Music Monday: You Spin Me Right Round

This one is near and dear to my heart, Dead or Alive You Spin Me Right Round (Like a Record)

 My dance/hip-hop offering is flo-rida featuring ke$ha. I like this and the various House remixes.

*This Music Monday is brought to you by bad drivers everywhere.


I live very near a golf course, which hosts an annual tournament. Let me clear from the outset. I love this golf tournament. It brings in an amazing amount of tax revenue for my city and the surrounding community. People visiting also frequent a number of the locally owned businesses in my area, giving them the shot in the arm they need, as we head into a slower summer season. It also encourages residents and neighborhoods to keep their entrances neat, their lawns tidy and beautified. When your neighborhood might be on national TV it makes sense to spend some money and sweat equity and plant some pretty flowers and pull some weeds.

All good! This is all very, very good and exactly what communities need to encourage.

That said, my community seems to have a higher than usual number of traffic round-a-bouts. The residents of my town have a higher than average amount of difficulty driving through the traffic round-a-bout, visitors from far away, well they seem baffled, bemused and straight out confused and confounded. This makes me very edgy. The concept is so simple and I will be the first to admit, I am not the greatest driver in the world but even I get the concept of the round-a-bout as an intersection management tool. It is so simple... one yields until it is clear on the left. It is really that simple.

Take a look. This simple guide prepared by my community explains it so well.

For those drivers too lazy to click through, I will highlight these simple tips, which should improve your ability to drive safely in the round-a-bout and will prevent me from wanting to hit you, as you break the rules and feel self congratulatory about it.

Rules of the Road

• Slow down when approaching a roundabout. 

THIS MEANS YOU SLOW DOWN. Hit the brake as needed. You cannot just sail into the round a bout like you own the road - you don't.

• Yield. All entering vehicles must yield to circulating traffic in the roundabout. Look to the left for circulating traffic and enter when it is safe. 

THIS MEANS IF I AM IN THE ROUND-A-BOUT I AM NOT GOING TO STOP. I just don't have to stop, even if you speed into the round about, knowing full well I am there, you saw me to the left. You will get rear ended. Simple as that - you will be responsible for halting the traffic in the round-a-bout and everyone will know it is because you did not know how to YIELD. Yes we will laugh at you.

• Choose your lane upon entering the roundabout based on your desired exit or destination:
  • The right lane is for straight-through movements or right turns.
  • The left lane is for straight-through movements, left turns or U-turns. 
• Do not change lanes. Maintain your lane position until exiting the roundabout. 

This means that lane surfing, while fun is not allowed. Know where you are going. The GPS will tell you to take the 1, 2, 3 exit from the round-a-bout, or something similar. Most round-a-bouts in my area are not big enough to accommodate a lane change, if you are in the wrong lane, just go around.  

Please also note, while U-tunes are generally not allowed, with a round-a-bout they are allowed, you can use the round-a-bout to turn around and go back the way you came.

So please, slow down as you approach the round-a-bout, realize that the traffic which concerns you is now to your left, look left, if nothing is coming, go for it and no even though I know you want you, you are not allowed to drive in both lanes of the round about, no drifting or lane changes allowed.

Also, the crosswalks, which might be near the round-a-bouts, the people in the cross walk, waiting to enter the crosswalk, as you speed pass them - they have the right of way.

Also, while it should be obvious, no turn signal is required. You aren't turning, you are going around, like a record...