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, if the driver doesn't change lanes -- or the ideal lane change can't be performed at the right spot -- the driver would travel ever deeper into the spiral, meaning that more lane changes would need to be performed to get out. A driver who didn't make lane changes quickly enough would be drawn into the center. 

The convergence of all inward-bound vehicles at the roundabout's center makes this design exceptionally dangerous. Someone who got to the center would either collide with another car there, become stuck there without an obvious way out, or would risk turning into one of the other lanes, causing them to spiral out, driving against traffic.  If any other cars used the same lane at the same time, the risk of a head-on collision would be very high. 

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 reality, if someone finds themselves deeper into or longer in a roundabout that they need to be, it's more likely to be a misunderstanding of how roundabouts work and confusion about how to get out of them rather than a hedonistic "doing it for the thrill" rush.

* 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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