There have been many studies showing that roundabouts reduce fatalities by 70-80%. A google search will quickly bring them up.
In comparison to a four way intersection:
You can see what's coming. Large trucks can obscure vision in an intersection.
If there is an accident, the impact speed is much less because all traffic is moving in the same direction at a roundabout. At an intersection, if your car is doing 40kph and you hit a car jumping a red light doing the same speed, the impact speed is 40 + 40 = 80kph.
Roundabouts force drivers to reduce speed.
Traffic lights are expensive to run. There is the cost of electricity, the construction and maintenance of the traffic lights, changing bulbs, cleaning, etc. There is also the possibility of mechanical failure. This regularly happens after a typhoon in Okinawa. There are no expenses for a roundabout and there is nothing to malfunction.
If you take the wrong turning, in a roundabout, you can just go round again. At an intersection, you have to make a U turn, wait for traffic lights to change, etc.
Negotiating an intersection usually involves stopping the car and waiting. Quite often, you don't need to actually stop at a roundabout, you can just continue going round.
Roundabouts reduce the risk of fatal accidents by about 80%.
All traffic is going in the same direction. It's simpler.
Studies show that some drivers lack confidence to go round a roundabout. Perhaps this should be added to driving school curriculums. Although personally, I think a driver should be able to work this out.
they do work since you won't need traffic enforcers to man these areas as well as lights. What will be a deciding factor is driver etiquette and capability.
Roundabouts would not work properly in Japan as they would have to have traffic lights at every entrance. The people who get kickbacks from traffic light manufacturers would ensure that.
Surely there must be some hard data out there that answers this particular question?
As far as I know, there are no major concerns as to the safety of roundabouts in most situations.
In the UK, we have them all over the place and for places where space is limited, there are mini roundabouts - little more than a white circle painted in the middle of the junction. For the most part, they seem to be a lot better than the traffic lights everywhere solution that we see in Japan, allowing the traffic to flow freely. In some situations, they can get clogged but often that is remedied by putting in part-time traffic lights that come on at peak times.
I would like to see roundabouts adopted in Japan, but for some reason, Japanese people just can't seem to accept them - they just think they are scary for some reason. The rotary (a roundabout controlled by traffic lights), something I have seen in Japan, is pointless - totally defeats the objective of having a roundabout in the first place.
What will be a deciding factor is driver etiquette and capability.
Roundabouts don't operate on a principle of driver etiquette. There operate on a principle of clear, easy to follow rules. I think the Japanese aversion to roundabouts is just the fact that they never learned the rules, never learned how to use a roundabout. It's not just some crazy free for all.
In most locations, there is no room for roundabouts. 20-ton trucks trying to go around them. Chaos. Stick with the lights.
Roundabouts all over UK roads and plenty of 20-ton trucks. I wouldn't say there is no chaos on UK roads, but it isn't the fault of trucks having difficulty going around roundabouts. There are plenty of locations in Japan where roundabouts could be installed with no issue.
In most locations, there is no room for roundabouts. 20-ton trucks trying to go around them. Chaos. Stick with the lights.
Roundabouts all over UK roads and plenty of 20-ton trucks. I wouldn't say there is no chaos on UK roads, but it isn't the fault of trucks having difficulty going around roundabouts. There are plenty of locations in Japan where roundabouts could be installed with no issue.
The UK has had roundabouts for more than 100 years. The first British circular junction was built in Letchworth Garden City in 1909. Drivers and users are born with them. Roads where there are roundabouts are larger than the Japanese roads.
There are places where intersections with traffic lights are more appropriate, but for many intersections, roundabouts would be much more safe and efficient. In Okinawa there are many fairly busy intersections with no traffic lights. Cars coming at you from all directions. I suppose the police are waiting for a fatal accident and then they'll install traffic lights.
Since I am not neither an urban designer nor a traffic analyst ... I couldn't say for sure but, from my experience round abouts are safer.
To implement them in Japan... I am not so sure.. given the space issue (if that is an issue??) and the rules. Again from my experience, there are mainly two set of rules for round abouts: 1) Cars inside the round about have the priority, or 2) Cars entering the round about have the priority...
