The Magic Roundabout in Swindon, England, is a ring junction constructed in 1972 consisting of five mini-roundabouts arranged in a circle. It has gained worldwide recognition as the UK Roundabout of the Year. The roundabout, originally named after the BBC children’s program of the same name, is a car-sickening nightmare for Swindonians. The roundabout is built at the crossroads of five large roadways and is a symbol of architectural ingenuity, urban design excellence, and transport innovation.
The Magic Roundabout in Swindon is a symbol of architectural ingenuity, urban design excellence, and transport innovation. Its circular configuration, sculptural elements, and unusual design make it an exemplar of architectural ingenuity, urban design excellence, and transport innovation. The junction attracts tourists from around the globe.
The UK has recorded 107.4 roundabouts per square kilometer across the country, with a total of 25,976 roundabouts. The Magic Roundabout in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England, is the familiar name given to the Plough Roundabout. It can handle more traffic than a single roundabout could, with five or six of them around the UK.
At the turn of the millennium, the UK had a few hundred roundabouts nationwide but now has 3,000. This can be attributed to the fact that the country has a long history of roundabouts.
📹 See How an Insane 7-Circle Roundabout Actually Works | WIRED
Your first thought upon seeing Swindon’s ‘magic roundabout’ might be: man, the Brits have really lost the plot lately. But this …
What is the hardest roundabout in the world?
The Plough Roundabout is the most complex roundabout in the world, comprising six smaller roundabouts encircling a larger one. The configuration of three entry and three exit lanes at these roundabouts presents a challenge for drivers lacking experience, offering a degree of flexibility but also potential for confusion. Frank Blackmore, of the Transport and Road Research Laboratory, is credited with the invention of the design of mini-roundabouts within roundabouts.
What town in America has the most roundabouts?
The city of Carmel, located in the United States, has gained a reputation for its extensive use of roundabouts. Since the late 1990s, the city has installed over 150 roundabouts, making it the municipality with the highest concentration of roundabouts in the country.
Which US state has the most roundabouts?
The Roundabout Database, a manually verified resource, indicates that the state of Florida has nearly 1, 470 roundabouts, which have been shown to reduce the time spent on crosswalking.
How many roundabouts are there in the UK vs USA?
The US currently has around 9, 000 modern roundabouts, a significant increase from the 1990s. However, the UK has nearly three times as many roundabouts despite being 40 times smaller. The distribution is uneven across the US, with states like Wyoming, South Dakota, and North Dakota sharing only 50 roundabouts, while Florida holds over 1, 000. Many American communities oppose the use of free-flowing roundabouts.
What is the crazy England roundabout?
The Magic Roundabout is a landmark in Swindon, located in the SN1 postcode area, between the fire station, ambulance station, and Swindon Town Football Club’s County Ground. It has exits leading into the town centre, towards Cirencester, and out to the M4. Navigating the roundabout is important, as other road users are trying to get there. Although constructed in the 1970s, it is unlikely to go viral if social media existed at the time. It is recommended not to visit the roundabout on match day.
Which country in the world has the most roundabouts?
The Netherlands ranks first with 113. 4 roundabouts per square kilometer, out of 3, 817 total, equivalent to 216. 6 roundabouts per million people. Notable roundabouts include the Cycle Roundabout in Eindhoven. The UK follows with 107. 4 roundabouts per square kilometer, a total of 25, 976 roundabouts, equivalent to 383. 5 roundabouts per capita million people. The Netherlands’ unique double roundabout in Eindhoven is a notable example.
Is there more than one magic roundabout?
The Magic Roundabout in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England, is a popular junction known for its children’s television show and similar locations in Swindon, Denham, and Colchester. The name comes from a former public house, The Plough Inn, located between Selden Hill and St Albans Road. The roundabout, constructed in 1973, was voted the UK’s second-worst roundabout in a 2005 poll by an insurance company and the best in Britain in 2011 by motorists in a car leasing service competition. The roundabout has also been known as the Moor End Roundabout due to its proximity to the town’s nearest part of Boxmoor.
