Cities throughout the United States are replacing intersections with roundabouts in the interest of savings and automotive safety. Proponents assert that replacing intersections with roundabouts increases traffic flow and fuel efficiency while reducing accidents.
Critics claim that roundabouts are unfamiliar for American drivers to navigate and ultimately lead to higher taxes and accidents. Some drivers actively avoid them rather than navigate them. About 3,000 of the traffic-calming circles have been built in the U.S. in the last 20 years, according to the BBC.
Roundabouts are actually nothing new in the United States. They are more commonly known as rotaries or traffic circles. These one-way traffic flow systems were used in Europe as well as the U.S., but these were prone to confusion-related congestion and were redesigned. One of the best-known rotaries is Paris' Arc de Triomphe.
Modern roundabouts were conceived in the U.K., improved by the so-called "give way" for those vehicles entering the traffic system. Cars already in the roundabout have right-of-way. These systems are smaller than rotaries and reportedly slow traffic while increasing its flow. The newer-style traffic slowing was introduced in Nevada, in 1990. France now has about 20,000 roundabouts and the U.K. has about 15,000.
According to The Wall Street Journal, organizations including the U.S. Federal Highway Administration, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, and numerous state departments of transportation advocate the installation of roundabouts because they eliminate paths where two vehicles cross and also slow traffic.
The city of Carmel, Indiana, has enthusiastically adopted roundabouts. There are still a few accidents in roundabouts, according to the city's police, but the number and severity are less than collisions at traffic lights.
"We have more than any other city in the US," claims Jim Brainard, mayor of Carmel. The city has eliminated 78 sets of traffic lights in favor of roundabouts, with more under construction. "There are more and more roundabouts being built every day because of the expense saved and more importantly the safety...And aesthetically, we think they're much nicer. If one is looking out their living room window, would you prefer to see a blinking traffic light all night or a beautifully landscaped roundabout with a fountain and flowers?"
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety predicts adoption to continue as the result of numerous states -- Alaska, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Wisconsin, and Wyoming, among others -- promoting roundabouts for road construction and re-engineering projects.
Dan Neil, The Wall Street Journal correspondent, says that although these are a good idea, American culture and thinking don't support their use. "This is a culture predicated on freedom and individualism, where spontaneous co-operation is difficult and regimentation is resisted," he told the BBC. "We like right angles, yes and no answers, Manichean explanations. Roundabouts require more subtlety than we're used to."