Personally, I like the cars inside the round about having the priority.
... and for those who are being condesendicng to Japanese drinvers... I don't say every single driver is a good driver.. far from it there are a lot of people with very bad manners driving.. but overall the driving culture here in Japan is polite and safer compares to many other countries (the US included). I think, may be some EU zone contries have much better driving manners compared to Japan, though (for example Germnay and Netherlands may be??)
I can't really speak for Japan, but intersections need control, not people just doing whatever in traffic circles. Maybe one lane circles are fine but more than one lane are a recipe for disaster.
there are mainly two set of rules for round abouts: 1) Cars inside the round about have the priority, or 2) Cars entering the round about have the priority...
there are not two sets of rules. The rule when entering a roundabout is very simple - you give way to traffic coming from the right (in Japan at least). Cars entering the roundabout never have automatic priority.
not people just doing whatever in traffic circles. Maybe one lane circles are fine but more than one lane are a recipe for disaster.
it isn’t just people doing whatever in traffic circles, you are just showing your lack of understanding of how they work. There are clear rules for using roundabouts. In the UK there are roundabouts with multiple lanes everywhere and nobody has any problems with them.
When I was in Australia I watched them work. Whenever I drove, I found them very easy to use and better than traffic lights (which, nevertheless, are the best on streets that need them). In fact, since I was driving "on the wrong side of the road" than where I came from, the brief pause helped me a lot.
The smaller UK-style roundabouts with pedestrian crossings would be fine, though they take up a lot of space.
The gigantic space-hogging American roundabouts (or rotaries, or traffic circles as they are sometimes called) often don't have pedestrian crossings and are really dangerous and inconvenient for everyone who isn't in an automobile.
I'd love to see the UK type become common in the Japanese countryside.
It would stop people running the lights for sure, but I doubt it would decrease accidents. Can you imagine the elderly drivers hesitating as to when to turn off, then suddenly braking or hitting the gas and cutting people off?
Roundabouts are the best thing that ever happened in Europe, Australia or American continents in order to smooth the traffic flow. There is 1 very simple rule to follow, so unless you are a bad driver, you would find this difficult.
But as in Japan, since there are millions of not bad, but very bad drivers, which would not ever pass an exam on the rest of the world, probably this will not be implemented too soon to to people screening "too difficult" (hilarious, I know...)
Knowing also the reluctance to change of Japanese people, this is like an utopia.
Roundabouts are the best thing that ever happened in Europe
I agree, and I thought that they would be a good idea in Japan. But a few months ago a poster here mentioned a couple of things that changed my mind.
Roundabouts create a dead space in the centre. The bigger the roundabout, the bigger the dead space. Japan has little space for dead space, especially in urban areas.
They also prevent a safe crossing space for pedestrians, as traffic flow is continuous.
And yes, Japanese drivers are awful and aren't trained for them.
What I think it irrelevant: there are plenty of studies demonstrating that roundabouts reduce accidents, particularly fatal ones. But as others have pointed out, roundabouts can be problematic in places with a lot of pedestrian traffic. So not the best choice for many parts of Japan ...
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Olive
I think they do reduce accidents, but there is a learning curve and Japan had a lot of elderly drivers.
BertieWooster
There have been many studies showing that roundabouts reduce fatalities by 70-80%. A google search will quickly bring them up.
In comparison to a four way intersection:
You can see what's coming. Large trucks can obscure vision in an intersection.
If there is an accident, the impact speed is much less because all traffic is moving in the same direction at a roundabout. At an intersection, if your car is doing 40kph and you hit a car jumping a red light doing the same speed, the impact speed is 40 + 40 = 80kph.
Roundabouts force drivers to reduce speed.
Traffic lights are expensive to run. There is the cost of electricity, the construction and maintenance of the traffic lights, changing bulbs, cleaning, etc. There is also the possibility of mechanical failure. This regularly happens after a typhoon in Okinawa. There are no expenses for a roundabout and there is nothing to malfunction.
