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Roundabouts Are Safer. So Why Does The U.S. Have So Few Of Them? - CNBC
Roundabouts - the circular intersections seen all over Europe and elsewhere in the world - are said to be far safer than traffic lights. Research shows they reduce crashes, clear up congestion and save cities quite a bit of money. They have a heritage in the U.S., but America has a fraction of the roundabouts that far smaller countries like France, Spain and the United Kingdom have. But there are some states that are adopting them, and one small town in particular: Carmel, Indiana. The people of Carmel love their roundabouts and the mayor credits them with helping revitalize his city. So are they all they’re cracked up to be? And if so, why hasn’t the U.S. adopted them?
Chapters:
1:33 - Why hasn’t the US adopted roundabouts?
1:41 - Chapter 1: Why Roundabouts
6:28 - Chapter 2: History
9:50 - Chapter 3: Europe vs. United States
12:14 - Chapter 4: Roundabout Renaissance
13:59 - Chapter 5: Drawbacks
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Jilly_in_VA
(14,469 posts)There are at least three of them that I know of in Harrisonburg. Two of them are by schools and while I suspect they are semi-useful for that, one of them is really not very well engineered. My husband scoffs at that one as "someone's C grade on their Traffic Engineering project".
honest.abe
(9,238 posts)Often confusing when multiple lanes and multiple roads intersecting. I’ve seen accidents in roundabouts due to confusion.
spooky3
(38,714 posts)Where drivers aren’t sure which lanes to drive in.
FuzzyRabbit
(2,217 posts)And no way for pedestrians to cross four lanes of speeding traffic.
Yes, speeding traffic. The 15 mph signs are so small, most drivers do not see them and slow down.
And they change lanes in the middle of the roundabout - as if they are asking to cause an accident.
And often a driver in the roundabout stops his car to let someone else enter, causing themselves and everyone else to risk being rear ended.
I have figured out a way to drive around the intersections with roundabouts. I will never go through these roundabouts again.
I hate these roundabouts with a passion.
Scottie Mom
(5,838 posts)I detest them!
jimfields33
(19,382 posts)I like they are cheaper and no electricity.
hlthe2b
(114,167 posts)the issue is with those new to the concept--usually tourists or recently moved to the state. Oh, boy. And then there are the complex ones with multiple lanes and big trucks, who swerve out of their lane as they negotiate the circle.
I have a love/hate relationship with them for that reason...
erronis
(24,081 posts)And they are part of the charm of this city.
KarenS
(5,050 posts)Husband & I used to live near a couple and would go out of our way to avoid them,,,,
I guess I need to look up the stats on them.
Alexander Of Assyria
(7,839 posts)
SWBTATTReg
(26,307 posts)(IMHO) lack of knowledge and experience on how to use them, I am guessing.
By now, a lot of us should already know that a tiny chunk of the American population isn't too savvy (or something), and thus, even something simple like a round-about is too confusing obviously for a lot of people, maybe too much going on for these drivers to handle (that is, you still have four lanes of moving traffic, perhaps too confusing)?
honest.abe
(9,238 posts)Stoplights are understood by everyone.
FuzzyRabbit
(2,217 posts)
CrispyQ
(41,011 posts)I always cross well before or after any roundabout.
Siwsan
(27,856 posts)I avoid them.
Auggie
(33,219 posts)pazzyanne
(6,760 posts)Minnesota has adopted them. I have seen accidents as people try to maneuver them, have come face to face with people who are going the wrong way on them, have had to stop for semi trucks that have trouble getting their trailers through them, etc. Most major cities here are addicted to building them everywhere! And God help us if there are multiple lanes on one resulting in confusion that can bring traffic to a standstill. Just for my history with them, I've been driving them for over 20 years. 
catchnrelease
(2,157 posts)I think the bigger ones are ok, IF people know how to use them...which it seems most Southern Californians don't. Too many entitled drivers that won't yield to the moving traffic and just cut in without even slowing down to merge.
The small ones are ridiculous though. In Long Beach someone has had the brilliant idea of putting them at 4 way stops in older residential neighborhoods where the streets are really narrow to begin with. So, school buses, larger delivery trucks, bigger SUVs, etc can't negotiate the curves of the circle. They end up running over half of the decorative island that's in the center of the circle and worse, cutting off anyone that is coming to the circle from the other directions. It's so stupid! Lately I've seen a couple with stop signs at each entrance to the circle, which really makes me scratch my head.
