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How to Safely Navigate a Roundabout

Overhead view of a Roundabout

By Grace Hancock

Roundabouts are common in Europe and other areas of the world, but they’ve just started catching on in the United States in recent years. If you’re unfamiliar with how to navigate a roundabout or simply need a refresher, here’s information on how to make your way around a roundabout.

How to Spot a Roundabout

Roundabouts are similar but different from traffic circles, also known as rotaries, and traffic calming circles. Whereas traffic circles have a large center island and are entered in a straight line; traffic calming circles have a small center island and are meant to replace four-way stops in residential neighborhoods. Compared to traffic circles and traffic calming circles, roundabouts are medium-sized, can be used at a variety of intersections, and can be entered on a gentle curve.

Driving Single-Lane VS Multi-Lane Roundabouts…

Driving through a multi-lane roundabout can be trickier than driving through a single-lane roundabout, but doing so is not impossible. Most two-lane roundabouts allow traffic in the right lane to turn right and go straight through the roundabout. Traffic in the left lane must go straight, turn left, or return in the direction it came from. Most multi-lane roundabouts will have lane use control signs that will help you choose the right lane to take.

When there’s Trucks or Oversized Vehicles Driving Through Roundabouts…

Large vehicles like semi-trucks and buses need more room to turn. Many roundabouts are designed with a raised section of concrete around the center island, known as a truck apron, for this very reason. If you are driving a regular-sized vehicle, you don’t need to use the truck apron to get your back wheels around the bend, so leave it open for those who do.

Driving Through a Roundabout: Key Things to Remember

The Benefit of Roundabouts

The Florida Department of Transportation (the FDOT) reports that the presence of roundabouts results in a 90 percent reduction in fatal car crashes and a 75 percent reduction in injuries resulting from car crashes. The most fatal type of car crash is the right angle crash; right-angle crashes are nearly impossible at roundabouts.

On top of providing safety benefits, roundabouts reduce noise, fuel consumption, and the amount of pollution that otherwise would be released into the environment from cars waiting at traffic signals. Roundabouts also save money because without traffic signals there are no costs for traffic signals or their maintenance.

Tampa Roundabout Car Accident Lawyer- Hancock Injury Attorneys

If you have been injured in a car accident in the Tampa, Spring Hill, or Spring Hill area, contact us on our website, or call us directly at (813) 915-1110 for your free case consultation today. Our experienced attorneys will be able to navigate you through the complexities of the law. We help get you the compensation you deserve for your injuries.