The Department of Transportation is trying to avoid high-speed side-impact collisions at intersections. How do they do that?
One word: Roundabout . There are already dozens of roundabouts in Wisconsin, and DOT spokesman Rob Miller says there are 150 more right around the corner.
Although, Miller says, it takes some getting used to. A motorist should not speed through the circle. Miller says you need to drive slowly so nobody has to stop and wait. If everyone drives slowly, all traffic can continue moving through the intersection.
Miller says this unique way of getting through intersections is, in fact, safer. He says the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that roundabouts can reduce fatal crashes by as much as 90%; injury crashes by as much as 75%.