TxDOT looks to build more roundabouts in effort to save lives

SAN ANTONIO (KTSA News) — If you have been to Europe, chances are you have been through a few roundabouts while driving or riding in a car.

The chances might be more slim that you have navigated a roundabout intersection in Texas, but that could be temporary.

The Texas Department of Transportation says there are around 500 roundabouts around the state, and more are on the way. Unlike electronic traffic signal, traffic circulates in a roundabout that utilizes only yield signs.

Data from TxDOT shows roundabouts reduce crashes that cause serious injury or death, mainly because the feared T-bone collision is not even possible. Roundabouts lead to a more than 90% reduction in traffic fatalities, a 76% drop in injuries, and a 35% dip in all crashes, according to figures from the National Academy of Sciences.

“Elevating our roundabouts culture and competency is going to be helpful to helping advance more projects and getting them built,” said TxDOT deputy executive director Brandye Hendrickson.

From 2017-2019, Hendrickson served as Acting Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). During that term, she helped found National Roundabouts 

“There was a lot of enthusiasm for roundabouts and other alternative intersection designs across the country and thought we should have a campaign that would bring awareness to these great safety benefits,” Hendrickson said.

Hendrickson says roundabouts are “a way of life” where she comes from in Indiana, where she saw firsthand what roundabouts can provide for drivers.

Nevertheless, a lot of drivers more accustomed to traffic signals may be nervous about how to navigate roundabouts. So here are some tips for the next time you enter one:

• Slow down.
• If there’s more than one lane, use the left lane to turn left, the right lane to turn right, and all lanes to go through, unless directed otherwise by signs and pavement markings.
• Yield to pedestrians and bicyclists.
• Yield at the entry to circulating traffic.
• Stay in your lane within the roundabout and use your right turn signal to indicate your intention to exit.
• Always assume trucks need all available space — don’t pass them!

Many drivers also may think roundabouts can be more dangerous, but studies show they provide major safety benefits. Here are a few more myths about roundabouts:

• Roundabouts can’t handle a lot of traffic – roundabouts can actually handle upwards of 20,000 cars a day at a single lane roundabout and upwards of 50,000 cars a day at a multilane roundabout. At higher traffic volumes, roundabouts often prove to be nearly as efficient as traffic signals.
• Roundabouts can’t handle big trucks – almost all modern roundabouts are designed to handle standard semi-trucks, buses, fire trucks, etc.
• Roundabouts only belong in urban areas – roundabouts at rural intersections provide the same safety benefits as they do at urban intersections, and often provide even more benefit due to higher speeds found in rural situations. Roundabouts can be designed to accommodate rural vehicles such as farm equipment, large trucks, horse trailers, etc. They are often appreciated by communities after they’re installed because people notice the traffic-calming effects — especially not having to wait at red lights in the middle of nowhere.