See How an Insane 7-Circle Roundabout Actually Works | WIRED 

I encountered this on my first long drive after passing my driving test. I'd been driving for hours, in the fog, with just one headlight, and had got lost (this was pre-sat nav) and found myself in Swindon centre around 3am. When I got to this, I just stopped the car and burst into tears. There was no traffic around so I just drove right over the middle of it.

I once spent 2 years living in Swindon, it was the worst 10 years of my life.

I wanna understand the mind of the person who created these

"Is this madness? No, it's Swindon" I see you've never been to Swindon...

"Only 1 fatal car accident" Yeah, because the top speed anyone has ever hit MIGHT HAVE BEEN 8 mph.

"Then Brexit on the other side" I cringed a little.

"is this madness? no, it's swindon" should be in an alan partridge movie

Someone should make one of these in a major US city. The building site should be covered, until it is unveiled on a Monday morning, just before the rush hour traffic. Surprise! Let there be chaos!

Circus is Latin for circle. During the 18th and the 19th centuries, the name was given to many developments not because they were traffic roundabouts but because the buildings originally (or do still in some instances) form a circle. In London, for example: Piccadilly Circus; Oxford Circus; Cambridge Circus; Saint Giles Circus; Holborn Circus; Percy Circus; Saint George's Circus; Ludgate Circus; Finsbury Circus, Westferry Circus; Arnold Circus. A famous circus of town-houses is the one at Bath, in Somerset, constructed between 1754 and 1768, and today simply known as The Circus.

from a British man. cringe overload

I need this in cities skylines.

I use this roundabout regularly. The design is so brilliant it self-regulates flow because you can choose pretty much any set of lanes.

And of course you haven't shown "how" it "actually works" in real life, you've only shown it filled with cars celebrating that... circus?

you didn't really explain how the traffic flow works.....

"Is this madness?" "No, THIS. IS. SWINDON!" *kicks into roundabout*

1 FATAL crash in 5 years. That literally doesn't mean a thing, there could have been 1000s of crashes of people who were just going 5mph

"Is this madness? No, it's Swindon" Honestly the two are pretty interchangeable anyway

circus (n.) from Latin circus "ring, circular line," Makes perfect sense

Wait, one fatality in the last five years? Not only is that a terrible statistic, how do you die in a crash at 10mph? It has to have been something like a cyclist getting run over by a truck or a teenager plowing through at 100mph in a tricked-out Vauxhall, neither of which are the roundabout's fault.

Yes I live in Swindon we're finally not useless

As a New Englander I don't mind rotaries/roundabouts. A little chaotic if you don't know the area you're in but once you get it, you get it. And if you miss your exit, you can just go around again.

better if someone did a drone video from above for say 20 mins in one spot so we can see how real traffic onit flows. I would do it but im no where near this location.

I don't think we've ever called our roundabouts 'circuses'.

I will never forget the day I accidentally ended up on this roundabout..

In the UK many roundabouts are named for ease of reference. This roundabout was originally called 'County Islands' but when it opened Swindonians often called it 'The Magic Roundabout' as a joke, but the name stuck, and after some time it was officially renamed by the Town Council. It is kinda 'magic' and a doddle to use. Go whichever way you want, just GIVE WAY to the right!

Great job "explaining" how it actually works it the most vaguest way possible!

Swindon shouting to Wiltshire “MUM IVE MADE IT”

"Is this madness? No, it's Swindon." To many British people there isn't much difference between the two.

American here. While I hope to GOD that we NEVER get this insane design in the US, regular roundabouts (the normal ones where there's only 1 circle, not 7) are AWESOME. We have around 5 of these near me 20 miles north of Cincinnati, and they are SOOOO much better than regular 4-way intersections. Way more efficient, faster, safer. And they are very easy to use. Before the 1st one, I was very skeptical, but now that we have them, I want to see more.

