The Story Of Hemel Hempstead's Magic Roundabout - It's NOT the magic roundabout, It's a lie. 

Always remember in the early 80s I'd just passed my test so driving parents back from Tring to Hertford In our Vauxhall Viva 1159cc 0-60 about 3 weeks South of Berkhampstead I had an impatient Lotus driver behind me Finally he was able to pass me approaching the plough But of course he went the clockwise way round and I went the shorter anticlockwise way I beat him to our mutual exit point and as I was coming from the right he had to furiously give way And to cap it all we had three heavy trucks to pass going up the A414 and my old viva only passed them slowly I think by the time he finally was able to 're overtake me his blood pressure was off the scale For that reason alone I have always been a fan of the plough roundabout

Back in the 70s, it was said that the roundabout solved traffic congestion because everybody would drive miles to avoid it!

This is how this went for me: Jon: Roundabout Me: Drink! Jon: Roundabout Me: Drink! Jon: Roundabout Me: Drinkhh Jon: Roundabout Me: Drinkchhhhh Jon: Roundabout Roundabout Me: Drinkkkkhhh Jon: Roundabout Me: Hold on, did he say "roundabout" twice just then? I'd best havva dringggggggk Jon: Roundabout Me: Wait, I'm not ready! Jon: Roundabout Me: I've not filled me glass up! Jon: Roundabout Roundabout Me: Bugger thizzz, I'm drinchking from the bottle... Jon: Roundabout Me: Dringlugggg Jon: Roundabout Me: (glugs more) Jon: Roundabout Me: (sound of me and the bottle hitting the floor) The wife: I think your dad might be dead, kids

I’ve had a drink every time you said Roundabout. Fortunately it was water, but now my bladder is bursting!!! 😳

So being my day off, and 12.30, I counted 43 "Roundabouts." 101 proof whiskey and a bong might not have been a good idea. It took me 36 mins to finish the video due to pouring and packing. On the lighter side, it only took me 7 mins to type this correctly afterwards. Love your videos. God bless spellcheck

I played the drinking game, but with coffee. I won't be sleeping this week 😵‍💫☢

'Buncfield failed to wipe out' had me dead

Ahh, my home town! Like all places, it has its good and bad parts, but is a pretty decent place to live - certainly not a dump! The Plough roundabout is extremely efficient and works very well; however I can understand why those unfamiliar with it would be nervous.

The Hemel Hempstead not-magic roundabout makes perfect sense and works well. The Swindon one is just a shitstorm of confusing flat concrete, both when it was built and ever since.

Hemel Hempstead my home town and it's not that bad, as bad towns go. Most locals refer to it as the "magic roundabout" . In my opinion it works very well. There's hardly any accidents because traffic moves so slowly on it. I'm glad you visited us. 😀

I used to love this roundable when I was a kid. Both sets of grandparents, when still alive, lived on opposites sides of Hemel, and out of town trips to visit (80s until mid 90s) them always meant traversing said roundabout at least one, maybe twice a day. Strangely enough, this roundabout came up in conversation with my kids the other day. Thanks for the memories John.

Well, that's 43 shots. I may need medical attention. 🥃👀

Took a shot every time you said roundabout... I've got bullet holes in my legs, back, chest and arse. I may have misunderstood the game. Oh well. Off to A&E..

I actually love this roundabout in rush hour, all the plunkers queue up to go the "short" way round to the a41 and i just zip past them all and go the other way around!

It works just fine and even during rush hour you rarely have to wait too long - long live our Hemel magic roundabout !!

Take a shot every time i say roundabout. Me, already drunk as it is:

You've gotta do Colchester Olympic roundabout in Colchester!

Check out the A404/A40 "magic roundabout" in High Wycombe. 7 roads, 5 mini roundabouts. Crazy!

On the two occasions I had the dubious pleasure of using the Plough Roundabout I definitely did not find it to be a ‘magical’ experience 🥴

i was at college in Treacle bumpstead (Hemel Hempstead) back in the late 70's, was referred to as either the magic or plough roundabout. did not know about the plough pub, but thought it was because a lot of articulated lorries used to miss the escape bay and plough over the roundabout and end up with the cab in the river. must have seen quite a few in the year i was at the college. Also one thing to note as a 17 year old was "Scamps nightclub" had strippers on at lunch time, being under age at the time i must have been told about this. ;-)

Top magic roundabout tip - if you are not turning immediately left, it's usually quicker to go the 'wrong' way. Anticlockwise tends to be quieter, because many people instinctively go clockwise like a normal roundabout. The longer queues to *join* the roundabout move much quicker when tuning right, because you have priority, whereas the queues *around* the roundabout, where you don't then have priority over joining traffic, are very short anyway. This is the secret of why it's such an efficient, self regulating traffic system, because drivers seeking out a faster route like this, by joining the quicker lane on approach, balance out any uneven traffic flows and keep everything moving. This was all explained to me years ago by a local taxi driver.