How many accidents happen at roundabouts UK?
The mean number of accidents occurring on roundabouts in the United Kingdom is approximately 40. This is due to the intricate lane configurations, the presence of road signs, and the prevalence of slow-moving traffic.
Where is the 7 circle roundabout?
The Magic Roundabout in Swindon, England, is a ring junction constructed in 1972. It comprises five mini-roundabouts arranged in a circle. The junction was named after the popular children’s television series, and in 2009, it was voted the fourth-scariest junction in Britain. The junction is situated in the vicinity of County Ground, the home of Swindon Town F. C., and can be accessed via the B4289, A4259, Fleming Way, Drove Road, and Shrivenham Road.
What is the most difficult roundabout in the world?
The Plough Roundabout is the most complex roundabout in the world, comprising six smaller roundabouts encircling a larger one. The configuration of three entry and three exit lanes at these roundabouts presents a challenge for drivers lacking experience, offering a degree of flexibility but also potential for confusion. Frank Blackmore, of the Transport and Road Research Laboratory, is credited with the invention of the design of mini-roundabouts within roundabouts.
What is Britain’s most complicated roundabout?
The Magic Roundabout in Swindon, consisting of five anticlockwise roundabouts, is a challenging road for experienced drivers. Despite passing their test or having years of experience, many drivers struggle with confusing junctions and intense roundabouts. London and Birmingham are the most confusing cities in the UK to drive in, as they are the two most populated cities. The roundabout is designed to make drivers dizzy and confuse.
📹 The Magic Roundabout: Swindon’s Terrifying Traffic Circle and Emergent Behaviour
Http://tomscott.com – http://twitter.com/tomscott – Despite its reputation as being a Traffic Circle of Hell, Swindon’s Magic …
I encountered this on my first long drive after passing my driving test. I’d been driving for hours, in the fog, with just one headlight, and had got lost (this was pre-sat nav) and found myself in Swindon centre around 3am. When I got to this, I just stopped the car and burst into tears. There was no traffic around so I just drove right over the middle of it.
Circus is Latin for circle. During the 18th and the 19th centuries, the name was given to many developments not because they were traffic roundabouts but because the buildings originally (or do still in some instances) form a circle. In London, for example: Piccadilly Circus; Oxford Circus; Cambridge Circus; Saint Giles Circus; Holborn Circus; Percy Circus; Saint George’s Circus; Ludgate Circus; Finsbury Circus, Westferry Circus; Arnold Circus. A famous circus of town-houses is the one at Bath, in Somerset, constructed between 1754 and 1768, and today simply known as The Circus.
Wait, one fatality in the last five years? Not only is that a terrible statistic, how do you die in a crash at 10mph? It has to have been something like a cyclist getting run over by a truck or a teenager plowing through at 100mph in a tricked-out Vauxhall, neither of which are the roundabout’s fault.
In the UK many roundabouts are named for ease of reference. This roundabout was originally called ‘County Islands’ but when it opened Swindonians often called it ‘The Magic Roundabout’ as a joke, but the name stuck, and after some time it was officially renamed by the Town Council. It is kinda ‘magic’ and a doddle to use. Go whichever way you want, just GIVE WAY to the right!
I rode a bicycle through that many times, and found the best way to get through it was the 8th circle, that of hyperspace, which only a bicycle or pedestrian can accomplish. A circle bent into a straight line, and I was through in no time! But then again, my legs can’t keep the front wheel off the ground in the right gear! Ride that one like I’m flying a Sopwith Camel!
American here. While I hope to GOD that we NEVER get this insane design in the US, regular roundabouts (the normal ones where there’s only 1 circle, not 7) are AWESOME. We have around 5 of these near me 20 miles north of Cincinnati, and they are SOOOO much better than regular 4-way intersections. Way more efficient, faster, safer. And they are very easy to use. Before the 1st one, I was very skeptical, but now that we have them, I want to see more.