There is one of these in Hemel Hempstead too. It isn't too bad to drive on as the speeds are low and a bit of fun choosing how to get round. Rather drive on it than around the Arc de Triomphe.

The title was 'See How an Insane 7-Circle Roundabout Actually Works'. Well it gave a vague idea of how to enter and go various ways through and then 'BREXIT?'. Easy peasy, right? But the video shows traffic at near standstill conditions.

I lived in Swindon for 13 years and I have to say the magic roundabout, which is what it is called, really isn't as bad as it looks.

We have 5 roundabouts on my street. We call it an olympic street.

“Is this madness? No, it’s Swindon” Me: Swindon *IS* madness!

I've driven through this many times in a huge truck. It works very well.

1:03 did she just say Then Brexit

The first thing I just had to try when I visited Swindon the first time. Had heard a lot of jokes about it. Even funnier when you are not used to drive a car on the wrong side of the road. You have just got to love that country.

we do not have enough common courtesy and manners for this to work here in America

Hey everybody, we're on Twitter!. The roundabout was officially called "County Islands" originally, but after many years was renamed to its local nickname "The Magic Roundabout" (inspired by the TV show title)

I rode a bicycle through that many times, and found the best way to get through it was the 8th circle, that of hyperspace, which only a bicycle or pedestrian can accomplish. A circle bent into a straight line, and I was through in no time! But then again, my legs can't keep the front wheel off the ground in the right gear! Ride that one like I'm flying a Sopwith Camel!

ive been using it for yrs & it works perfect ,it also naturally slows vehicles down as well,& it makes the traffic flow ,prob could do with some flowers etc in the middle to make it look a bit nicer as it is a bit bland .

seeing it in action makes it look less scary than it seemed in photos

I live in central California and they have been building round abouts the last 10 years and they're great but they put plants and bushes which block the view of the other side of the circle and also tall plants in the middle of the yield section so you basically have to stop before you enter to make sure you won't run over a school kid crossing the crosswalk.

One of these in Colchester, England. I use it most days. It's fun and considering the volume of traffic using it, delays are quite short. Just aim to keep on going, but be prepared to stop at any time. It works for me

Its less complicated when ur actually driving through it

I was visiting family in America and they'd just got their first local roundabout by their house and using it gave them severe anxiety. You really just have to pay attention to wherever you're giving way to and hope that everyone else is doing their bit right, then it all flows quite nicely.

1:03 "Then brexit on the other side"

The Magic Roundabout is easy when you're used to it especially when it's your home town. When I took driving lessons I had to go over it every time and also when I did my test! You get used to it.

I am not good at puzzles so THIS looks daunting ... but I daresay that once you get the hang of it, it is no more scary than L.A.'s Freeway system (which also feels overwhelming to me).

Originally covered by Tom Scott 4 years ago.

We didn't have tornadoes here until we started putting in the traffic circles. Cause, on account of the -- you wanna know why? When people go round and round in circles, it causes disturbance in the atmosphere, and causes tornadoes.

There is a similar one at London's Heathrow Airport. It is the Hatton Cross Roundabout. It has five approach roads. It is next to Hatton Cross underground Station.

This is the kind of video you only come to youtube for the comments. Already some good ones, and only 2000 views, amazing.

1:11 at this speed no idea why no crashes occur

The ingenuity is incredible! Love it!

60 years?! So this was posted 4 years ago making it 64 years?! You might want to look into this and gets your facts right. I was 52 when this was posted and remember the planning in the news and completion of it at around 8 years old so it would have been around 44 years old at most when this video was posted.

I hate that roundabout I go there nearly everyday

The brexit joke gave me syphilis

Double mini roundabouts are quite common, so you've just taken the concept to the extreme. I'd love the idea of going either way round and having options etc. Kind of like the M60 ring.

Just imagine if your examiner tells you to toake the 4th exit and the 3rd on the second one

I saw a roundabout in Cambodia that worked on a similar principle, with traffic going round it in both directions. It wasn't actually designed to be used by that, but over there, things like lanes and rules are more of a suggestion.