Well designed, easy to use, seldom gets blocked, happy to use it every day 😀 👍🏻

I passed my test in the early 90's, just before moving to St Albans, and often passed through The Plough Roundabout - it felt really weird going around the main roundabout the "wrong" way the first few times, but it works really well, and in rush hour, you often only have to go around say, a quarter of it, rather around the other three-quarters. There should be more of them, especially if the alternative roundabout upgrade plan is to add traffic lights...

My dad was there when it first opened, he said nothing moved to start with because no one knew what they were supposed to be doing.

"this dump of a town that Buncefield failed to wipe out" best opening ever!

Love the Buncefield quip - which woke me up at the crack of dawn when it happened. I thought the roof of the house had caved in - and that was in St Albans several miles away.

Decided to follow the advice to have a sip every time "roundabout" was said. I had to pause this video half-way through to pop out to get my second bottle of absinthe. I now feel like a 1960s town planner.

I will admit to a small brown trouser moment the first time I had to go round the Hemel magic roundabout. But once you wrap your head around it it works really well.

Junctions seem to have a habit of being named after pubs. A favourite of mine was Swan Corner at the junction of the A29 and A283. Then somebody renamed the pub "The Parrot at Swan Corner". Not sure that was a good idea. The pub has long since gone bust! High Wycombe's Magic Roundabout next? They clearly anticipated problems and has on site facilities to deal with the aftermath.

I'm too p*ssed to continue..😂

Just necked a Litre Bottle of Peroni in just over 3 mins at the designated "Roundabout" trigger word. Thanks John 🍺

as an Australia and being a tourist in the UK last year I can say that the Plough roundabout did not confuse or instil fear in me, I found it quite easy to navigate, cheers, Garry from DownUnder

Cheers John... thanks for reminding me of why I don't drive... ;)

I used to fear using the Sadlers Farm Roundabout near Benfleet. It has sadly no longer a magic roundabout now (apparently it got bypassed to an extent) but it did make for an interesting journey trying to get from Chelmsford to the A13 and if I remember correctly it was incredibly busy.

This was the first magic (not magic) roundabout I ever tackled as a junior driver, luckily I only had to take the next exit so I avoided the roundabout way of getting around the roundabout. Apart from that, I have no other comment to make... great video by the way 👍

I'm not sure roundabout is a real word anymore...

Story time here. My Uncle Larry from America came over for a few weeks to stay here for filming and promotion of a new program he was in at the time. For some reason he wanted to go to the tank museum. But I had no idea that tank museum was in a similar sounding place called Bovington in a different county. The one in Hemel is one with a "d" not a "t". He had hired a Jaguar XJ6 so to him it was tiny car, but to us kids it was posh. However we somehow ended up in Hemel and the said Jaguar was involved in an altercation with a land crab whist trying to use the roundabout. At the time I had no idea that the USA didn't have this type of roundabout. Somehow he did manage the Hanger Lane roundabout and the one at Hammersmith but not this one! This one is on a different level. To be fair, he was driving a unfamiliar car on the wrong side of the road as he put it wearing a ten gallon stetson on a two pint head! As for the land crab, that survived and scuttled off, the Jag didn't. A few years later he came back by which time I was the proud owner of a brand new "P" reg Daewoo Espero (Cavalier in drag) so we "re-enacted" the journey for old times sake. He just came out with expletives . A few years later my daughter moved to Old Hemel and she had just passed her test and did manage the roundabout in a Citroen C4. So it can be done. Just take some Mogadon and enjoy....

Another brilliant video John, I counted **42** roundabout words throughout this video. Cheers! 🍺

Have you seen the “magic” roundabout in Wycombe? Technically 7 roads join but only five have a mini roundabout on it and it’s sorta egg shaped. I think though, the longer shape makes it easier to understand how these roundabouts actually work, I guess your brain gets a little break to revive between mini rounds.

You should come to Yorkshire Jon and visit Beverley’s traffic light monstrosity they installed a few years ago. Small market town once had a little roundabout now it’s 42 light multi exit mess. Made the papers when it was installed.

