Getting your head around roundabouts

A roundabout designed under Australian guidelines encourages safer behaviour and better aligns with safe system principles than other forms of intersections

Benefits of installing roundabouts:

• Traffic enters from one direction only, giving way to traffic from the right which reduces the number of conflict points
  There are 24 conflict points on a signalised four-way intersection, compared with four conflict points on a roundabout (Refer to Diagram 1 below). The safety and traffic flows of a signalised intersection depend on the geometry of the intersection and the timing of the signals.

Diagram 1: Conflict points on a signalised four-way intersection compared with a roundabout

• Physically control the speed of vehicles entering and travelling through the roundabout on all approaches, reducing the incidence of high speed crashes
• Modify the entry angle of vehicles to the intersection, which reduces the incidence of opposing approach, head-on and adjacent approach crashes
• Reduce the severity of injury in crashes
• Improved traffic flows due to less delays when compared to traffic signals.

Visit the My Licence website to find out how to safely use roundabouts