Video: Roundabouts Are Safer. So Why Does The U.S. Have So Few Of Them? (CNBC) (17:18)
Video description:
Roundabouts - the circular intersections seen all over Europe and elsewhere in the world - are said to be far safer than traffic lights. Research shows they reduce crashes, clear up congestion and save cities quite a bit of money. They have a heritage in the U.S., but America has a fraction of the roundabouts that far smaller countries like France, Spain and the United Kingdom have. But there are some states that are adopting them, and one small town in particular: Carmel, Indiana. The people of Carmel love their roundabouts and the mayor credits them with helping revitalize his city. So are they all they’re cracked up to be? And if so, why hasn’t the U.S. adopted them?
I think governments should follow the stats but I do see a lot of older people ‘stuck’ at traffic circles. There should be more public outreach to help them learn the new rules and to communicate proper order of operations to drivers—especially for traffic circles with a mix of yield and stop signs and with multiple lanes.
Do you not have an equivalent of "the highway code" or "rules of the road" etc that's regularly updated and distributed or frequently mentioned in the press to keep people informed of regulatory changes?
If we do I’ve not seen it publicized enough to be visible at all:) I’ve lived in several US states and the only time I remember public service info about driving rules updating was when they implemented rules where you couldn’t drive holding your phone back in the early 2000’s. We take a written and road test to get a license initially but afaik they don’t send out updates or remind people about the rules after that point—even when you renew.
We'll get info on changes on radio stations and streaming service ads here in Ireland, also updates to any changes on the annual roadworthiness test, I'll let you look up "Irish road safety advert" on YouTube, they're quite graphic.