Kentucky Residents Speak Out About Newly Installed Roundabout

Residents of an area of Kentucky that had a roundabout installed recently have spoken out about the new addition to their roads.

It's fair to say that they're not right pleased with it.

So, you may well know that the USA doesn't have roundabouts like the UK and many European countries do, they prefer to do things at right angles.

However, roundabouts have been proven to be safer than other junctions, and tend to reduce the number of injuries and collisions wherever they are placed.

That is, unless you've never used a roundabout before, and you pile the wrong way around it, or don't watch for someone approaching from the other side.

Anyway, the residents of Kentucky have had their say underneath a video shared by Walker Construction that was deliberately created to show how not to use the roundabout.

One person on Facebook said: "Hope no one gets killed trying to get to the dollar general.

"Seems a little confusing."

Another referred to the new road junction as a 'monstrosity' and asked: "Why keep fixing things that aren't broken?"

Despite that, some residents are happy to see the roundabout installed.

One commented: "Traffic circles, roundabouts, rotaries, or whatever you call them are effectively used all over the US and throughout the world.

"They move more traffic quickly and safely than either stop signs or red lights. At the very least it will slow down drivers who might have otherwise ignored signs or lights."

There you have it.

In the initial video, which was supposed to be a joke about how best to avoid using the roundabout, Walker Construction offered residents some helpful advice for locals on how to actually traverse the roundabout.

They said: "SINGLE LANE ROUNDABOUT INSTRUCTIONS.

- Watch for the yellow "roundabout ahead" sign, then reduce your speed on approach.

- Be on the lookout for pedestrians and bicyclists.

- Look LEFT, and if you see traffic in the roundabout, yield.

- When you see a break in the traffic, you can safely enter the circle turning RIGHT.

- Drive around the roundabout until you get to your exit.

- Use your turn signal, watch for other cars, and exit safely."

Some drivers over here in the UK would do well to remember a few of those simple instructions.

Speaking about why the roundabout has been placed there in the first place, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet said that they'd tried a whole heap of other things to make that particular junction safer, but all had failed.

They said: "The existing four-way-stop intersection at KY 801 has a history of high-speed, T-bone (right angle), and other types of severe crashes.

"An engineering study showed a roundabout-style traffic flow would be the most viable safety alternative because merging traffic promotes slow speeds and decreases the number of places where traffic crosses paths - as compared to right-angle crossings at signals or stop signs - thereby helping to reduce severe crashes."

Featured Image Credit: Walker Construction

Topics: Viral, Funny, US News, Weird, Cars

Tom Wood

Tom Wood is a LADbible journalist and Twin Peaks enthusiast. Despite having a career in football cut short by a chronic lack of talent, he managed to obtain degrees from both the University of London and Salford. According to his French teacher, at the weekend he mostly likes to play football and go to the park with his brother. Contact Tom on [email protected]

@TPWagwim