This involves getting from an overpass onto a highway. In these parts, we have cloverleafs. Very easy. But here are Mapquest's directions:
3: Turn SHARP LEFT onto ramp.
That is the COMPLETE opposite of the way to go. That will send me veering into oncoming traffic, and then either onto the WRONG WAY into traffic, or else flying right off of the exit ramp and into the woods.
Here is the correct flow of traffic:
And here's another view of the way Mapquest advises people to go:
If someone is not familiar with cloverleafs and tries to follow these directions, someone could seriously get hurt.
5 comments:
And "someone" would be me. That's a driving disaster just waiting to happen for me. I grew up in a town with only one stop light.
Don't know the intersection in question, but around here we've actually got cloverleafs which do, in fact, work like that. If you approach the major road from the minor via the overpass, there's a traffic light there, and you take a left hand turn. Looking at your map, I can see where the confusion would occur with those little connecting roads. If there's actually a problem, you might want to send email and let them know. Couldn't hurt, right?
Chris, I'm familiar with the kind of interchange you're talking about. That could be a partial cloverleaf, but by definition, a full cloverleaf requires one to turn right onto the ramp in order to achieve a left-hand turn.
I'm very familiar with the intersection I'm speaking about, and it's definitely what I've described. I have sent an email to Mapquest.
I have been saying for years that most of these types of problems could be avoided if USians weren't so deathly afraid of roundabouts.
Jess, we in New England have plenty of roundabouts ('rotaries') and most people here can navigate them quite well. But for the level of traffic in this intersection, it just would not be suitable.
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