California will inaugurate its first turbo-roundabout with the aim of reducing the number of traffic accidents. It is the first construction of its kind in that American state, but the solution has already existed in Europe since the 90s, first introduced in the Netherlands, with positive results. Portugal, the second country in the world with the most roundabouts per million inhabitants (473.4), still does not have any «turbo» roundabouts.
The main difference lies in the design with raised lane separators to prevent drivers from changing lanes too early, or avoiding the behavior that we observe in so many drivers, which is to drive through a roundabout with multiple lanes on the outside, even if it passes several exits. The correct thing to do in a roundabout is to use the inside lane and only move to the right before your exit.
Turbo-roundabouts, where strategically placed separators force the driver to be in the exact lane they should use until the desired exit, an idea from a university professor named Bertus Fortuijn, theoretically solve each of these problems. Problem: no one knows how to drive in them…
See here how a turbo-roundabout works:
