How to navigate a Modern Roundabout
Introduction
The Modern Roundabout is a one-way circular intersection without a traffic signal or stop signs. Traffic flows in one direction around a center island. It's a self-regulating traffic control system using intersecting roadway widths and curves, medians, signing, and landscaping to regulate speeds.
Benefits include fewer accidents, injuries, and fatalities; fewer pedestrian and cyclist accidents; less traffic congestion and delays; reduced noise and air pollution; faster commute travel times' less driver frustration; no red light running; and overall slower speeds.
In many circumstances, Modern Roundabouts can offer higher traffic flow volumes and overall operational performance, meaning vehicles can more easily, efficiently, and safely
navigate through an intersection. In certain circumstances, a Modern Roundabout also has a higher potential for meeting the increasing traffic demands of a growing community and relieving congestion caused by future traffic growth because of its unique capacity capabilities. In some situations, as much as a 75% reduction in travel delay time has been realized where Modern Roundabouts replaced existing traffic signal intersections.
Where safety is concerned, experts say that slower traffic movement at roundabout intersections significantly reduces accident severity and eliminates the potential threat associated with fast-moving vehicles. Further, the most serious kinds of crashes at conventional intersections are virtually eliminated with modern roundabouts.
Resources
- Driving through Rochester's Roundabout and Sign Designations
- Safety Guide: The Modern Roundabout Solution
- To learn more about Modern Roundabouts, contact the Institute for Highway Safety (IHS), the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), or Roundabouts & Traffic
Engineering (RTE) at www.roundabouts.us.