The city of Columbus started constructing roundabouts on Main Street and Military Road in 2020. These circular traffic junctions control the flow of traffic by making drivers navigate one way around a central island.
Still, not everyone knows how to navigate around them safely, merging in and out of the flow of traffic. So, what do roundabouts do, how can drivers move through them effectively, and how can drivers avoid common mistakes?
What do roundabouts do?
City Engineer Kevin Stafford told The Dispatch Thursday that several considerations go into whether a roundabout should be installed at an intersection, but the most important one is increasing safety.
Roundabouts can be safer than four-way intersections in a few ways, Stafford said, since severe accidents are less likely to happen when a driver is in a traffic circle due to the angle of the collision. Roundabouts also reduce drivers’ speeds before they reach the junction.
Stafford said the mini roundabout on Main Street also reduced the number of lanes drivers and pedestrians have to navigate, which also improved safety.
According to the Mississippi Department of Transportation website, roundabouts typically achieve a 37% reduction in overall collisions, a 75% reduction in injury collisions, a 90% reduction in fatal collisions and a 40% reduction in pedestrian collisions.
Even though roundabouts tend to slow traffic, Stafford said, they also prevent unnecessary stops when the road is empty, like those that occur with traffic signals or stop signs. Unlike a four-way intersection, a driver can enter a roundabout any time there is space to enter.
Keep looking left
Stafford said one of the easiest ways to navigate through a roundabout is by remembering to look left. Since most roundabouts function counter-clockwise, traffic should not be approaching from the right.
“Beforehand, you had to negotiate all those lanes at one time,” Stafford said. “Depending on traffic flow, it was hard to get out. Whereas, in a roundabout, you only have to negotiate to your left. You look to your left and you see who is coming, and if it’s clear, you go.”
Do not stop in a roundabout
Once drivers are in a roundabout, they should not stop under normal circumstances, according to MDOT’s Drive Smart.
“The thing that I see a lot of people incorrectly do is — in the South, we’re just too polite,” Stafford said. “People will get in the roundabout and actually stop to let people in, and that actually messes up a roundabout. Because once you stop in a roundabout, you stop everybody.”
Even if a driver misses their exit, the best course of action is to keep moving, either continuing through the circle or finding another place to turn back and re-enter the roundabout to reach the next exit. Do not stop or back up to take an exit.
Trucks in roundabouts
Stafford said both the mini roundabout on Main Street and the larger roundabouts on Military Road were designed with 18-wheelers in mind.
The Military Road roundabouts were designed with thick concrete aprons around the centers, which can bear 18-wheelers’ weight when their tires drag outside of traditional roundabout lanes.
The Main Street roundabout is designed with a thick concrete center, which truck drivers are trained to drive over, since their tires will not hurt the center, Stafford said.
“It was intentionally designed for trucks to drive over the center of it,” Stafford said.
The Main Street mini roundabout also has a brick stamp added to the top of it, purely for aesthetic purposes.
MDOT recommends drivers avoid driving next to oversized vehicles when approaching roundabouts.
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 35 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
