Roundabouts reduce crashes by 75% but new survey reveals some B.C. drivers lack confidence navigating them

BRITISH COLUMBIA — While some drivers in BC swear by roundabouts most drivers don’t feel confident navigating them.

With two or even three lanes in roundabouts drivers often cut into other lanes risking themselves and others.

Some drivers fail to signal altogether enterring them, or even which way they should be signaling in the first place.

What most people fail to realize is how much roundabouts cut down on commute times with drivers avoiding waiting at red lights and getting to yield instead.

It’s an issue that’s not just isolated to the province of British Columbia.

A new ICBC survey conducted by Ipsos reveals that just over half of drivers (57%) feel confident navigating a single-lane roundabout and 29% feel confident navigating a multi-lane roundabout.

The survey also shows that 15% of drivers find it difficult to know who has the right of way when entering a roundabout.

This adds to drivers’ biggest frustration when it comes to navigating roundabouts: other drivers not yielding to vehicles that have the right of way. Raising the risk of accidents.

Modern roundabouts can reduce injury crashes by up to 75% as they reduce speed and eliminate head-on, right-angle and left-turn crashes.

They can also increase safety for pedestrians and cyclists.

“Road design is critical to keeping everyone on our roads safe,” said Shabnem Afzal, ICBC’s director of road safety.

“Roundabouts are proven to be highly effective in reducing crashes.”

“While common in Europe, they’re relatively newer to Canada. We’re here to offer a refresher and tips so that whether you’re walking, driving or cycling, we all know how to safely navigate roundabouts and share our roads together.”

“We’ve invested more than $5 million in approximately 90 new roundabouts throughout B.C. since 2000. We work with B.C. municipalities and the provincial government to invest in road improvements like roundabouts to make our roads safer for everyone.”

It’s a situation that really shows just how much “experienced” drivers have forgotten from the days they had to memorize the rules in order to get their license.