If it took some time for you to get used to the roundabouts we have here in northwest Washington, just take a look at this one in Swindon, England. Seven traffic circles combine into one roundabout, and you get to pick which direction you want to go. You’d think it would be a crazy mess, but apparently it works. Take a look at the video from Wired Magazine to see an animation of how this roundabout functions.
Traffic engineers have to balance safety and expediency when they design roads and intersections. Their goal is to get people to their destination as fast as safely possible. According to the data, this roundabout achieves that goal. It reduce crashes and it improves traffic flow. Anyone interested in a road trip to go try it out?