Smoother traffic flow

With reference to Joe Busuttil's letter, Kappara Peril, I beg to differ on his assertion that a "maddening situation" has been created. On the contrary, the traffic flow has been noticeably smoother.

The Highway Code, not to mention common sense, lays down that cars already travelling on the roundabout have the right of way and cars preparing to enter the roundabout have to give way to those already on it. This is standard practice in most other junctions with roundabouts that have been spared the inconvenience of traffic lights every 10 metres. The majority of drivers seem to be aware of this and know when to give way and when to proceed.

The problem when the lights were in place was that cars that had already engaged the roundabout had to stop two or three times while on the roundabout, causing congestion in the junction of Sliema and Regional Road as the smooth flow of traffic was repeatedly interrupted every few metres. The scope of the roundabout is to manage the traffic flow at junctions in an expeditious and safe manner but the installation of the traffic lights defeated the whole idea and reduced the roundabout to a mega bottleneck, and not only during peak hours.

If common sense and observance of the rules - admittedly a big if - prevail, as seems to be the case so far, I believe the removal of the traffic lights will significantly alleviate daily congestion. However, I can only speak from my personal experience as a motorist who has to negotiate that roundabout at least twice daily. It is the experts who can really determine whether the current measure is beneficial or not.