What? We have ONE square in london, a landmark called Oxford Circus, we don’t call any roads ‘A Circus’ our languages are not THAT different. Also…a tad insulted you managed to make 3 news Brexit reference’s when talking about a 50 year old roundabout. How is something this old showing ‘brits are really off their rockers lateley’ A tad condescending :/
I live in central California and they have been building round abouts the last 10 years and they’re great but they put plants and bushes which block the view of the other side of the circle and also tall plants in the middle of the yield section so you basically have to stop before you enter to make sure you won’t run over a school kid crossing the crosswalk.
Have you ever walked into a restaurant and spent 20 minutes trying to figure out what you want because they have a mix and match menu, 8 pages long complete with crazy names for dishes that have 9 different ingredients? That’s how I feel when I look at this mess of a system. The key I suppose is to know what you want before you look at it. The more narrow visioned you are the less confused you will be with your options. There’s a triple diamond intersection which looks promising. I’d like to see one of those in action. It still kind of confuses me to see the diagram of it but it does look very orderly. In any case, when you need something like these interchanges usually it’s time for a good solid mass transit system.
60 years?! So this was posted 4 years ago making it 64 years?! You might want to look into this and gets your facts right. I was 52 when this was posted and remember the planning in the news and completion of it at around 8 years old so it would have been around 44 years old at most when this article was posted.
The “Circus” isn’t that inexplicable a name for a junction, any more than Gyratory. Both of them at least started out as (often quite large, block-encompassing) roundabout type systems. Just over time, road systems get messed about with, roundabouts are sometimes converted to traffic lights or one-way systems or whatever, and the original form is lost, but the name remains… (Some of them in fact were probably originally open squares or circular plazas, maybe with a clock tower or fountain or the like in the middle, and traffic just took to passing around it in a circle dance fashion as congestion grew) I don’t know the situation in London that intimately, but certainly in Birmingham the greater majority of junctions that were originally called Whatever-Circus are still roundabouts. You can pass over, under, through, or just around several of them if you take a driving tour of the city, particularly if you skirt the central district. Dartmouth, Lancaster, Garrison, etc… all still circular Circuses 🙂
I wish Americans would get more friendly with em. Way better than 4 way intersections. One of the reasons is when crossing the street, you really only have to worry about traffic going from 2 dirrections instead of 4. I have some in my neigborhood because people were getting into too many car crashes there.
I live in North America, and I don’t get why every here is so scared of roundabouts. In Toronto, a city of 2.6 million people that is over 300 square kilomitres, there are only 5 roundabouts. The other day we were following this really slow person and they literally stopped IN THE MIDDLE of the circle for no reason and didn’t know where to go. We need to get ourselves more aquainted with roundabouts. Also, we have a ton of bad drivers here.
I live not too far from a US “Traffic circle”, and that thing is a death trap. But its been around for about the same time as this actual roundabout. And somehow that one with much more going into it is quicker, more efficient, and safer. Maybe its because in Texas we have semi trucks that go across them 😀
So I’m currently perusal GPs behind closed doors..a uk documentary and was fascinated by the intro roundabout so I took a picture to look at in my own time. Then in the series I’m currently perusal a patient says she has just moved to Swindon (hadn’t realised this is where GPs was filmed) and mentions the magic roundabout which has brought me to here. Rite now I’m thankful for Google and smartphones 🚳🚘🚔🛵
North America has long been the Roundabout Holdout capitol of the world, especially the USA. That is slowly changing as the need for more efficient traffic flow becomes apparent, especially in urban and suburban communities, as well as the need to reduce speed at intersections. Traffic circles, or Roundabouts, have long been proven methods of improving flow, reducing accidents and improving the driving experience for the increasing number of motorists worldwide. Had it relied on the American style of intersections, Britain would have ground to a Grid-locked halt half a century ago.
