Recently I was breezing through some conversations on Reddit when one caught my attention.

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It was posted by u/getniceonthis and read:

Do Connecticut drivers truly not know of these roundabouts? New one put in on south rd in Farmington and it’s painful to watch the number of people mess it up.

I’ll admit I recently just moved back to the state but is it just a foreign concept here?

The answers came flooding in and seemed to be a mixed bag.

Mountain-Ad6594: "Yeah I don't get this. I grew up in CT and have used them my whole life. I've never seen people have trouble navigating them. Yes, I'm sure it happens, but it's not a large problem."

cosmos-factory: "If you really want a challenge and to watch a s--- show, head on up over the border to the rotary in East Longmeadow."

Plastic-Atmosphere69: "hahaahahah i grew up over there and know exactly what you're talking about!! I think that rotary got me used to driving in rotaries. Then, moved to CT where everyone stops when entering a rotary!!"

SWMovrRepub: "That multi lane rotary is way more stressful to me when your skipping the first off ramp and need to move to the middle. We have single lane ones in my town now that are easy.I think I’ve only been through the Salem one once but ours are angled so turning left doesn’t seem correct."

cosmos-factory: "I go through it frequently enough living near the border. It’s absolutely insane and I’ve been driving through it myself for 15 years now. About 10 years ago I watch a guy light and hit a bowl while he was going through it. Of all the goddamn places to do it too haha."

Prize-Hedgehog: "In my own experience I’ve noticed first hand the people that have no clue how to navigate a traffic circle are usually older drivers. I don’t know why, but it’s like they instantly forget how to drive as they enter one."

Delicious_Score_551: "Peoples minds are blown. This leads to confusion.

  • Which exit do I take?

  • Do I wait or do I drive into the side of the car already in the circle that's 3 feet away from me?

  • How much signal do I need to drive thru the middle?

  • There's no red light to tell me red = fly thru the intersection, IDK WTF to do?!

They're easy. We either turn right, go straight, or turn left ... without ever turning . It's as simple as pay attention to the goddamn road and drive."

CroMag84: "a lot of people don’t know how to use roundabouts. It’s pretty crazy."

meowymc: "I've seen signs on lawns near me protesting roundabouts. People are dumb af."

asbestos355677: "They installed one in my town 5 years ago and I’m gambling with my life every day trying to use it because people cannot read yield signs or LOOK FOR OTHER CARS."

KevinFromConnecticut: "All I know is that I'm genuinely terrified of roundabouts."

1jarretts: "Roundabouts are dumb. Not because they themselves are dumb, but because drivers can’t handle them. I can go on and on with reasons they don’t work. (My favorite being the people have have seen drive straight through them. Yes, through signs and up and over the island in the middle.)"

Blaming weed, love it. Blaming the elderly, even better. Calling people dumb = classic. I love Reddit! 

  • It got me to thinking about how much of an uproar there was when New Milford put in a roundabout at the intersection of Still River Drive and Picket District Road. People were not happy about this and I count myself among them.
  • I can't remember the first time I drove through one but I got it right away. I want to be clear, I understood how it worked right away, I didn't say I liked them. In fact, I loathe these bitches with all my heart.
  • Why do we hate circles so much? Do we just hate new circles? I love confusion and frustration and these roundabouts produce both.

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Recently, I was having a discussion with a friend of mine, I told this person I'd accessed some caves and tunnels in my hometown of Brewster, NY which is just over the NY/CT State Line. He knows how much I love local history, and saw how excited I was about this journey. He told me there was an area of Brookfield, CT that I needed to see, one that most residents have never seen. He told me about a tunnel, one that was not far away from where we were sitting. I made note of the conversation and bookmarked the destination for a future trip. 

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