With the typical reaction to a simple roundabout here in the US and Canada, I can just imagine all the heads exploding on a continuing basis if one of _this_ sort of roundabout were installed somewhere on this continent! 🤣🤣

I didn't take a shot every time you said "roundabout", because I already feel drunk after the 11th time you said it. 😆

The wife and I accepted your challenge of a drinking game for the word roundabout and at 3:04 I've done 2 cans of Budweiser which is on the verge of leaving vis my nose and the wife has savage brain freeze. 11/10 video, would drinking game again 😂

Scared the crap out of a girlfriend a few years back. I knew the roundabout (living just up the road in Aylesbury). GF didn't. Came down the hill from the M1, and turned right... We were actually going to the A41, two exits left, but I went the wrong way just to spook her! This isn't the reason we split up...

Yay I recommended this roundabout months ago used it loads of times 😊

Drove around this many times when I lived in that, as you correctly called it, dump of a town. Luckily, I was a passenger the first few times I experienced it, and again you're correct saying you can easily spot the locals and tourists using it.

I lived in HH from 1974 to 1976 lodging in Adeyfields and working on Mayland's Avenue driving an R reg Ford Cortina 2.0GL. As the Magic Roundabout was still quite new most drivers entered - turned left - and exited as if it was a normal set up. By always turning right to start with and driving what appeared to be against the flow one could circumnavigate the system far more quickly.

I think I've only been there once. I've a feeling there were less trees. Still, it was there and I had to do it.

Jeez, if I'd had a shot each time you said Roundabout, I'd be totally hammered in less than three minutes

I really like it, one of Hemel's best features. Traffic can get intense but it's always flowing, you never find yourself at a complete standstill for long. It also slows traffic speeds down so it's pretty safe to use.

I'm glad I live over the off-licence. Won't be driving tomorrow! People in our area don't know how to use a roundabout. Safe travels Jon.

One Saturday afternoon I once drive through that roundabout without stopping, and did the return journey without stopping too. That was pretty magic. It's the only good memory I have of Hemel.

I've never had an issue with the plough roundabout. It works and traffic flows even in rush hour.

I learned to drive in Hemel Hempstead and this roundabout was intimidating at first. I have loved the roundabout ever since I truly understood it, as it is quick and you can choose which way round you go, very useful!

Also a Peugeot driver’s worst nightmare… “Maniac!”

This has to be the best channel on RU-vid, no question. How is that even possible? Roundabouts, FFS?

My first encounter with this Magic Roundabout was in 1977, helping friends relocate, driving a rental Luton van from Kent to Leighton Buzzard. Fair freaked me out, tbh. However, some years later, as an occasional alternative commute between work & home, found it kept traffic moving, for the most part.

3:09 Glad to see you started speaking some sense before the end. Yes, bigger is better and magnitude matters much more than signs or chronology.

For anyone whose curious Jon said the word roundabout 43 times this video. Thats a roundabout on average every 6.6 seconds of the video. Or a shot whichever you prefer.

3:40 The resolution to that paradox is clear: This means that the country really has only 2 roundabouts worth voting on.

The worst exit is Lawn Lane at rush hour as folk block the junction coming from the dual carriagway (A414) to heaqd down Two waters to the A41. Good fun hurtling through it though, and even better fun introducing visitors to it by driving down and effectively U turning back the way you came.

In 2011 I spent 3 months staying in the PI next to the roundabout. Had to move room one week due to the roundabout was being resurfaced over night in temps of 17c and no A/C in the hotel.

As a Swindon resident, I can admit this 'magic roundabout' looks much nicer than ours

Always great music at the end. @AutoShenanigans: can you do an off-topic video on that?

I used to Live In Hemel back in the day - It is also know as the 'Funny Round-about'!!! 😉🚂🚂🚂

Surely the roundabout should be the Benzene or aromatic hydrocarbon roundabout as that's what it looked like to me

Gonna end up in a&e if I took a shot for every time he says "roundabout " 😅😅😅😅😅😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂❤

The last time I was in Hemel was in the last century. I remember it because it was a Friday, I had a hot date that evening, and the distributor of my fairly new car decided to make a bid for freedom and fall off. While driving around a roundabout, but not this one. This was in the days before everyone had a mobile phone, so it was a while before the AA got there, and I couldn’t contact the hot date, which became a cold shoulder.

Have you covered saddlers farm? Also, some of the roundabouts in this video appear to be missing any sort of paint in the middle!

2 mins in and I'm already shit faced. 😂🎉

the word roundabout was said so many times i feel like i have been listening to a song by Yes on repeat for the past two years.

Lived in Hemel for a couple of years when the open markets were still going and the Who played at the town hall. Loved it with a passion.

You reminded me why I turn off stop-start, often at the start of the start start. And now thanks to your drinking game I responsibly drunk like I was out. An Out Out kind of out, but just out.

