Like… is there any law against it?
if you are without food or water you become incapable and that is illegal
You’d need to refuel at some point and I expect that refuelling whilst in motion would probably hit some legal issues.
And then, assuming that you overcame that, in the UK at least, you’d need at MOT test at some point, which would have to be at an approved test centre, so 3 years at the absolute max - although I expect tyres etc would need attention before that.
I’m hearing that there’s a need for gas / petrol / whatever stations in more roundabouts. Maybe even a rest stop or extended stay hotel.
If jets can refuel mid-flight, I’d think a similar solution should be even easier for a much-slower car.
BMW did it: Video link
Not only can you stay in a roundabout indefinitely its the appropriate way to use a roundabout. Question is how have you been using roundabouts?
*Written from a roundabout Ive been circling since May
Found the guy stuck in the roundabout
Look kids, Parliament, Big Ben!
Illegal in my country, as you are disturbing traffic. Potentially even preventing emergency services to operate. Might be fine if you are alone though
i mean, if everyone was staying on the roundabout… but if you have one guy goin round and round, there should be plenty of interleave for everyone else. how would it be disruptive?
im an ignorant american, just curious
During rush hour, it will definitely have an impact on the flow of traffic with most roundabouts, which are usually not very big (in France anyway).
interesting, i didnt think about scale. thanks!
Because if you let one guy do it, you have to let everyone do it.
Only in a milk float driven by a priest.
Where do you live, OP?
In Denmark it goes in the same category as not driving when the light is green or keeping to the left on the highway.
While you seldomly see someone get fined for it, taking more than two turns in the roundabout is considered an obstruction of traffic, and therefore illegal.
In Norway, there’s a specific “law” against causing dangerous situations by being inattentive, unpredictable, inconsiderate or reckless. Needless to say, it goes unenforced a lot, but if you wanted to nail someone for driving like a dipshit, it’d be a decent catch-all.
No mention of roundabout or traffic circles in Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act, but the rule that governs are the yield signs around the outside that stipulate that traffic in the roundabout has right of way.
Keep moving: Once you are in the roundabout, do not stop except to avoid a collision; you have the right-of-way over entering traffic. Do not change lanes while in the roundabout. If in the inside lane and you miss your exit, you must continue around until you meet your exit again.
This suggests, in Ontario at least, you could stay in the roundabout forever without breaking the rules.
Edit: If you’re not bothering anyone doing that, then it should be alright, but if your perpetual roundabout traversing is getting in the way of other people trying to use the roundabout, then it could be considered careless driving:
Careless driving
130 (1) Every person is guilty of the offence of driving carelessly who drives a vehicle or street car on a highway without due care and attention or without reasonable consideration for other persons using the highway. 2017, c. 26, Sched. 4, s. 17.
It’d be called ‘obstructing traffic’. Police sometimes grab boy-racers along the sea-front near my home for it. There’s no specific law saying you can’t wait at a T-junction indefinitely, and i usually get stuck behind the ones that do. :-(
“Boy-racer” is a term I wish I had known years ago to refer to some acquaintances. Seems much less offensive than what I was using.
In Germany:
When using vehicles, unnecessary noise and avoidable exhaust pollution are prohibited. In particular, it is prohibited to run vehicle engines unnecessarily and to close vehicle doors excessively loudly. Unnecessary driving to and fro within built-up areas is prohibited if it causes a nuisance to others.
§30 (1), StVO
Closing doors too loudly is illegal what the fuck?
Yes, if you slam your doors every day at 3am you will be fined. Is there anything wrong with that?
I guess I’ve just never even heard of that situation happening in real life so it’s weird seeing it explicitly written in a law
What if that just happens to be the time I get home from work?
Noise is a public nusince. I definitely wouldn’t want my neighbours constantly slamming their doors at night. I doubt you are going to get fined if you are slamming your door occasionally or in the middle of the woods.
Laws exist to ensure that we can all live peacefully together. I think most people agree that excessive noise is more of a negative than a positive. Most places have similar curfew laws where excessive noise at night is not allowed.
Obviously it’s all going to be dependent on local laws, and depending on their vagueness the attitude of the cop that eventually has to deal with you. Here we have a catch-all ticket for “wasting finite resources” for cops to use when they don’t know what else to ticket you for. Originally it was to stop cruising, but I’m pretty sure no one has gone cruising since gas was $0.25 a gallon. Also I’m wondering if I could fight such a ticket if I can prove I charge my car with 100% solar.
Your current gas prices are about at the level where a lot of people used to cruise at where I live. Haven’t really seen it much since it rose to about 2€ per liter (7.57€ or $8.29 per gallon).
Roads have finite capacity, so no, I’d guess
Also batteries lose capacity, making them finite as well
i sometimes take an extra trip through the roundabout if some asshole is driving way too close to my rear and refuses to overtake
You could probably stay on the magic roundabout until you ran out of fuel.
But I doubt you could go all the way around a mini roundabout .
The UK Highway Code is focussed on good behaviour when using one. There doesn’t seem to be a rule.
I would definitely try at least a couple of loops around that little guy. Just look at it! How could you resist!?
I encountered the magic roundabout 25 years ago, just as a passenger, and I’m still mentally scarred.