If done correctly
I have had the experince of doing a couple thousand round abouts in England. When they are done correctly and the drivers entering yield to those that are already rounding about, they are sooooo much better than a traffic light. On my return home I really longed for them on my first 15 red lights in a row experience. They save energy as well.
I will say that when the trafic gets past a certain level they don't work as well. Ironicly this results in in trafic lights being installed on the round abouts. The ones I saw with lights were big circles where two major roads intersect. The lights would only be on during rush hour to stop the gridlock when one side could not get a turn.
If they are designed correctly and we learn to drive them safely, they are a lot more efficent. I love the two in Nashua.
I fear the NH engineers are making them small to force us to yield on entry. This is a big mistake. If there are no cars comming, you should be able to zip throgh quickly.
Not sure if we can learn the intricate blinker rules of a 3 lane, 6 road circle here in the states but we should be able to handle the one lane version.
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