LAFAYETTE PARISH — Roundabouts are becoming a more common sight across Lafayette Parish as local leaders and transportation engineers say the circular intersections are designed to improve traffic flow while reducing the severity of crashes.
For some drivers, the benefits are already noticeable.
"It's really keeps up the flow of traffic in my opinion, it stops the need for four-way stop signs, it causes less accidents… so I think it's a good thing," driver Donald Broussard said.
According to the Federal Highway Administration, modern roundabouts can reduce fatal crashes by as much as 90% and injury crashes by up to 76% compared with traditional intersections.
Lafayette Mayor-President Monique Blanco-Boulet said one of the biggest advantages is the lower speeds drivers travel through roundabouts.
"If you get hit by a car going 40 miles an hour, your injury potential is really high. If you get hit by a car going 15 miles an hour, it goes down significantly. So from a safety perspective, roundabouts really do bring kind of a different dynamic," Blanco-Boulet said.
Transportation engineers say safety is only part of the reason roundabouts are becoming more common.
Neel-Schaffer Engineering Executive Vice President Vijay Kunada said the design also keeps vehicles moving more efficiently than intersections controlled by stop signs or traffic signals.
"When you think about it, if you go to a traffic signal or a stop-controlled intersection, you stop and then you cross – at roundabouts, you don't. You just yield and then you go through it, which provides a better traffic flow through the intersections," Kunada said.
Kunada said engineers do not install roundabouts at random. Before recommending one, they study traffic patterns, turning movements and the crash history at an intersection to determine whether a roundabout is the best solution.
"Generally, we look at the traffic volumes, the turning movements, how people are turning at an intersection, we look at the safety history," Kunada said.
He also said drivers play an important role in making roundabouts work safely by slowing down as they approach, yielding to vehicles already inside the circle, avoiding stops while in the roundabout and using a turn signal when exiting.
"When you are approaching the roundabout, slow down, yield to the people in the roundabout, do not stop inside the roundabout, and when you are exiting the roundabout, just turn on your turn signals and then exit," Kunada said.
