LENOIR, NC (August 24, 2018) — The roundabout is ready.
Easier to use, safer than old intersection…
The N.C. Department of Transportation has opened a new roundabout on N.C. 90/U.S. 64 that leads to William Lenoir Middle School in time for the first bell on Monday.
Drivers heading to and from the school should find going through a roundabout is easy, if the driver pays attention while entering and exiting it. Also helping at this location is the roadway locations being the same as when it was a regular intersection.
Roundabouts help address safety and congestion concerns at intersections. At traditional intersections with stop signs or stoplights, the most serious crashes are head-on collisions, and T-bone type crashes where a vehicle turns in front of oncoming traffic or runs through a stop sign or light and hits another vehicle.
Roundabouts reduce these types of crashes because all vehicles are going in the same direction and at a lower speed. In North Carolina, a roundabout can cut the number of crashes almost in half at an intersection.
Steps for safely getting through a roundabout are as follows:
- All vehicles in a traffic circle travel to the right around the circle in a counter-clockwise direction until you come to the road or street where you want to turn.
- You leave the traffic circle by making a right turn.
- If there is more than one lane in the circle, but sure you are in the outside lane before you come to the place where you intend to exit.
- Look and signal before you change lanes. Never make a right turn from an inside lane.
- An entire traffic circle is an intersection. Vehicles already in the intersection have the right of way.