12 ms·

Correct me if I'm wrong... but compared to a traffic light, you have to go significantly slower, so most accidents are not as severe as at a traffic light. You

Correct me if I'm wrong... but compared to a traffic light, you have to go significantly slower, so most accidents are not as severe as at a traffic light. You also aren't crashing into someone in a t-bone situation, usually they are sideswiped at more of an angle for less impact force. Of course someone could still fly into a roundabout at full speed. Anything is possible, but feel like think overall there still have to be benefits. People generally don't slow down for lights, and lots of times accelerate to make it through before it turns red.

Clent 3y ago
Correct. Anyone that says roundabouts are less safe doesn't have science backing their claim. While, they do not reduce the number of accidents and in some cases can increase accidents, but they consistently reduce the severity of the accidents. A three lane roundabout may be annoying when encounter as a tourist but the majority of locals going about their daily commutes quickly master them. For a three lane roundabout the inner lane is left turn only. The inner lane is left turn or straight and the right lane is right turns only. The ones in my area have ample signage indicating which lane allows for each type of turn.
- mikepurvis 3y ago
  I would argue that the safety stats for them are still excessively car-centric. That is to say, roundabout collisions have better outcomes for car occupants specifically because they turn crashes into the kinds of crashes that cars handle best, which is low speed rear-endings, with the crumple zones doing all the heavy lifting to protect occupants. I’m much more skeptical about how roundabout users fare when they are people walking or riding bicycles. At least in my city, we've had roundabouts for years, and the yield rate for pedestrians is ghastly— like, sub-50% of drivers stopping for someone waiting to cross and remaining fully stopped until the person is completely off the roadway. In theory this is a fine of hundreds of dollars ("failure to yield to crosswalk"), but it appears to receive basically zero enforcement in practice. As a result, the fancy multi use paths that accompanied our roundabout installations get little use, since it's obvious to anyone who tries them how dangerous and unprotected they are.
  - pmontra 3y ago
    I'm both a car driver and a cyclist. There are a zillion roundabouts in the country I'm living in. This is my experience and I'd like to hear a traffic designer about it. Roundabouts feel safer than a 4 way intersecting when I'm in a car even if it's annoying to have to slow down and accelerate again when there is very little or no traffic, which is normal in the countryside. It also consumes more fuel, wears the car, adds to pollution. It's different when I'm riding my bicycle. Roundabouts put me closer to cars, especially if there are traffic dividers that force cars closer to the side of the road. Then cars are usually slower than a bicycle in a small or medium sized roundabout (think of race bicycles with drop bars,) which adds up to chances of being packed between two cars. My feeling is that what's good for cars is bad for bicycles. As a cyclist I can see what's around me much better than when I'm in my car. Intersections don't feel like a problem because of the extra visibility. When I'm riding I long for old times straight roads, with a line on the side and half a meter of asphalt on the other side to ride on. No roundabouts, no speed bumps especially the 3M style plastic ones, which I can jump but they are annoying. All those safety devices, including roundabouts, increase fatigue and danger. They are also the main reason for crashes in bicycle races but that's not an issue for normal people. Finally, as I both drive and ride I know how to behave not to put in danger the cyclist. When I drive I don't overtake bicycles before a roundabout because they'll be at least as fast as me. I don't overtake when there is a short traffic divider which narrows the road. A long one, oh well, I have to. Same thing when I approach an intersection where I have to yield or stop. Bicycles will be definitely faster there because they can look around better than me and decide what to do quickly. When I ride and I'm approaching a roundabout or entering a short narrowing of the road I look behind me and if it's safe I lean a little to the center of the road to prevent cars to overtake when they'll be forced to come close to me.
    - axiolite 3y ago
      Your observations are quite apt. "Researchers in Belgium found that single lane roundabouts without a protected bike lane increased crashes by 93%, while Danish researchers said roundabouts that did have separated lanes saw an 84% reduction in crashes." CNBC: Roundabouts Are Safer. So Why Does The U.S. Have So Few Of Them? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atORPw-w83I https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atORPw-w83I
quickthrower2 3y ago
That is a good point. In the UK when I was last there they needed all sorts of tricks to get people to slow down on roundabouts on A roads or just after a motorway end, going from say 70mph to zero. You might have a curve leading up to the round about plus roundabout signs, plus give way signs, plus 300, 200, 100 yard markers, plus painted lines on the road that get closer together as you approach, and finally the <<<<< sign on the roundabout itself.

