Roundabouts, rotary systems, islands or traffic circles, whatever you decide to call them one thing’s certain, we Brit’s have a love affair with roundabouts. Whilst Americans may not understand them, Kevin Beresford’s book on the best roundabouts of Britain became an instant bestseller here in the United Kingdom. There is even a Roundabout Appreciation Society that meets on a monthly basis in Dorset to discuss all things roundabout related. On our various courier jobs across the UK we encounter more than our fair share of roundabouts. Here is a selection of the best and worst:
The Magic Roundabout
Swindon’s magic roundabout is nothing like the children’s TV series it was named after. However, like the series it has more than its fair share of accolades, ‘Worst Roundabout’, ‘World’s Worst Junction’ and ‘Scariest Junction in the United Kingdom’ are just a few of them. Drivers with courier jobs in this area may want to make sure that they take extra care when driving in this area. The Magic Roundabout is not just one roundabout, as drivers that haven’t carried out owner driver jobs in the area may think, but rather a series of five individual roundabouts that cumulate in one extra large circle. If you’re carrying out a courier job in this area, then don’t let this island get you in a spin. Many drivers have reported that the Magic Roundabout is so confusing that they are forced to drive in the wrong direction, making the area a haven for accidents.
The Traffic Light Tree
If you have ever had courier jobs carrying important documents between buildings in Canary Wharf, then you may have noticed the Traffic Light Tree on your travels. The green tree sculpture was designed by Pierre Vivant and closely resembles the natural plane trees of London, whilst the 75 changing lights represent the 24 hour nature of the city. This sculpture, which sits on the Traffic Control Roundabout, has been voted as the best looking in the United Kingdom and certainly helps to make owner driver jobs in the locality a lot more interesting. If you want to see it for yourself then you can find it in London’s Docklands between Westferry Road, Heron Quay Bank and Marsh Wall. However, be warned that the 75 flashing lights on the tree are purely for aesthetic purposes and should by no means be obeyed on your courier jobs.
The Plough
The Plough Roundabout in Hemel Hempstead is also an example of an island which should be avoided on your owner driver jobs. Although officially known as the Plough Roundabout, you may also hear it referred to as the Magic Roundabout, a name taken from its Swindon counterpart and that seems to be synonymous with poorly designed rotary systems. If you have carried out courier jobs in both Swindon and Hemel Hempstead, then you may have noticed the similarity in design between these two roundabouts. The main difference is that, whilst the Swindon system is made up of five smaller roundabouts, the Hemel Hempstead version has an extra roundabout making six in total. Whilst the addition of an extra roundabout may seem to have resulted in less traffic accidents, the main danger on this roundabout is of drivers getting lost and then repeatedly reversing before giving up altogether and leaving the system.
Author Resource:
Lyall Cresswell is the Managing Director of Courier Exchange, the world's largest trading hub for courier and express freight exchange industry. Over 2,500 businesses are networked through the website, trading courier jobs (http://www.courierexchange.co.uk/recruitment.html ) and capacity.
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