Editing 2842: Inspiraling Roundabout

{{comic
| number    = 2842
| date      = October 16, 2023
| title     = Inspiraling Roundabout
| image     = inspiraling roundabout 2x.png
| imagesize = 480x502px
| noexpand  = true
| titletext = Look, I just think we need to stop coddling those hedonistic roundabout hogs who get into the inner lane and circle for hours, wasting valuable capacity.
}}
==Explanation==
This is the second consecutive comic that deals with confusing directions given to road users.

A {{w|roundabout}}, a form of traffic circle or rotary, is a traffic control device that serves as an alternative to stop signs, instead allowing for mere yields, as all traffic flows in the same counterclockwise direction around a central point (clockwise in left-hand traffic countries). Roundabouts improve safety and the flow of traffic, since they eliminate turns against traffic and full stops are only needed during high-traffic periods. One downside is that they take up more space than a traditional signaled intersection.

Various roundabout designs have been proposed and used throughout the world. Some use "out-spiraling" designs in which a driver wishing to access one of the furthest exits is initially directed into a lane towards the center, which then spirals outwards, guiding them out until they reach the intended exit. Randall, in contrast, proposes an "Inspiraling Roundabout" which spirals each entrance lane inward, eventually leading all three roads to meet in the center and become the exit lanes.

The caption states that it's "[[Technically|technically]] navigable", but that the Highway Department has vetoed it, presumably because of its deliberate complexity, impracticality, and the high risk of head-on collisions.

The system is fairly simple to use. Assuming {{w|Left- and right-hand traffic|left-hand driving / right-hand traffic}}, one could get to the next exit without entering the spiral. Getting to the subsequent exit would simply require making a lane change toward the right. 

However, Randall is likely assuming drivers who don't change lanes, in which case his design would force drivers to travel ever deeper into the spiral, reach the center, and choose one of the other two lanes to attempt to exit the roundabout. 

If vehicles don't change lanes, head-on collisions would be likely in a few scenarios, such as two vehicles reaching the center at the same time, or two vehicles trying to use the same lane going in different directions, one outspiraling from the center and one inspiraling from the entrance, eventually meeting each other head-on. (In this design, each inspiraling entrance lane can also be used as an outspiraling exit lane.)

The joke is that such a deliberately challenging and dangerous design would be unlikely to be approved. 

The '''title text''' justifies this creative design by manufacturing an amusing problem of "coddling hedonistic roundabout hogs who get into the inner lane and circle for hours". Of course, it's unlikely (but [https://www.indystar.com/story/news/local/hamilton-county/carmel/2019/09/22/hamilton-county-bicyclist-sets-carmel-indiana-roundabout-record/2411449001/ not unheard of]) that anyone would deliberately spend more time than necessary (let alone hours) circling a roundabout, so this design proposes to solve a non-issue. 
* In street racing culture, doing "donuts" -- circling a single spot at high speed to leave circular tread marks on the pavement -- is a popular pastime, but these drivers circle for a few rotations, not several hours.
* The complaint of "coddling" some group was popularized by the title of the 2018 book, "The Coddling of the American Mind," a criticism of modern higher education.

==Similar XKCD comics==
* [[253: Highway Engineer Pranks]] also has a rotary that intentionally collides cars.
* [[2728: Lane Change Highway]] has a similar theme of changing lanes because the road is poorly designed -- and it was the first time Randall complained about his ideas getting rejected by traffic engineers.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}
:[A large roundabout with three entrances of two lanes, three exits, and three spirals (as is CLEARLY evidenced by the three inner termini and three separate starts) of dotted lines starting from the medians between entry lanes and exit lanes of the same road which terminate in the center leaving a lane-sized median of plain asphalt.]

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Even though it '''''was''''' technically navigable, the highway department vetoed my inspiraling roundabout design.

==Trivia==
* Unlike inspiraling roundabouts, outspiraling roundabouts are a real thing, common across western Europe. They are known as "{{w|Roundabout#Turbo roundabouts|turbo roundabouts}}", though the design usually features at least 4 entrances/exits.

{{comic discussion}}
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