Safety is driving construction of roundabouts
Compelling figures show fewer crashes at these intersections
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One of the various construction projects impacting local drivers this summer is north of Fort Dodge, where Nelson Avenue and 170th Street intersect.
That road juncture just south of Fort Dodge Regional Airport is being converted from a traditional one in which the roads meet at right angles to each other to a circular one called a roundabout.
If it seems like you are seeing more and more roundabouts as you drive around, it is because there are more of them. There are 150 roundabouts in the state, according to the Iowa Department of Transportation.
The local inventory already included roundabouts at First Avenue South and Sixth Street, First Avenue South and 12th Street and 10th Avenue North and 32nd Street.
Since we have had straight-line intersections since the days of the horse and buggy, why are these roundabouts taking shape now?
It turns out there is a good reason: safety. Simply put, there are fewer wrecks in roundabouts.
The Iowa Department of Transportation reports that roundabouts produce a 40 percent reduction in all crashes and an 80 percent reduction in serious crashes.
The Federal Highway Administration breaks it down even further, reporting a 75 percent reduction in crashes that cause injuries and a 90 percent reduction in fatal crashes.
It also reported a 40 percent reduction in pedestrians being struck by vehicles in roundabouts.
In a summary of roundabouts published on the school's website, transportation experts at Stanford University called the roundabouts "circles of life" because of their positive impact on safety.
These figures coming from government and academic experts are impossible to dismiss.
And a quick review of some files at The Messenger reveals that there have been some nasty crashes at 170th Street and Nelson Avenue.
The Federal Highway Administration reports another, less dramatic advantage to roundabouts. The agency said that because roundabouts don't require vehicles to sit and idle at traffic lights or stop signs, there is some reduction in air pollution attributed to them.
It may have taken a couple of trips through a roundabout to get used to them, but it seems like Fort Dodge drivers have got them figured out.
While the roundabouts may seem like an oddity, their beneficial impact on safety seems undeniable. And we are fully in favor of safer roads.