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Comment by brianmckenzie | Hacker News Reader

A few months back, a friend and I got hit by a car.

We were minding our own business, talking about our startup activities, crossing on the green, and some idiot ran the light and hit us. Neither of us saw it coming, and it hurt really, really bad. ER bills were big, I'm glad I had insurance.

Two weeks ago I was walking to work and saw a guy collapse against a building. I called the emergency number and tried to help him, along with several others, but the guy was completely out, he died right there. I wish I could say differently, but that's what happened. He wasn't particularly old, either.

Ready or not, you might as well have health insurance.

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Here in the UK I've heard of people "running lights" in the USA. It doesn't happen very often in the UK. Someone driving through red knows that they're likely to have an accident or mow down a pedestrian.

I've long wondered if it is the USA's lack of roundabouts compared to the UK that causes many Americans to grow frustrated sitting at red lights when there's no traffic driving across them on green that makes them conditioned to drive through red.

My neighbouring desk for a year for a hotdesk to the visiting American on a two-week tour of duty. For many it was their first UK visit. The majority liked roundabouts after a couple of days, preferring them to junction lights.

Roundabouts.... hrm. I used to work near the one of the few in San Francisco (8th & Townsend) and occasionally people would take the shortest path around it. Kind of scary. And what's really scary is being a cyclist in a roundabout somewhere like Italy. I much preferred the traffic lights before they replaced them with roundabouts in Padova. It's bad enough playing chicken in a car, let alone a bicycle.

Well I guess roundabouts to someone not used to them are dangerous, just like traffic lights.

I'll see your Padova roundabout and raise you The Magic Roundabout: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Roundabout_(Swindon)

It's five roundabouts arranged in a circle with connecting roads between them on the edge of the circle. It effectively creates a bigger roundabout in the middle with contra-flow.

I grew up in the UK in the 70s and 80s and there used to be public service announcements about the dangers of being an "Amber Gambler".

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