Is This 'Magic' Roundabout Made of 5 Mini-Roundabouts?

I have driven round the similar roundabout in Hemel Hempsted many times<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;maps.app.goo.gl&#x2F;hdU8g6mS2eAv4GgRA" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;maps.app.goo.gl&#x2F;hdU8g6mS2eAv4GgRA</a><p>It looks scary, but you just treat each mini-roundabout as a normal roundabout and you&#x27;ll be fine. We had some visitors from the US who weren&#x27;t very used to roundabouts and they managed the magic roundabout no problem!<p>When traffic is heavy (common on that roundabout in peak times) you can choose which way you go round it which is useful in avoiding congestion.<p>Edit: I just noticed on google maps it is rated as a tourist attraction with an average rating of one star :-)

&gt;the roundabout was voted the seventh most feared road junction in the country.<p>Fear is undervalued as a road safety measure :-)

Overhead view is complex, sure. The only view that matters is thru the windshield. If the driver knows at every point where to go next, then it works fine. All about signage and lanes and signals.

And of course, Tom Scott has made a video about it: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=D22BOOGbpFM" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=D22BOOGbpFM</a><p>edit: fixed a typo

Swindon on HN; never thought I&#x27;d see it.<p>Back in the 2000s most driving test routes did cross this roundabout at least once, sometimes multiple times so most people growing up there don&#x27;t understand the internets confusion by it all.<p>Look right, drive forwards, stop at the give way lines.<p>(If you couldn&#x27;t figure this out you admitted you probably shouldn&#x27;t be driving and booked your test in Cirencester instead)

The junction is named after a 1960s-1970s children TV series: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=c3DcChXNyYQ" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=c3DcChXNyYQ</a>

Auto Shenanigans on YouTube recently posted a video about this<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;youtu.be&#x2F;DAFQZwR157E" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;youtu.be&#x2F;DAFQZwR157E</a><p>He finds a bunch of little known and mildly interesting things about the UK road network.

I can&#x27;t imagine how people in my midwestern USA state would react to this. My small college shares an entrance with a middle school and they put a roundabout in a couple years ago. Except when parents are picking up or dropping off their kids it is very low traffic with very clear visibility. I still see people regularly not know how to use it. People stopping in the middle of it to let people in and stopping at the yield sign when it is obvious that there is no other car anywhere near it.

I learned to drive in Swindon, and went round that roundabout more time that I care to think. Ironically, I failed my first test at a roundabout. Make of that what you will!

I have driven quite a lot of time through there, and it is very useful junction, if there is a path with traffic, you can just take another part with less traffic to go to the same exit.<p>Because preferences on the way it goes (mini roundabouts do not have roundabout preference, but you need to give preference to your right) you can break the preference and take advantage.<p>Which usually helps because if there is a main path of traffic, minor paths can&#x27;t enter into the junction.

I&#x27;ve driven this. It&#x27;s really not as bad as it seems, although that&#x27;s a high bar, and I was screaming the entire time.

The biggest surprise here for me is snopes is still going.

<a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Magic_Roundabout_(Swindon)" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Magic_Roundabout_(Swindon)</a><p>The Magic Roundabout in Swindon, England, is a ring junction constructed in 1972 consisting of five mini-roundabouts arranged in a circle. Located near the County Ground, home of Swindon Town F.C., its name comes from the popular children&#x27;s television series The Magic Roundabout. In 2009, it was voted the fourth-scariest junction in Britain.