I lived in Swindon for 2 years and while drivers can find different things challenging, I would venture to say that it's a lot more straightforward when you're

I lived in Swindon for 2 years and while drivers can find different things challenging, I would venture to say that it's a lot more straightforward when you're on it than you might imagine. It separates traffic effectively at peak times according to which roads they enter/leave, and as many have mentioned it slows cars down so you aren't pressured to make snap decisions either if you aren't sure. If all else fails, you can follow the car in front of you and if you picked the correct lane at first entry the chances are you will be led to the correct exit point. Pedestrians don't really feature from a safety perspective because there are light-controlled crossings all the way around the fringe. The problems I saw were when arrogant/impatient people (as opposed to first-timers) saw a gap that was intentionally left because of the way traffic flows from one roundabout to the next, and would speed past two or three cars then push in. But those people cause problems everywhere.