuracies even if I'm at a stop sign or red light.

About the software estimating position between coordinate updates...I was impressed with the way the Nuvi showed my progress through a couple of long tunnels. I didn't think it had dead reckoning, but it did show me in the right place from portal to portal. My old GPS would freeze when I entered a tunnel, then snap to the new position when it reaquired satellites at the exit.

Ken