If you take the wrong turning, in a roundabout, you can just go round again. At an intersection, you have to make a U turn, wait for traffic lights to change, etc.
Negotiating an intersection usually involves stopping the car and waiting. Quite often, you don't need to actually stop at a roundabout, you can just continue going round.
Roundabouts reduce the risk of fatal accidents by about 80%.
All traffic is going in the same direction. It's simpler.Studies show that some drivers lack confidence to go round a roundabout. Perhaps this should be added to driving school curriculums. Although personally, I think a driver should be able to work this out.
Eastmann
definitely yes.
also dont need any traffic lights/savings for purchase of it,maintenance and electricity cost/.
than traffic gets more smooth.
Toshihiro
they do work since you won't need traffic enforcers to man these areas as well as lights. What will be a deciding factor is driver etiquette and capability.
gaijintraveller
Roundabouts would not work properly in Japan as they would have to have traffic lights at every entrance. The people who get kickbacks from traffic light manufacturers would ensure that.
Nihon Tora
Surely there must be some hard data out there that answers this particular question?
As far as I know, there are no major concerns as to the safety of roundabouts in most situations.
In the UK, we have them all over the place and for places where space is limited, there are mini roundabouts - little more than a white circle painted in the middle of the junction. For the most part, they seem to be a lot better than the traffic lights everywhere solution that we see in Japan, allowing the traffic to flow freely. In some situations, they can get clogged but often that is remedied by putting in part-time traffic lights that come on at peak times.
I would like to see roundabouts adopted in Japan, but for some reason, Japanese people just can't seem to accept them - they just think they are scary for some reason. The rotary (a roundabout controlled by traffic lights), something I have seen in Japan, is pointless - totally defeats the objective of having a roundabout in the first place.
MeatStick12
Nothing will help when you have Japanese people who don't know what the break pedal is for and who believe traffic light colors are just suggestions.
Nihon Tora
Roundabouts don't operate on a principle of driver etiquette. There operate on a principle of clear, easy to follow rules. I think the Japanese aversion to roundabouts is just the fact that they never learned the rules, never learned how to use a roundabout. It's not just some crazy free for all.
wallace
In most locations, there is no room for roundabouts. 20-ton trucks trying to go around them. Chaos. Stick with the lights.
Nihon Tora
Roundabouts all over UK roads and plenty of 20-ton trucks. I wouldn't say there is no chaos on UK roads, but it isn't the fault of trucks having difficulty going around roundabouts. There are plenty of locations in Japan where roundabouts could be installed with no issue.
wallace
A 20-ton truck has to maneuver around the roundabout before turning right.
wallace
Nihon Tora
In most locations, there is no room for roundabouts. 20-ton trucks trying to go around them. Chaos. Stick with the lights.
The UK has had roundabouts for more than 100 years. The first British circular junction was built in Letchworth Garden City in 1909. Drivers and users are born with them. Roads where there are roundabouts are larger than the Japanese roads.
kurisupisu
@wallace
If you were a driver in Japan then you’d know the amount of time that is unnecessarily wasted waiting at traffic lights.
Hello Kitty 321
@Wallace
As in UK cities with narrow streets, if there is no room for a real roundabout, use mini-roundabouts, as Nihon Tora described.
BertieWooster
There are places where intersections with traffic lights are more appropriate, but for many intersections, roundabouts would be much more safe and efficient. In Okinawa there are many fairly busy intersections with no traffic lights. Cars coming at you from all directions. I suppose the police are waiting for a fatal accident and then they'll install traffic lights.
Daniel Neagari
Since I am not neither an urban designer nor a traffic analyst ... I couldn't say for sure but, from my experience round abouts are safer.
To implement them in Japan... I am not so sure.. given the space issue (if that is an issue??) and the rules. Again from my experience, there are mainly two set of rules for round abouts: 1) Cars inside the round about have the priority, or 2) Cars entering the round about have the priority...
Personally, I like the cars inside the round about having the priority.
