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ColofonColofonHoofdredacteur::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::Plv. hoofdredacteur:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::Adjunct-hoofdredacteuren:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Eindredactie en documentatie::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Vormgeving en fotografie:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Maandblad:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Thema:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::Boeken::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Wetenschap & Onderwijs:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Internet/media::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Sport:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Economie::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Kunst::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::Buitenlan:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::Politiek::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Binnenland::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Algemene verslaggeverij::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Opinie:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Raad voor de Journalistiek::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Adressen redactie:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Birgit Donker.Sjoerd de Jong. Bas Blokker, Marcella Breedeveld, Herman Amelink, Simone van Driel, Roelie Fopma. Jan Paul van der Wijk, Wilfred Boom,Paul Steenhuis (chef ),Arjen Ribbens,Anastasia Sukhova.Pieter Steinz (chef ), Arjen Fortuin, Roelof van Gelder,Hendrik Spiering (chef ),Ellen de Bruin,Kees Versteegh (chef ),Hans Beerekamp (media),Stijn Bronzwaer,Melissa Bouman,Ward op den Brouw (chef ),Koen Greven,Dick van Eijk (chef ),Paul Friese,Peter de Bruijn,Aernout Bouwman-Sie,Pieter van Os,Mark Kranenburg,Herman Amelink,Arjen Schreuder,Guido de Vries,Frits Abrahams,Cees Banning,Laura Starink.Rob Biersma,Antoinette Brummelink,

Joh. Vermeerstraat 221071 DR AmsterdamAmsterdam:Postbus 3372, 1001 ADBezoekadres: Bontiusplaats 9Telefoon (020) 562 23 23Fax (020) 562 23 43

Paula van Akkeren, Jade van Beek. Roland Blokhuizen, Jeannette van Bommel,

Robert Buizer, Robbert van Venetië.Gijsbert van Es, Danusia Schenke.

Elsbeth Etty, Bas Heijne, Marianne Vermeijden.Margriet van der Heijden,Dirk Vlasblom.David Haakman (plv. chef ),Bart Funnekotter,Bart Hinke,Marjoleine de Vos (media).Danielle Pinedo (plv. chef ),Henk Stouwdam.Melle Garschagen,Philip de Witt Wijnen.Lien Heyting.Merijn de Waal.Barbara Rijlaarsdam,Oscar Vermeer.Frits Baltesen,Jos Verlaan,Frederiek Weeda.Marc Chavannes,Steven Derix,

Huib Modderkolk,Anna Visser.

Internet: www.forum.nl(e-mail: forum@forum.nl).Den Haag:Postbus 909, 2501 CXBezoekadres: Spui 1-ITelefoon (070) 311 83 00Fax (070) 361 51 39

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Roundabout:::::::::::::::::::::::::: 44Perfection of the roundHistorySafety::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::CapacityTypes of Roundabout::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::MiniRaindropTurboControlled“Magic”On motorwaysWith tramsWith railwaysHumburgerRoundabouts and Cyclists:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

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9World news::::::::::::::::::::::::::: 1010Policies ‘raise the risk’ of U.S. terror attack Pakistani police battle defiant protesters Plans for minimum alcohol price:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::A crisis about more than judgesG20 summit ‘critical for economy’:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::Oxygen therapy benefit in autismSocial networks ‘are new e-mail’Steve Martin backing banned play::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::Having ‘frightening fun’ waiting for GodotIn Pictures

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Contents:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: 33Colofon:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: 22

Roundabout

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A roundabout is a type of road junction at which traffic enters a one-way stream around a central island. In the United States it is commonly known as a “rotary” or a “traffic circle”, but sometimes is technically called a mod-ern roundabout, in order to emphasize the distinction from the older, very much larger type of traffic circle which usually had poor or no visibility across the central island.In countries where people drive on the right, the traffic flow around the central island of a roundabout is counter-clockwise. In countries where people drive on the left, the traffic flow is clockwise.Overall, roundabouts are statistically safer than both traf-fic circles and traditional intersections, with the exception that cyclists have a significantly increased crash rate at large roundabouts. Roundabouts do not cope as well with the traffic on motorways, highways, or similar fast roads.

