Mini-Roundabouts
"A roundabout from a scene in the borrowers!"
Not so dangerous as a proper grown up roundabout, but still amusing, a mini-roundabout poses a whole new kind of threat to the road user.
These contraptions behave like a bully would. They pray on the nervous and take advantage of the temperament of the less confident road user. They also rely on this difference in confidence to work properly, for when you get three matched drivers lined up at each entrance then an amusing right-of-way stalemate occurs. This is down to each driver waiting for the vehicle that has the priority to pull out, but they are oblivious to the fact that someone has to commit in order to break the deadlock. Ever laughed when all 3 try to go at once?
It's this design flaw that causes so many issues and impatience reagrding the mini-roundabout. It's not anyone's fault but when humans are put in a little metal box they seem to transform into a vessel of rage and for some people the mini-roundabout stalemate is a great excuse to hurl abuse.
Knieval will run you off the road
Watch out for the "Evel Knieval"¹ of the roundabout world when you eventually decide to proceed. He (or she) can be identified as the individual you indirectly give right of way to when you commit to the mini-roundabout. The driver who was waiting for the driver who was waiting for you. Much clearer now? This maniac floors the accelerator when they realise the coast is clear, cuts the centre and tries to run you off the road in one foul swoop. They then have the audacity to swear / beep / gesticulate (delete as appropriate) without being able to figure out that you made the first move and they should be concentrating on going around the roundabout rather than picking a fight.
¹ Evel Knieval would probably not have condoned this kind of behaviour. My bet is that he was an expert roundabout user.
Perfect recipe for a gridlock