... and for those who are being condesendicng to Japanese drinvers... I don't say every single driver is a good driver.. far from it there are a lot of people with very bad manners driving.. but overall the driving culture here in Japan is polite and safer compares to many other countries (the US included). I think, may be some EU zone contries have much better driving manners compared to Japan, though (for example Germnay and Netherlands may be??)
wallace
kurisupisu
@wallace
I do believe buses and taxis are required to stop at lights.
robert maes
They are great and would reduce accidents IF people could drive
TaiwanIsNotChina
I can't really speak for Japan, but intersections need control, not people just doing whatever in traffic circles. Maybe one lane circles are fine but more than one lane are a recipe for disaster.
TaiwanIsNotChina
Yeah fatalities. So would a 5 mph speed limit, but I don't see that happening.
Nihon Tora
there are not two sets of rules. The rule when entering a roundabout is very simple - you give way to traffic coming from the right (in Japan at least). Cars entering the roundabout never have automatic priority.
it isn’t just people doing whatever in traffic circles, you are just showing your lack of understanding of how they work. There are clear rules for using roundabouts. In the UK there are roundabouts with multiple lanes everywhere and nobody has any problems with them.
zibala
No, there is no need to stop at green lights or yellow lights.
wallace
zibalaToday 09:14 pm JST
I do believe buses and taxis are required to stop at lights.
Yes. But like
kurisupisu said
@wallace
They do stop at red lights.
Gene Hennigh
When I was in Australia I watched them work. Whenever I drove, I found them very easy to use and better than traffic lights (which, nevertheless, are the best on streets that need them). In fact, since I was driving "on the wrong side of the road" than where I came from, the brief pause helped me a lot.
Mocheake
No, but it gets people to pay attention more and to slow down
kurisupisu
To emphasis my point;it’s 2am and I’m driving home, the light turns to red.
I wait and wait even though there is t any other traffic on the road-what a waste of time!
Japan needs roundabouts….now!
ThonTaddeo
The smaller UK-style roundabouts with pedestrian crossings would be fine, though they take up a lot of space.
The gigantic space-hogging American roundabouts (or rotaries, or traffic circles as they are sometimes called) often don't have pedestrian crossings and are really dangerous and inconvenient for everyone who isn't in an automobile.
I'd love to see the UK type become common in the Japanese countryside.
toolonggone
Why even ask the question? Surely there is research available providing the answers.
toolonggone
https://www.asce.org/publications-and-news/civil-engineering-source/civil-engineering-magazine/issues/magazine-issue/article/2021/03/modern-roundabouts-boost-traffic-safety-and-efficiency
https://www.iihs.org/topics/roundabouts
3RENSHO
"Nothing will help when you have Japanese people who don't know what the break [sic] pedal is for..."
Oh, please do enlighten us then...what is the BREAK pedal for? Coffee?
smithinjapan
It would stop people running the lights for sure, but I doubt it would decrease accidents. Can you imagine the elderly drivers hesitating as to when to turn off, then suddenly braking or hitting the gas and cutting people off?
DanteKH
Roundabouts are the best thing that ever happened in Europe, Australia or American continents in order to smooth the traffic flow. There is 1 very simple rule to follow, so unless you are a bad driver, you would find this difficult.
But as in Japan, since there are millions of not bad, but very bad drivers, which would not ever pass an exam on the rest of the world, probably this will not be implemented too soon to to people screening "too difficult" (hilarious, I know...)
Knowing also the reluctance to change of Japanese people, this is like an utopia.
Sadly.
ClippetyClop
I agree, and I thought that they would be a good idea in Japan. But a few months ago a poster here mentioned a couple of things that changed my mind.
Roundabouts create a dead space in the centre. The bigger the roundabout, the bigger the dead space. Japan has little space for dead space, especially in urban areas.
They also prevent a safe crossing space for pedestrians, as traffic flow is continuous.
And yes, Japanese drivers are awful and aren't trained for them.
David K Anderson
What I think it irrelevant: there are plenty of studies demonstrating that roundabouts reduce accidents, particularly fatal ones. But as others have pointed out, roundabouts can be problematic in places with a lot of pedestrian traffic. So not the best choice for many parts of Japan ...