I learned to drive in Hemel, so never really had a problem with the roundabout as I had specific lessons just on it. My only problem is going "straight over" as then you have the gamble of going left or right. Whichever you chose is always the wrong choice as the other side was clear of traffic. My favourite feature of the roundabout is all of the bits of bumper people seem to leave all of the place.

We the Proud inmates of Milton Keynes have our own "Magic Roundabout", named due to it location, it converged two roads, with three exits, one Bus Stop and a Knockout. It was on many bus routes and this resulted in circling the roundabout more than once on various routes and sometimes more with a new bus driver or a passenger not knowing when to ring the "Press to Stop" button, made harder while the bus was Circumnavigating the Roundabout. A new exit was added a few years back, near the bus stop.

In Tallmadge, OH, there is the Tallmadge Circle. It has 8 roads coming in and out of it. Two reasons why it's not a big problem. It is truly a traffic circle and not a roundabout. It is approximately 560 feet (170m) west to east and 425 feet (130m) north to south. There is a small church and an old town hall in the middle. The other thing that help is that the traffic didn't used to be that bad and hasn't changed as much (rust belt). Even so, at rush hour there are some times where some of the directions backed up 1000 ft (300m).

Glad the video ended as I was about to pause it and go buy another bottle.

Did you keep track.of how many times you said Roundabout John. Another great informative video

I moved to Cambridgeahire in 1978 and still live there. Before that, I lived all my life in Barnet, Herts and in 1973, I was working as a sales representative covering Hertfordshire, including Hemel Hempstead. I well remember that roundabout opening and it was definitely known as the magic roundabout even back then. It worked really well, even in the morning and evening rush hours.

i loved that roundabout. But after i passed my driving test i went there at night to figure it out with no traffic! Appreciate you finally getting to the best magic roundabout!

Fist as a part now. Who remembers Butterflies?

My heart is bracken. When i was an HGV driver i often used to take a detour to get to the M1 just so i could use this roundabout the ‘wrong way round‘ and Always thought of it as a magic roundabout.

As a Stranglers fan I loved the outro music !

I drove around it in the late eighties when there was less foliage on it and a lot of traffic went clockwise then. I think the extra trees hides the other mini roundabouts and more people go both ways

Hi Jon, These roundabouts keep going in circles they make me giddy. Have a good one Take care

Hi John, Have you had a good week? Methinks you have some Hertfordshire connection as after saying three Hemel Hempsteads you slip to the more local Hemel nomenclature. Or is it noone can be bothered with Hempstead.

Hi Jon nice to see the world famous magic roundabout in a video. All the best.

If I ever move to the UK, I'm going to need driving lessons for roundabouts like this one. Sad but true 😺 The videos on this channel are excellent.

1 hour later ....... killin me bruh ....... killin me. Keep it up. Been a sub since like 5k maybe. Dig it. And after 43 cannonballs I can say I love your channel lol

It is the magic roundabout, that’s what everyone locally calls it!

🥃 I runout around 3 minutes in. And I think I'm seeing double😂 motorway johns drinking game Strikes Again 🤣👍

Had the dubious pleasure of that roundabout yesterday at around 5:45pm. Suffice it to say it was challenging to the uninitiated

I've driven round it many times when visiting the BT building adjacent to it. It's enormous fun at rush hour.

I first encountered it in 1982/3 traveling to Colchester from Gloucester. I nearly came to a halt, I was that surprised. After my initial shock I found it really easy to negotiate.

We lived in Luton at the time of the Buncefield explosion we even heard it from there on that morning! The Plough Roundabout a firm favourite. There used to be a massive Kodak building just off the roundabout I recall.

Categorically SicK of the Words Round & About. Now. Cheers John. 👍😁

Another fun Hemel fact - when I worked there in the 1980s it had the highest proportion of drivers that could reverse parallel park in the country (in a fact I just made up). Because you could park all along The Marlowes dual carriageway right by the shops.

Arrived there on the morning that it opened - cops and road research people everywhere directing traffic - total chaos. Saw a car going around it "the wrong way" come face to face with a big truck going the "right way" - luckily everybody was being cautious so no collision. The similar but larger double roundabout in Swindon was actually called "The Magic Roundabout" and there were signs up with the name on them but not sure if they still exist.

i particuaerly luv te way they've got 14 roundabouts here... hic... 14 really, really, really lovely roundabouts, they;re really really lovely ,,, *thud*

i managed to finish a 330ml can of southern comfort and lemonade watching this... i was thinking a roundabout counter would also have been fun