Jeebo
(2,560 posts)This video claims the first modern roundabouts in the U.S. started showing up in 1990. I spent two weekends in 1986 in Boston and that was the first time in my life that I ever encountered the roundabout. They called them "carousels", as I recall. I was visiting a first cousin who lived in Dorcester and I told her I thought they were a pretty good idea. She didn't agree. There are suddenly quite a few of them now here in Columbia, Missouri, where I live. It seems to me that they HAVE to be much safer than an intersection. You can't just blow at breakneck speed through a roundabout the way you can through an intersection. Therefore, even if there is a collision, which is less likely, it will be at a much lower speed and therefore not as injurious. Also, a roundabout gives you access to several side streets, an intersection only one. If this is a ballot measure, I vote for roundabouts.
-- Ron
viva la
(4,610 posts)Nowhere else, but there were several on my route to school.
My problem is there is no break in traffic -- no stop-- with a roundabout. When are the pedestrians two blocks ahead going to have time to cross?
Collimator
(2,131 posts)I have no idea if it is still there, but it was generally despised.
While moving through it on one occasion, I was accident-adjacent. The details are dim now, but for some reason, I did pull into a nearby shopping center parking lot where another driver accused me of "cutting her off" and causing the accident. I was going through some intense stressors at the time and didn't have the wherewithal to argue.
The police arrived and reports were filled out. I completed the diagram/form showing the position of my car in the flow of traffic and the cop looked at me in confusion and asked, "Why are you here?" since I didn't hit anyone's car nor was my car hit. Obviously, the other driver's attempt to pin the responsibility on me didn't work and I never heard about it from her or the police. But the stress of incident has stayed with me because it was literally the first thing that came to mind when I saw this post.
And in fairness to the other driver who tried to rope me into the accident report, she may have been a bit of a pill for insisting that I be involved in the report when the police themselves determined that I had nothing to do with with it, but she had no way of knowing how much drama I was dealing with at the time, (divorce, two surgeries within the space of 30 days, and other stuff.)
rurallib
(64,727 posts)refuse to slow down and refuse to yield. Those are probably the same drivers that think that stop signs are merely suggestions for other people
Cherokee100
(455 posts)I love them but Big Oil does not. They save time and gas.
brush
(61,033 posts)that's what you're comfortable and familiar with. If your experience is with traffic circles, you'll be more comfortable with them.
The only way they'll become more common in most of American is when new communities are built with them because it would take billions to switch all the intersections already existing to traffic circles...not to mention the disruptions and complains that would cause.
Not gonna happen.
Gruenemann
(1,054 posts)They are one of the great pleasures of driving in the UK. They are efficient and safe...c'mon, all you have to remember is to yield to traffic already in the roundabout...which I guess is too much of an intellectual challenge for Americans.
Mopar151
(10,349 posts)
Quixote1818
(31,157 posts)viva la
(4,610 posts)See any on Oxford Street in London? (The one around Marble Arch, I guess, and Hyde Park itself is sort of a big roundabout.)
Regent's Street? Maybe at the big intersections, but there are still traffic lights.
What to do about pedestrians?
In the UK, often there's still a traffic light at the entry of the big roundabouts, those ones with three-four lanes. Those really are complicated for this intellectually challenged Yanks, because it's very hard to go from one lane to another to get to an exit.
Fortunately, while the UK can be really bad about signage (you know, like having the road exit marked with some minor village 2 k away rather than something useful like West or the next big town), they often do a good job with roundabouts, with the lane itself painted with where this should exit-- "Abington, B2212"-- so before they get into the circle, they're in the right lane to get out.
I like painting the lane itself with the direction and the road number AND the nearest biggish town.
European countries do have to expect a lot of tourists from somewhere else, and that sort of double-check signage sure helps.
Mopar151
(10,349 posts)Need to drive a tractor-trailer through one, multiple times/day, for a week. A long dump trailer, or a load of crushed cars should suit. After that, they could ride with a petroleum hauler for a couple days, just to completely terrorize them.