I find America’s freeways and toll booths a lot more confusing and scarier. I feel like I can’t make a U turn when approaching a toll booth I don’t want to go thru and I’m stuck driving miles just to find an exit I can turn into and get back in track. Wasted gas. I will take roundabouts all day any day. They’re fun and easy. Saves gas and time. I can U turn to head back. And safer. Can’t get lost. Not rocket science.
Why are all the cars IN the runabouts? Noone is exiting therefore its not efficient i only see cars sitting there doing nothing, clogging, and these runabouts can clog themselves up when there is heavy traffic, why spend 1,5 minute in the runabout when you can spend 15 seconds instead? Reducing the congestion in the roundabout by 4/5 Okey it may be safer but then you can make horrible speed bumps in a regular roundabout instead. In my city we have regular roundabouts and sure if there is rush hour you can wait about 15-20 seconds before you can drive in to the roundabout, but you’re out again 6 seconds later. Every second you are inside takes up congestion space, if i spend 24 seconds in a roundabout im actually using up 4 cars of space, and 1,5 minutes in a runabout takes up 15 “cars” of space and more cars are behind you clogging up wanting to get somewhere and then there is congestion, that’s my idea.
Just been there.. went it and immeditiately out because i did not get it… three straight arrows on the street or even four, but two roundabouts to enter….. did not know which lane was supposed to be for which smaller roundabout. If you go there first time it’s pretty confusing. Must say… got my driving licence for 35 years and do some 20.000 miles per year… but of course, left wheel driver….
If these were so wonderful and have been around so long then why do traffic signals even exist? I used to live near one of the busiest intersections known. Did it have a circle? NO! Because they cannot handle large amounts of traffic. They only create anxiety, anger and stress. Not good things for people driving machines that weigh as much as cars, trucks and bus’.
Britain has had ROUNDABOUTS, and substantial ones at that, for decades and decades. They are fairly new BY COMPARISON in the US, where stop signs and then stoplights are favoured over and above roundabouts. Thus, with the lack of familiarity, Americans still view them, hesitantly, as slightly suspect.
I’ll be the roundabout The words will make you out ‘n’ out I spend the day your way Call it morning driving through the sound and In and out the valley The music dance and sing They make the children really ring I spend the day your way Call it morning driving through the sound and In and out the valley YES!!! Still my favorite Rondabout! Cheers, Dave in the Adirondacks
a couple of details, most roundabout crashes arent deadly, youre not going that fast, so while important, they should also note how many regular bumper to bumper crashes they see in relation to how many cars go thru there. also americans who hate roundabouts are stupid and dont know how to use them as they reduce traffic, and let you go without any needs for stop lights. also brexit? really?
When the BBC started its radio service in the 1920s a group was appointed to resolve “language issues”. As a relatively new phenomena motoring was a big area for discussion since a lot of its terms were not yet fully fixed. ‘Roundabout’ won out over ‘Gyratory circus”. ‘Traffic Lights’ could have ended up being called ‘Stop and Gos”
Tom, it surprises me that your super duper rodeo intersection is great at handling heavy traffic in any real sense. In the US we have these huge intersections with traffic lights. They go thru 4 cycles: N-S left turns, N-S straight, E-W left turns, E-W straight. In high traffic hours, a slower rate of change gets you higher total throughput – higher fraction of the time rolling fast; each switch takes a finite time away from that, altho you must switch once in a while. Now if the power fails, the traffic lights go dark, and everybody does exactly what you’re describing here: go slow, don’t hit anybody, follow the lanes marked on the pavement, take turns. It’s exactly the same as switching the cycle every 3 seconds. Throughput drops to dismal and traffic backs up in some cases to the state lines in all 4 directions in a blackout. Are your “high traffic” hours like 4 cars per minute? Are you sure this whole 5 whirlygigs conglomeration isn’t fictional, an optical illusion done with computer grafix?