Clent 3y ago

Correct. Anyone that says roundabouts are less safe doesn't have science backing their claim. While, they do not reduce the number of accidents and in some cases can increase accidents, but they consistently reduce the severity of the accidents. A three lane roundabout may be annoying when encounter as a tourist but the majority of locals going about their daily commutes quickly master them. For a three lane roundabout the inner lane is left turn only. The inner lane is left turn or straight and the right lane is right turns only. The ones in my area have ample signage indicating which lane allows for each type of turn.

mikepurvis 3y ago
I would argue that the safety stats for them are still excessively car-centric. That is to say, roundabout collisions have better outcomes for car occupants specifically because they turn crashes into the kinds of crashes that cars handle best, which is low speed rear-endings, with the crumple zones doing all the heavy lifting to protect occupants. I’m much more skeptical about how roundabout users fare when they are people walking or riding bicycles. At least in my city, we've had roundabouts for years, and the yield rate for pedestrians is ghastly— like, sub-50% of drivers stopping for someone waiting to cross and remaining fully stopped until the person is completely off the roadway. In theory this is a fine of hundreds of dollars ("failure to yield to crosswalk"), but it appears to receive basically zero enforcement in practice. As a result, the fancy multi use paths that accompanied our roundabout installations get little use, since it's obvious to anyone who tries them how dangerous and unprotected they are.
- pmontra 3y ago
  I'm both a car driver and a cyclist. There are a zillion roundabouts in the country I'm living in. This is my experience and I'd like to hear a traffic designer about it. Roundabouts feel safer than a 4 way intersecting when I'm in a car even if it's annoying to have to slow down and accelerate again when there is very little or no traffic, which is normal in the countryside. It also consumes more fuel, wears the car, adds to pollution. It's different when I'm riding my bicycle. Roundabouts put me closer to cars, especially if there are traffic dividers that force cars closer to the side of the road. Then cars are usually slower than a bicycle in a small or medium sized roundabout (think of race bicycles with drop bars,) which adds up to chances of being packed between two cars. My feeling is that what's good for cars is bad for bicycles. As a cyclist I can see what's around me much better than when I'm in my car. Intersections don't feel like a problem because of the extra visibility. When I'm riding I long for old times straight roads, with a line on the side and half a meter of asphalt on the other side to ride on. No roundabouts, no speed bumps especially the 3M style plastic ones, which I can jump but they are annoying. All those safety devices, including roundabouts, increase fatigue and danger. They are also the main reason for crashes in bicycle races but that's not an issue for normal people. Finally, as I both drive and ride I know how to behave not to put in danger the cyclist. When I drive I don't overtake bicycles before a roundabout because they'll be at least as fast as me. I don't overtake when there is a short traffic divider which narrows the road. A long one, oh well, I have to. Same thing when I approach an intersection where I have to yield or stop. Bicycles will be definitely faster there because they can look around better than me and decide what to do quickly. When I ride and I'm approaching a roundabout or entering a short narrowing of the road I look behind me and if it's safe I lean a little to the center of the road to prevent cars to overtake when they'll be forced to come close to me.
  - axiolite 3y ago
    Your observations are quite apt. "Researchers in Belgium found that single lane roundabouts without a protected bike lane increased crashes by 93%, while Danish researchers said roundabouts that did have separated lanes saw an 84% reduction in crashes." CNBC: Roundabouts Are Safer. So Why Does The U.S. Have So Few Of Them? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atORPw-w83I https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atORPw-w83I

quickthrower2 3y ago

That is a good point. In the UK when I was last there they needed all sorts of tricks to get people to slow down on roundabouts on A roads or just after a motorway end, going from say 70mph to zero. You might have a curve leading up to the round about plus roundabout signs, plus give way signs, plus 300, 200, 100 yard markers, plus painted lines on the road that get closer together as you approach, and finally the <<<<< sign on the roundabout itself.