A few weeks ago, we received a brochure in the mail from the Region of Waterloo entitled "All About Roundabouts: How to Drive, Walk, and Bike in a Roundabout." Perhaps it's the snobby Brit in me, but I didn't think using a roundabout was sufficiently difficult so as to require a brochure be delivered to every home in Kitchener, Waterloo, and Cambridge. Not only was I wrong that a brochure was needed, but there's an entire website about how to use a roundabout.
You really should take a few minutes to look at the website. It has a copy of the brochure that we received in the mail and a whole lot more. There's a Flash animation that lets you see how different types of traffic (pedestrian, bicycle, motor vehicle) should use the roundabout for different functions (turning right, going straight through, turning left, doing a U-turn). There's also a video of "actual traffic footage" at a local roundabout and a documentary about how to use a roundabout.
I shudder to think what would happen if we had a roundabout as complicated as the so-called Magic Roundabouts in Swindon or Hemel Hempstead. Of course, I also shudder to think about being in Hemel Hempstead, but that's another story.