Perfection of the round

History

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The first roundabout was constructed in Paris around the Arc de Triomphe in 1901. According to the BBC the first “recognizable modern roundabout” was New York’s Co-lumbus Circle. The first British roundabout was five years later, in Letchworth Garden City in 1909 - originally in-tended partly as a traffic island for pedestrians. However, the widespread use of roundabouts began when British engineers re-engineered the traffic circle in the mid-1960s and Frank Blackmore invented the mini roundabout to overcome its limitations of capacity and for safety issues. Unlike traffic circles, roundabouts operate with yield control to give priority to circulating traffic and eliminate much of the driver confusion associated with traffic circles and driver wait associated with junctions that have traffic lights. Roughly the same size as signalled intersections with the same capacity, roundabouts also are significantly small-er in diameter than traffic circles, separate incoming and outgoing traffic with pedestrian islands and therefore en-courage slower and safer speeds.

Roundabout

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Roundabouts are safer than both traffic circles and tradi-tional intersections—having 40% fewer vehicle collisions, 80% fewer injuries and 90% fewer serious injuries and fatalities (according to a study of a sampling of round-abouts in the United States, compared with the intersec-tions they replaced). Roundabouts also reduce points of conflict between pedestrians and motor vehicles and are therefore considered to be safer for them. However, roundabouts, especially large fast moving ones, are un-popular with some cyclists. This problem is sometimes handled on larger roundabouts by taking foot and bicycle traffic through a series of underpasses.At intersections with stop signs or traffic lights, the most serious accidents are right-angle, left-turn, or head-on collisions that can be severe because vehicles may be moving fast and collide at high angles of impact.

Safety

CapacityLike any at-grade intersection, roundabouts do not cope well with the very heavy traffic on primary motorways or freeways, leading to long queues. Britain’s strategic road network has some isolated roundabouts on otherwise almost motorway-like roads (for example, A1/A421 and Broxden Junction) and even on a few motorways (for ex-ample, the A601(M), A627(M), and M271 have round-abouts on the main line). Some of these roundabouts, as well as other busy roundabouts, have had traffic lights added and are termed “signal controlled roundabouts”. A particular cause of congestion at a roundabout is when many motorists want to make a turn that effectively cross-es oncoming traffic.

Roundabout

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Types ofroundabouts

Mini roundaboutsMini-roundabouts exist at smaller intersections to avoid the use of signals, stop signs or the necessity to yield in favour of one road of traffic. Mini-roundabouts can be a painted circle, a low dome, or often are small garden beds. Painted roundabouts and low domes can easily be driven over by most vehicles, which many motorists will do when there is no other traffic, but the practice is dan-gerous if other cars are present. Mini-roundabouts work in the same way as larger roundabouts in terms of right of way. They can often come in “chains”, making navigation of otherwise awkward junctions easier. There are usually different road signs used to distinguish mini roundabouts from larger ones.

Raindrop roundaboutsThese roundabouts do not form a complete circle and are in a “raindrop” shape. They are appearing at U.S. Inter-state interchanges to provide a free-flowing left turn to the on-ramps and eliminating the need for turn signals and lanes. Since the on and off-ramps are one-way, a com-plete circle is unnecessary. This means that drivers enter-ing the roundabout from the bridge do not need to yield and prevents queuing on narrow, two-lane bridges. These roundabouts have been used at new interchanges so that a two-lane bridge can be built for less cost than a three-lane, as well as replacing traffic signals that are inefficient without a turning lane.Also known in the UK as a dumbell roundabout.

In the Netherlands, a relatively new type of roundabout is built increasingly often. It provides a forced spiraling flow of traffic, thus requiring motorists to choose their direc-tion before entering the roundabout. By eliminating many conflicting paths and choices on the roundabout itself, traffic safety is increased, as well as speed, and as a re-sult, capacity. A turbo roundabout does not allow traveling a full circle.Several variations of the turbo roundabout exist. The ba-sic turbo roundabout shape is designed for where a ma-jor road crosses a road with less traffic.Turbo roundabouts are typically built with raised lane sep-arators. Cheaper implementations with only road mark-ings exist, but hurt the efficiency (regarding safety, speed, and capacity) of the design by enabling users to cheat the system.

