Avoid Disaster: Understanding the Dangers of Roundabouts

Roundabouts are a popular feature of many cities, intended to promote efficient traffic flow and reduce the number of serious accidents. While they can help mitigate some types of collisions, roundabouts can also create hazards. From failure to yield right-of-way to abrupt stopping, speeding and using the wrong lane, there are many ways that drivers can put themselves in danger when navigating a roundabout. In this article, we’ll explore the dangers associated with roundabouts and how you can protect yourself.

The Purpose of Roundabouts

First, let’s look at what roundabouts are designed to do. Roundabouts are a type of traffic calming feature intended to reduce the number and severity of intersection crashes. By having cars travel around a central island in a counterclockwise direction, they are able to minimize the risk posed by left turns and right-angle collisions. This design also eliminates the need for stop signs or traffic signals, which can cause drivers to speed up when they believe they have the right of way or make sudden stops when they see the opposite lane has a stop sign.

The Dangers of Roundabouts

Unfortunately, roundabouts can present their own unique dangers. As drivers approach, enter and exit these circular intersections, there’s potential for very serious accidents if people don’t use caution and pay attention. Common causes of accidents involving roundabouts include:

Failure to yield right-of-way: One driver may assume another will yield in a multi-lane situation or if there are no other vehicles in sight. This could lead to one vehicle entering the roundabout before the other has exited it and cause an impact.
Speeding: Drivers often try to speed through a roundabout in order to pass or beat oncoming traffic. This increases the risk of an accident as well as causing additional damage should one occur due to higher impact speeds.
Abrupt stopping: Many drivers fail to anticipate where they need to turn off at and suddenly come to a stop in the wrong lane or inside the circle itself, blocking traffic from either direction until they can get out of the way again.
Using improper lanes: It’s important for all drivers navigating roundabouts to understand which lanes lead where so that everyone can safely navigate through them with minimal disruption or chance of an accident occurring due to confusion over where one is supposed to go next.

Getting Help After an Accident

Regardless of who is deemed responsible for an accident occurring in or around a roundabout, personal injury law firms can provide help for those who have been injured due to another driver’s negligence while navigating one of these intersections. When pursuing this kind of case, it’s important that victims be sure they have all their medical bills accounted for as well as any lost wages due to time away from work while recovering from their injuries—and most importantly seek out legal representation that understands how such cases are handled within the state or jurisdiction where it happened.

Our Las Cruces Car Accident Lawyers Are Here for You

If you’ve been in a car accident, Tte personal injury attorneys at the Law Offices of Kenneth G. Egan can lend their expertise and experience. Knowing who is liable for the collision and what to do about your losses can be difficult. We’ll provide peace of mind as we fight for reparation for your injury-related costs, damaged property, missed wages, pain and anguish. For a free and confidential assessment of your case – just call (575) 523-2222 to get in touch with the Law Offices of Kenneth G. Egan now.