ORLANDO, Fla. – If you’re unfamiliar with roundabouts, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety said roundabouts are circular intersections with design features that promote safe and efficient traffic flow.
They were developed in the United Kingdom back in the 1960s, with the first modern roundabouts being constructed in the U.S. in Nevada in 1990. However, in recent years, they’re becoming more common here.
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How they work: Cars travel counterclockwise around a raised center island. Entering traffic must yield to circulating traffic. This is all supposed to be done at slower rates of speed, so that drivers are able to stop for pedestrians and stop before any possible collisions with other cars.
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According to the IIHS, single-lane roundabouts are safer for pedestrians and other cars than traditional intersections because of that tight circle that forces drivers to slow down. It also said they are better for the environment as well as for improving traffic flow. It reported that some studies show up to 80% reduction of injury crashes and a reduction in all crashes up to 47%. There’s even one study of 19 higher-speed rural intersections (speed limits of 40 mph or higher) that originally had stop signs on the minor approaches and were converted to roundabouts found a 62% reduction in all crashes and an 85% reduction in injury crashes.
A common question that gets asked is whether people still need to use turning signals when entering or exiting a roundabout.
News 6 Traffic Safety Expert Trooper Steve Montiero said yes.
“No matter how small or big your change of direction is, you should be using your turn signal to advise others what you’re about to do,” Trooper Steve said. “This would also be required within a traffic circle, also known as a roundabout. Just prior to exiting that traffic signal, you should be indicating your intentions by using your turn signal.”
That’s because although roundabouts are typically safer, there still can be confusion for drivers.
Last year, News 6′s Louis Bolden investigated a roundabout in DeLand at Orange Camp Road and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Beltway that opened in April 2022. According to data News 6 obtained from the Florida Highway Patrol, troopers responded to 73 crashes at the roundabout between April 2022 and May 2023. This particular roundabout has two lanes and many of the crashes are attributed to drivers changing lanes in the roundabout or failing to yield as they enter.
That’s not surprising as the IIHS reported that most studies focus on single-lane roundabout usage, not multi-lane. However, studies that did look at multi-lane roundabouts found a smaller reduction in crashes and in some cases, even an increase, likely because of factors like we saw in DeLand. A 2019 IIHS study did find that those crashes tend to decrease over time as drivers become used to multi-lane roundabouts and how to properly maneuver them.
So what’s the best way to proceed through a roundabout?
Florida Department of Transportation has a few best practices.
- Reduce your speed to 10-15 mph as you approach the roundabout
- Be aware of bicyclists and pedestrians
- Look left for oncoming traffic (traffic moves counter-clockwise)
- Yield to vehicles already in the roundabout, wait for a gap and enter
- Do not stop in the roundabout
- Do not pass other vehicles
- Use turn signal to exit the roundabout to the right
- Yield to pedestrians crossing the exit lane
- Allow emergency vehicles to pass. If you have not entered the roundabout, pull over to the right and allow the emergency vehicle to pass. If you have already entered the roundabout, continue to the closest exit and pull over once you are beyond the splitter island to allow the emergency vehicle to pass. Again, never stop in a roundabout.
- Finally, if you’re in a multi-lane roundabout, follow signs and pavement markings to determine the lane(s) that will serve your destination
Trooper Steve has visited Central Florida roundabouts before; Click the city names to hear what he had to say on patrol in DeLand and Viera.