Turbo roundabouts

Some bridges on Beijing’s 2nd Ring Road are controlled by traffic lights. While it may appear to defy the round-about system at first, it works well to control the flow of traffic on the bridges, which themselves are two viaducts creating a roundabout suspended over the ring road itself.Signal controlled roundabouts are common in Great Britain and Ireland, where they have been introduced in an attempt to alleviate traffic problems at over-capacity roundabout intersections or to prevent some flows of traf-fic dominating others (around the M50 in Dublin for ex-ample).

Controlled roundabouts

“Magic” roundaboutsThe town of Swindon in Wiltshire, England, is known for its “Magic Roundabout”. This roundabout is at an intersec-

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tion of five roads and consists of a two-way road around the central island with five mini-roundabouts where it meets the incoming roads. Traffic may proceed around the main roundabout either clockwise via the outer lanes, or counterclockwise using the inner lanes next to the cen-tral island. At each mini-roundabout the usual clockwise flow applies.

Roundabouts on motorwaysWhile roundabouts do not usually interrupt motorways in the UK or Ireland, a common type of motorway intersec-tion (suited only for lower volumes of traffic) consists of a grade separated roundabout above or below the main motorway, accessed via ramps. Most intersections on Dublin’s M50 motorway ring-road use this configuration — although several junctions have a greater volume of traffic than the capacity such roundabouts can accom-modate.In the Netherlands, A6 motorway and A7 motorway cross near Joure using a roundabout. For the intersection be-tween the A200 and the A9 a 3-level stacked roundabout is used. Near Eindhoven (the Leenderheide junction), the intersection for the A2 is done with a roundabout. An overpass is built for the A67 from Antwerp to Germany.

particularly when there is a junction between tram lines as well. In these cases, the roundabouts are very large, and often have tram stops in the middle. The Haymarket roundabout between Royal Parade and Elizabeth Street is the most notorious intersection of this nature, contain-ing a tram-stop, pedestrian crossings, three entering tram lines, traffic signals to stop vehicular traffic at each cross-ing point when a tram is due, service roads and pedes-trian crossing.

Roundabouts with trams

Roundabouts with railwaysIn Jensen Beach, Florida, the main line of the Florida East Coast Railway running north-south bisects the two-lane roundabout at the intersection of Jensen Beach Boulevard running east-west and three other roads and the service entrance to a large shopping plaza. Boom barriers are in place at the railway crossings. The landscaped centre island bisected by the tracks was originally curbed, but 18-wheelers had trouble negotiating the roundabout, so the curbs were replaced with painted drive over concrete strips. A proposed fountain in the centre island has never been built. The roundabout was built in the early 2000s and has improved traffic flow considerably although there are still delays caused by the many long freight trains coming through.

Hamburger roundaboutthroughabout roundaboutcut-through roundabout

Tram roundabouts are most notably found in inner Mel-bourne, particularly in the inner suburban area of South Melbourne, where the tram network is extensive. Tram tracks always pass through the central island of these roundabouts, with drivers required to give way, not only to vehicles coming towards them from their right, but also to trams coming at them from right-angles.Having trams pass through small roundabouts is not a problem; through larger roundabouts it can be difficult,

These resemble a normal roundabout but are signalised and have a straight-through section of carriageway for one of the major routes. The hamburger name derives from the fact that the plan view resembles the cross-section through a hamburger. There are two such examples on

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the A580 East Lancashire Road in St Helens, England, one at Haydock Island in Merseyside (which also features the M6 passing overhead), the second is on the Astley/Boothstown border near to Manchester. More examples are the A6003 at Kettering and the A538 near Manches-ter Airport. Yet another can be seen at the junction of Morley Drive and Alexander Drive in Perth, WA, Australia. An example of such an intersection in the United States can be found on the Revere Beach Parkway in Everett, Massachusetts.A more advanced and safer version of a hamburger roundabout is a roundabout interchange, separating the straight roadway and using underpasses or overpasses to cross the roundabout itself.