Anyone who's ever been in England knows this is true English engineering at its finest. Just throw whatever random stuff you can find at a problem until you got something that works, then never touch it again. They even got a word for it: bodge.

How do people navigate it? I have seen people get confused over standard roundabouts. I'd like to see the sat nav instruction on that one.

Love how it's supposed to be great but most of the shots show standstill traffic and empty road or every car just sitting because everyone drove badly still and block cross traffic.

Why did you have to say brexit

We got a magic roundabout in hemel Hempstead, England. Use it every day. Works great. Heavy traffic on the left just go right and vice versa.

Don't forget exactly same roundabout in Hemel Hempstead, where I live. The roundabout works great and you can reach your destination going left or right.

Wow, the brits are so clever! Not only the have intelligent sense of humour, they also have intelligent roundabouts! Of course, they are very simple for them!

I've used this, it isn't actually too bad, just roughly aim for where you want to go and you'll get there ;-). It is horribly car-centric and a waste of space though.

Ha, i live in swindon and loads of people make a big deal of it when its just a roundabout and its really easy to drive around and there is rarely bad traffic here

Ahhh yes the Magic Roundabout in Swindon. I grew up here. Driven around this roundabout many times. Once you now how it’s easy. I now live in Las Vegas where there are no roundabouts.

And another thing only one fatal crash! That's fantastic until you realise the speed limit in that built up area should only be 30 mph. How did someone die crashing at that speed?

It doesn't, that's why they're redesigning it.

Or just make a one very large traffic circle. Or you can also just stay on the outermost lane and use it as a regular roundabout

I’ve been driving for a few years now and honestly roundabouts make driving so much easier.

I know some one who spent six weeks in Swindon once. They eventually escaped the roundabout there and are never going back.

People I know who live in Swindon and use this daily tell me the great thing about it is that there is always a way through it. You don't therefore get held up like you can with an ordinary roundabout.

If I had to drive around this I’d have a breakdown.

in the netherlands we even have a train that goes through a roundabout

The roundabout in my city hasn't had a fatality in two decades. Where's our efficiency video?

What's insane about a roundabout? The only insane thing is that they are not used in the US and the dumb 4-way stop gridlocks are used instead. (There are more idiotic things done here, health so-called "care" so-called "system" is a major example.)

“Is it madness?” Yep.

I like that you ended the video with Swindon's official motto

Why does she talk like none of the watchers are English? I am!

It's remarkable because it plays on human perception and psychology... it all works simply and easily despite looking hideously complicated.

The only way this video could have been more vague is if they pixelated the video.

This is not a testament to the merit of roundabouts, but the superiority of British drivers.

It is easier to exit the European Union than this roundabout

"50 vintage cars" sees 2017 bmw mini

"It may look chaotic" IT ALSO IS CHAOTIC-

I still remember the drivers face as she looked at the trafficsign. She was scared, confused and almost crying. We were there for vacation. We dont have roundabouts like this in germany 😅

"Its very efficient!" *cars are literally not moving whatsoever*

Imagine being taken here on your driving test!😂

There's one in Hemel Hempstead - I visited there in June and went through it a few times over 2 days. Not too bad at all.

That's making me tense just looking at it.

No, I'm pretty sure this is madness lol

What? We have ONE square in london, a landmark called Oxford Circus, we don't call any roads 'A Circus' our languages are not THAT different. Also...a tad insulted you managed to make 3 news Brexit reference's when talking about a 50 year old roundabout. How is something this old showing 'brits are really off their rockers lateley' A tad condescending :/

to go to the local swimming pool we have to cross this...

Anyone else notice everybody is either stopped in traffic that's not moving at all and no signs that it ever will or they are stuck going around the small center unable to get out???‽???????‽?????

1:05 "Then Brexit" I'm so done..... Lmao