Love them, or hate them, our Region will see more Roundabouts!
Most of us that have not experienced driving on roundabouts may be skeptical about them. All those cars yielding and driving around a circle, who goes next, how do I go straight, and did that driver just cut me off? It’s understandable… they are new to our area. Some communities have embraced them quickly and for some time now, others have not.
Like them or not, they are not only coming, but they are also here in our Region… more and more of them. Yes, they are different… and not used to what we have done with traditional intersections over the past many decades. But roundabouts are a different, and even much safer way, of moving traffic through an intersection.
Roundabouts reduce severe crashes at intersections by 80%. The Rules of the Roundabout are simple; Slow Down, Look Around, and Be Ready to Yield.
How to Drive a Roundabout
As you Approach…
Slow down and stay in your lane
Yield to vehicles already in the roundabout
Always obey one-way signs
Yield to pedestrians and bicycles if there is a crosswalk
As you Enter…
Wait for traffic in the roundabout; it has the right-of-way
When traffic clears, merge to the right and continue to stay in your lane
Proceed…
Continue through the roundabout until you reach your exit point. Avoid stopping in the roundabout
As you Exit…
Signal and exit to the right
Left turns are completed by circling around the center island and then making a right turn to exit
Roundabouts can easily accommodate emergency and large-sized vehicles. Drivers should behave in the same manner as they would on any other road if an emergency vehicle approaches carefully move as far right as possible and, if necessary, stop until the emergency vehicle passes.
There are many benefits of a roundabout. They reduce the number of potential accident points within an intersection. They provide up to a 90 percent reduction in fatalities. They reduce injury crashes by 76 percent and offer a 30 to 40 percent reduction in pedestrian crashes. They also provide 75% fewer conflict points than four-way intersections.
Although they may look scary at first… once drivers experience a roundabout, they will enjoy many community benefits including traffic calming, esthetic landscaping, reduced congestion versus a typical intersection, and they reduce pollution and fuel use. Please feel free to visit the links provided below for more information about Roundabouts.
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