Quote Originally Posted by dave2010 View Post
Here is the DMV book for CA - https://www.dmv.ca.gov/web/eng_pdf/dl600.pdf
and here is the DMV book for Virginia - https://driving-tests.org/virginia/v...ndbook-manual/

The CA book does have a section on roundabouts - page 36.

Odd how one has many more pages than the other. Also, looks like the 2019 revisions for CA actually decriminalised refusing to give a blood test for DUI, though perhaps urine tests or breathalyser tests are allowed alternatives. In the UK refusing to be tested is an offence - though one is allowed a choice of tests I think.

In the UK it would often be impossible to do a U turn quickly because the roads are too narrow - even the wider ones, so generally banned.

Turn on red is not allowed in the UK, except if one has already decided to turn when there was a green light, in order to complete the movement - if safe to do so.

I rather liked 4 way stops, as they are - or should be - fairly safe. They do slow the traffic down. If they are busy they work rather like a roundabout, with an important difference - everyone gets a turn - if things work as they should. In the UK it is permitted to approach a roundabout at speed, and if there's a stream of traffic it can be very hard for cars from other directions to break into that.

Maybe in some states 4-way stops are less of a problem. There might be quite a lot in some cities in CA.

One problem with 4 way stops in the US is if drivers from other countries encounter them - as indeed I did when I first started to drive in the US. Drivers from the UK or Europe will stop (OK), but not know what to do next.

Some UK towns now have something called a road table. This is a 4 way area. Nobody has a clue what to do on those.

Love that! Bureaucracy doesn't always join up - probably different departments, and privacy laws prevented data exchange. Or just simply what we would call a cock up.

I liked the sign outside the airport in Boston, which said something like "In this state pedestrians always have right of way".
The consequences if they didn't .... doh .... though on the other hand pedestrians can be a nuisance if they misbehave.
The laws most everywhere claim pedestrians have right of way, to some degree. But the interpretation of, “Right of Way”, is different for some people. If pedestrians are crossing at cross walks, then they have right of way, but jay walking doesn’t give you right of way. And having right of way doesn’t mean you can step in front of a speeding car!

Back in high school, a friend had a hot rod Pinto wagon! No really! But some asinine teacher thought he was speeding in the school parking lot, so jumped into the road in front of him with his hand out as a stop signal. My friend stomped the gas and made it downshift, making that sucking sound, and the teacher dove for the sidewalk and tore the knee out of his pants.

The next day he arrived at school and was promptly arrested. When they finally got to court, he and his father were on their side, with no lawyer, expecting to get hammered. The judge asked the teacher what happened, and as he explained the judge stopped him, and said, “Wait a minute, you say the car was speeding, and you jumped in front of it?”, dropped his hammer and said, “case dismissed!”. My friend never even got to speak. The poor teacher who was not well liked to begin with caught hell from students and staff for that one!

I do believe in VA, they can demand a breathalyzer test, but you can refuse it and ask for a blood test instead. Many do, hoping their blood alcohol level will drop by the time they get to an emergency room for the test. But, refusing a test is an automatic revocation of your license. You basically agree to the test before you can get a license.

I’ve even heard a few years back, they tried putting a breathalyzer lock on habitual drunk driver’s cars! You had to blow into the tube to start the car. But they just brought their kids along to blow in the tube for them. Or paid someone else to blow in the lock for them. A very dumb idea from government, how stupid do you have to be to think that would work? Now they just take their license, and if caught with a revoked license, you go to jail!

Russell