Construction of modern roundabouts in place of traditional four-legged intersections is becoming more common in the United States. In the life of aroundabout the period soon after its construction is probably the most critical in terms of safety due to relatively higher levels of driver confusion especially when roundabouts are constructed in cities where none existed before. Drivers may have limited or no knowledge of correct roundabout negotiation. While educational efforts prior to and even after roundabout opening can reduce driver confusion, no information is available in the literature on characteristics of drivers that pose a higher potential for confusion at roundabouts. In this research, the authors hypothesize that the extent of drivers' knowledge of roundabout negotiation impacts the level of confusion at a roundabout and that knowledge can be assessed by asking drivers questions about different rules relevant to correct negotiation of roundabouts (e.g., rules on right of way, turn signal usage, etc.). Theobjective was to assess drivers' knowledge of correct roundabout negotiation and relate it to their characteristics in the hope that it will help identify groups for targeted and/or prioritized dissemination of roundaboutnegotiation information. A survey was conducted soliciting information from drivers in five different Nebraska cities. Based on the analysis of the collected data, the main conclusion was that there are identifiable groups of drivers that differ in their knowledge of correct roundabout negotiation. Those with relatively higher levels of knowledge were drivers: 1) who were familiar with roundabouts, 2) who drove specialty vehicles such as police, bus, fire truck, etc., 3) who were younger, and 4) were male. Drivers who admitted not wearing seat belts when driving showed a greater potential for incorrectly negotiating roundabouts.
Samenvatting