Round and Round She Goes
Seniors Choice Newsmagazine, January 2006
Lian Couper
The terms roundabout and traffic circle are often used interchangeably; however the roundabout is generally smaller, slower and safer. Imagine a large circle of vehicles in which entering traffic must halt at a stop sign before joining the circle of fast cars and you have a traffic circle. Both circles are intended to help ensure safe passage of traffic through an intersection without necessarily stopping the flow of the traffic.
When traffic goes around slowly and a yield sign allows for a merge on entry you have a roundabout. It has been proven that roundabouts are safer than both traffic circles and normal intersections, because the roundabout gives priority to circulating traffic http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traffic and eliminate much of the driver confusion associated with traffic circles.
Roundabouts have 40% fewer vehicle collisions, 80% fewer injuries and 90% fewer serious injuries and deaths, according to a study in the United States http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States comparing roundabouts with the intersections they replaced. Roundabouts significantly reduce potential points of conflict between pedestrians and motor vehicles and are therefore considered to be safer for them also. However, roundabouts are unpopular with cyclists and can be dangerous for them. This problem is sometimes handled on larger roundabouts by taking foot and bicycle traffic through a series of underpasses http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underpass
In addition to improved vehicle and pedestrian safety, and in spite of lower speeds, roundabouts dramatically outperform traffic circles in terms of vehicle throughput and, because a roundabout's circular traffic is always moving, they outperform ordinary junctions with traffic signals as well.
There are many variations in the design of roundabouts. Large roundabouts such as those used at major intersections typically have two to four lanes around the central hub, and sometimes have traffic lights regulating flow during peak hours.
If you encounter a roundabout with more than one lane make sure you know where you want to go, and are in the proper lane to get there, before you enter. You must not change lanes in a roundabout. Make sure you signal your intentions as you approach and drive through a roundabout. If you intend to turn right at a roundabout, signal "right" while approaching and until you have exited the roundabout. If you are going straight through a roundabout, no signal is needed while approaching, However, signal "right" before the exit you want to take.
All vehicles must turn right to enter a roundabout and right again to leave it. Drivers must yield to vehicles in the circle. If you intend to take an exit that is to your left, after you enter the roundabout, signal "left" on the approach to the roundabout and signal "right" before the exit you want to take once you are in the roundabout. |
