Summer Road Trip: Watch CDOT’s ‘Roundabout Tutorial’ Video

With the pandemic restrictions easing across the nation and Colorado, Coloradans are setting their sites on the road. A refresher on roundabouts may be in order.

They do seem to be everywhere these days, those roundabouts. How many times have I heard friends begroan them, 'OMG, they're putting them EVERYWHERE. Why? This is a complete waste of money.'

Roundabout intersections aren't going away anytime soon, however, so it's best we all get as versed as we can be about how to manage our way through them. Colorado Department of Transportation has put together an informative tutorial on them where they cover several topics regarding roundabouts, including:

Why Have Roundabouts?

They reduce the time drivers spend at intersections, which can also help with gas mileage. Accidents/crashes that happen at roundabout intersections are less severe than at traditional ones. Also, by only having to yield, and not stop, traffic flows more smoothly.

How Do You Use a Roundabout?

Their video goes through several scenarios, from simple roundabouts to more complex ones. A key point that I took away is to give trucks a lot of room; do not drive alongside of one as you could get 'pinched,'

The roundabouts that we generally see around Colorado are not nearly as complicated as the one featured in European Vacation, but can still be frustrating if you're not sure how to proceed.