Traffic Circles

 

As long as I'm on a safety jag, I might as well stump for my favorite traffic-easing device: traffic circles (TCs), AKA roundabouts.  Once upon a time, TCs were to be found everywhere.  They were economical because they didn't require the installation of traffic lights with the attendant wiring and opportunities to malfunction and maintenance issues, although they did take up more room.  The beauty of a TC is that the only thing that might slow a driver down is the presence of other traffic, and that's exactly the condition in which you ought to slow down.  With no traffic light to halt you because it's not yet time for it to turn green, you always have the ability — as long as traffic allows — to cruise right on through (including right turns, left turns, and U-turns).  That is, the only red light condition is "there's too much traffic".

In rural France, a driver almost never sees a traffic light, and even STOP signs are fairly unusual (and, yes, they say "STOP', not "ARRETEZ").  Nearly every intersection at grade is a TC, and after you've negotiated two or three, it seems the most natural thing in the world:  slow as you approach, find an opening in traffic, enter the rotation, and exit when you get to the road you want.  If you miss your exit, go around again.  When viewed from above, traffic seems never to stop through a well-functioning TC.

Studies show that TCs are orders-of-magnitude safer than light-controlled intersections:  38% fewer accidents and 90% fewer fatal accidents, not to mention a 28% smaller carbon footprint.  If safety were the overriding goal for traffic engineers, TCs would be ubiquitous.  So why aren't they?

With so many fewer accidents, vehicle stops, and savings on gasoline, there must be some reason they're not more common.  That reason is very probably 'ticket revenue'.  With no red lights to run, there are fewer tickets issued to offending drivers.  Yes, TCs may be economical, but the county doesn't see it that way.  No tickets means no fines.

Then, too, American drivers, having been weaned off the whole TC idea no longer view TCs as something beneficial.  "OMG, it's chaos!"  To be fair, there are some TCs that are truly horror stories.  Paris' "L'Etoille", the TC that surrounds the Arc de Triomphe, is one such.  Even Parisians shudder at the thought of getting caught in that maelstrom.  The scene in "European Vacation", although set in London, was likely inspired by "L'Etoille".

But...  if the thought of easier passage through intersections, fewer red lights to slow you down, 30% fewer fill-ups at Shell, and a greatly-reduced likelihood of getting a ticket from a red light camera appeals to you, maybe you should think about campaigning for more TCs.