Quixote1818
(31,157 posts)Mopar151
(10,349 posts)And the one you're showing is considerably larger than the ones in NH. A 53' trailer is legal on most US roads, double 28' trailers are legal on any road with "US" in the route# (or Interstates) UPS &FEDX both use doubles, Wal-Mart is all 53'.
Laurelin
(940 posts)In the Netherlands, mostly two lanes plus a separate section with two lanes, one for bikes and one for people.
The bike and pedestrian lanes are really separate, with a grass verge between them and cars. They're outside the car roundabout. You could get hit by a car during the time you're crossing the street but cars are always responsible for accidents with bikes or pedestrians, no matter how many rules the biker/pedestrians are breaking. Cars tend to be cautious.
In my town we also have a bovenring for bikes and pedestrians under the car traffic circle, and a hovenring above a traffic intersection, on one of the larger roads.
I love the roundabouts when I'm biking because I never have to stop at a light. In a car, they're designed well enough that I don't have trouble entering and exiting. During rush hour you might have to wait a little while to enter but not as long as I'd wait at a light.
I'm still a bit nervous driving here because there are bikes, kids, people and dogs everywhere. The roundabouts don't make me any more nervous than the streets themselves.
Sidewalk curbs are really low, easy to bump over on a bike or a car. People drive cars and park on sidewalls because resudential streets are narrow and curvy (by design, cars have to go slow and there are fewer accidents,.)
I should add that before I moved here and lived with roundabouts I hated, hated, hated them.
Backseat Driver
(4,671 posts)Well, you're supposed to pull over to the right and stop should they come up behind you. Darn if people don't do just that...resulting in much confusion. Just before the 1st of the 2, I once had a ladder truck come up fast behind with nowhere to go but slowly forward into the circle. I had to yield to those already entering from their street and not exactly knowing where those sirens were coming from during rush hour and not yet at the 2nd circle (same/same) or into an exit only driveway; yes I did just the latter. TPTB have changed signage with re-learning, changed the inner circle landscaping (blocked vision); added speed bumps (that almost requires a complete stop); and added islands for pedestrians crossing between the islands on nursing home scooters. There's so much to eyeball as one approaches, schools, strip malls, gas station, pizza shop delivery and pick-up people and various cross-walks to which most now have crossing light buttons on polls. Darn if folks still just cross where they want to!
viva la
(4,610 posts)... where 6 ancient "pikes" meet in some rural area, and traffic lights would not work.
But wherever there are a lot of pedestrians and cyclists-- how will it work?
I was in a smallish (12K pop maybe) midwestern town, and the main street (as is common) is a state highway. The town was trying to highlight its cute downtown (along Main Street) and bring in antique shoppers. There were 4 antique shops in one block just past the city hall, 2 on the north side of the street, and 2 on the south.
There was a roundabout a block from where the little downtown started (east of town) and another on the west side of downtown. So there were about 4 blocks, all cute little town Main Street, between the roundabouts.
We were on the north side of the street, antique shopping. Went to the two shoppes (of course, they were shoppes) there on that side of the street. Went to the corner to cross to go to the other 2 shoppes.
Waited 10 minutes. No joke. A state highway has constant traffic, often including semis. Without stoplights, there was no break in traffic. You have a stoplight (or even stop sign) on either side of downtown, every minute or so there's enough of a break that you can walk across the street.
But with the roundabouts never stopping traffic, there was no break. It wasn't safe even to start across the street. Semis can't just stop on a dime, after all.
I can just imagine what it was like to live there. You live north of downtown? You can't plan to walk to the cafe on the south side of the street.
Even for drivers-- if you're coming in to an intersection without a roundabout, there's no break for you to turn left or drive through.
Roundabouts are designed to limit the emissions of cars (good), and to make travel more efficient for drivers. In car-heavy suburban arteries, and in rural areas, they help with that.
They really aren't good for walkers or bikers. To put them in an area where you want foot traffic is going to cause major problems.
Quixote1818
(31,157 posts)Response to Quixote1818 (Reply #32)
Post removed
Quixote1818
(31,157 posts)As far as saving lives. Did you not even watch the video this entire thread is about before making a rude comment? However, I knew they were much safer and save gas from articles I had seen years ago.