North Texas

Get Ready to Yield to More Roundabouts

Road construction is a way of life in North Texas, and that comes with a lot of changes.

Within the past few years drivers in North Texas have come across more modern roundabouts being built around town.

Modern roundabouts are not the same as traffic circles or rotaries, according to the city of Fort Worth. Traffic circles and rotaries are large and challenging to drive. They have high-speed entries, weaving, and many high-speed crashes. Drivers already in the circle may even have to yield to those entering.

Here's how modern roundabouts work:

First, slow down when you approach the roundabout.

Then yield to traffic in all lanes on your left before entering, and stay in your lane to your exit.

Traffic moves in one direction on the roundabout around a central island. Whether the roundabout has one, two, or even three lanes, traffic moves in the same direction.

The city of Fort Worth found that this style of intersection reduces all types of collisions by 40 percent, injury collisions by 75 percent, and fatalities by 90 percent.

Tarrant County Judge B. Glen Whitley agreed that the roundabouts are safe for drivers, and he also pointed out that they make a big difference in traffic patterns.

“You don't come to a stop sign and stop when there is no other traffic in the intersection, and after people get used to it…it really speeds things up,” he said.

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