lished by the UK Transport and Road Research Labora-tory (TRRL) (now TRL) in 1984.Collisions typically occur when a motorist is entering or leaving the circular roadway. A motorist entering the cir-cular roadway must yield to traffic in it, but such traffic will generally keep away from the outside of the circular roadway (as with a vehicle in the photo) if passing an en-trance. A bicyclist close to the edge of the roadway is not in the usual position where an entering motorist expects to look for circulating traffic.When exiting the circular roadway, a motorist must look ahead to steer, and to avoid colliding with another vehicle ahead or with pedestrians in a crosswalk. As the circu-lar roadway curves away from the exit, the path of a ve-hicle exiting the circular roadway is relatively straight, and so the exiting motorist may often not need to slow sub-stantially. However, if it is necessary to yield to a bicyclist riding around the outside, the exiting motorist must look toward the rear, to the outside of the intersection. With many vehicles, such as vans, the driver’s view in this di-rection is obstructed. The task burden of the motorist is therefore substantially increased if bicyclists ride around the outside. The resulting conflicts, and more frequent re-quirements for motorists to slow or stop, also reduce the efficiency of traffic flow which is one of the major advan-tages of the circular intersections. Cycle lanes around the outside of circular intersections are therefore falling out of favour.F

Roundaboutsand CyclistsResearch has shown that even in large circular intersec-tions that lack modern roundabout design features, a high rate of bicycle/motor vehicle crashes occurs when bicyclists are riding around the outside. Design guidance for modern roundabouts recommends terminating cycle lanes well before the entrances, so bicyclists merge into the stream of motor traffic.A 1992 study from the German Transport Ministry’s re-search institute has cast particular light on this issue. The study found that bicyclists’ risk is high in all such intersec-tions, but it is much higher when the intersection has a marked bicycle lane or sidepath around its outside (see “Marked perimeter cycle lanes” below). The results of this study concerning circular intersections are summarised on the web (in German, but partially translated below). A report about accidents at four-arm roundabouts was pub-

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Cheney told CNN’s “State of the Union” that the Bush ad-ministration’s “alternative” interrogation techniques were “absolutely essential” to preventing further assaults like the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Wash-ington.Critics said those techniques amounted to the torture of prisoners in American custody.“President Obama campaigned against it all across the country, and now he is making some choices that, in my mind, will, in fact, raise the risk to the American people of another attack,” Cheney said.Since taking office in January, Obama has announced plans to close the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to halt the military trials of suspected terrorists there, and to make CIA officers follow the Army field man-ual’s rules on interrogations.

Policies raise the risk of U.S. terror attack

Pakistani police battle defiant protestersThe demonstrators are part of a planned four-day march to the capital, Islamabad. The procession had been rela-tively peaceful until it reached Lahore in the Punjab prov-ince, the home base of opposition leader Nawaz Sharif.There, the crowd was incited by conflicting reports that authorities had detained Sharif to prevent him from lead-ing the rally toward Islamabad.Officers in riot gear fired tear gas at the demonstrators near the Lahore Supreme Court. As soon as the sting from the gas wore off, the protesters regrouped, only to be chased away by police wielding batons.Authorities made several arrests. Ambulances were seen at the location.Soon afterward, Sharif emerged from his residence and told reporters he had been placed on house arrest but that he refused to abide by it. Police in Pakistan fought running battles with stone-throwing protesters who defied a government ban on rallies and congregated in large numbers in Lahore on Sunday.

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11After a jubilant reception from thousands of supporters, Pakistan’s main opposition leader headed to Islamabad.He is determined to lead lawyers and political activists in the final leg of what is called a Long March to push their demand for the restoration of the deposed chief justice.It is not clear how far he will get: the government has sealed the capital to prevent protestors from fulfilling their plan to hold an indefinite sit-in in front of parliament.What is clear is that the challenge has Pakistan’s military establishment and international allies very worried.

