Autofahren im Kreisverkehr versteht der Schwede nimmer mehr

(Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/)

As promised in the entry about zebra crossings, I will also try to explain the phenomenon of the (for Swedish mindsets at least) incredibly complex roundabouts that are gaining more and more popularity today. So what has theory to say about roundabouts? According to beloved Wikipedia, roundabouts 'operate with yield control to give priority to circulating traffic and eliminate much of the driver confusion associated with traffic circles and driver wait associated with junctions that have traffic lights'. Wow, that's a lot of information packed into one sentence, so let's split it up:

1) 'roundabouts operate with yield control to give priority to circulating traffic': Many of you might think of this as a given fact that does not need further explanation, but believe me, this statement is not as clear in the minds of Swedish car drivers as goes for the rest of the world. How do I know? Well, more than once I had the possibility to encounter the confusion, if cars in the circle have priority, personally: Little Britta, completely conform to all rules, driving inside the roundabout, and suddenly almost crashing into an idiotic other car driver who decided that entering the roundabout at the same time that I was passing him was a good idea. And the best: These guys even honk and swear at you because they believe they are right. Tragic.

2) 'roundabouts eliminate much of the driver confusion associated with traffic circles': Wahahahaha. Well, that clearly does not go for Sweden. The design of a Swedish roundabout is already nothing but confusing. A million random lines that illogically cross, merge or suddenly disappear suggesting between 2 and 200 possible lanes, topped only by a mountain-like pile in the inner part of the roundabout, which makes it impossible to drive clear-sighted because well, you simply cannot see anything! No surprise Swedish car drivers look like scared Bambis when they are approaching a roundabout.

3) 'roundabouts eliminate driver wait associated with junctions that have traffic lights': Hmmmm...hihihi. Again, might work in all other countries of the world, but unfortunately not in Sweden. Whenever I leave my home to go somewhere by car, I have to pass a two lane-roundabout. 'Great' you might think 'two lanes = twice as quick traffic, half the time of waiting'. Nonono, wrong calculation, in fact it is more like: two lanes = twice the time waiting. I have spent a considerable amount of my time here in Lund waiting at roundabouts just because the car in front of me refused to enter the roundabout if the two lanes were not empty. And by empty I do not only mean two empty lanes at your entry to the roundabout (which already contradicts the whole functioning idea of roundabouts, but anyway), no: The Swede seems to prefer his roundabouts to be completely untouched and empty before he eventually dares to enter them. In the beginning I thought it was still rather cute how all these car drivers in Lund wait like little shy mice at the roundabout, their facial expression somewhere inbetween anxiety, confusion and pure fear. But on a daily basis, this gets pretty annoying as it is consuming my time. Time I need for queuing in Swedish supermarkets. But that's a story for next time.

So, summing up I would highly recommend the Swedish government to broadcast a TV programme to their car drivers which explains the roundabout. And then all of them should be flown to a random roundabout in Holland for a one day driving training.

Survival of the fittest, not everyone might return, but believe me, the ones that come back will be masters in 'roundabouting'.