Plans for minimum alcohol priceUnder the proposal from Sir Liam Donaldson, no drinks could be sold for less than 50 pence per unit of alcohol they contain. It would mean most bottles of wine could not be sold for less than £4.50.Cabinet minister Douglas Alexander said the government would consider what Sir Liam had to say in his report.But Work and Pensions Secretary James Purnell said ministers had no intention of going ahead with something that would punish the responsible majority of drinkers.The proposal is aimed at tackling alcohol misuse and is set out in Sir Liam’s annual report on the nation’s health. C.Davis of Alcohol Concern said that setting a minimum price for alcohol would help deter youngsters from binge drinking.

A crisis about more than judges

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G20 summit critical for economyCabinet minister Douglas Alexander said the summit in London of the G20 group of rich and emerging nations next month “was an important moment”.G20 finance ministers pledged to make a sustained effort to beat the recession after they met on Saturday.But the talks took place amid differences on the best way forward.The finance ministers also promised to continue with eco-nomic stimulus packages and low interest rates, and to increase IMF funding. Mr Alexander played down sugges-tion of rifts between the EU and the US and the UK on how to tackle the financial crisis.While the US and UK finance ministers have led the call for further public spending on stimulus packages to help lift economies, some of their European counterparts have urged caution.“We had an agreement from everybody around the table to do all that that is necessary for as long as is necessary and that sends an important signal to markets,” he told the BBC.

Oxygen therapy benefit in autismAfter 40 hours of hyperbaric treatment autistic children showed significant improvements in social interaction and eye contact compared with controls. The BMC Pediatrics study could not show if the results were long-lasting but should prompt further investigation of the treatment, the US team said. One theory is that oxygen can help reduce inflammation and improve flow of

oxygen to brain tissue. Hyperbaric treatment - effectively giving high concentrations of oxygen at increased atmo-spheric pressure - has been shown to have some ben-efit in other neurological conditions such as foetal alcohol syndrome and cerebral palsy. Some studies have looked at the treatment in children with autism but they have not compared with a dummy procedure raising questions around a “placebo effect”.In the latest study, carried out at six centres in the US, 62 children aged two to seven with autism were randomly as-signed to receive 40 hours of treatment over a month with 24% oxygen at increased atmospheric pressure (1.3 atm) or normal air in a slightly pressurised room (1.03 atm).

Social networks are new e-mailMr Sacks said: “What people want to do on social net-work these days is post status updates. We think it’s all people want to do.”Yammer is an enterprise social network, designed to facil-itate communication within companies and organisations.It is one of a growing number of services that lets users share micro-updates. Other services have a richer mix of content, including sharing photos and video, and allowing comments from people within your social network, build-ing a so-called activity stream.“I think it’s a new form of communication; not quite e-mail, more lightweight and more real time, often with little bit of a publishing flavour to it,” said Paul Buchheit, founder of FriendFeed, and the creator and lead developer of GMail, while at Google.FriendFeed lets users share content from other services, such as Twitter and Flickr, and comment directly on the postings in real-time.

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Steve Martin backing banned play Students at La Grande High School in Oregon were stopped from staging Picasso at the Lapin Agile.Martin has offered to help pay for the play to be performed off-campus.He said he was supporting the production because he did not want his play “acquiring a reputation it does not deserve”.Written in 1993, the play depicts a meeting between a young Pablo Picasso and Albert Einstein in a Parisian bar in which they get into a discussions on the superior mer-its of art or science.

Having frightening fun waiting for GodotThe Royal Haymarket production features Stewart along-side stalwarts of the stage Sir Ian McKellen, Ronald Pick-up and Simon Callow. Speaking to Today presenter Jim Naughtie, the four describe both the creative pleasure and technical difficulty of performing Samuel Beckett’s enigmatic characters. “I don’t think there will ever be a point where one can coast in this play. It is built in that your brain has to be functioning at 112%, all the time,” says actor Simon Callow. The drama is set around two central characters, Estragon and Vladimir, who spend two days waiting for the play’s namesake. The play caused shock waves when it had its London premiere in 1955 - a play without a traditional plot, two tramps pondering the meaning of life while they wait for a man who never comes.

In Pictures