They have been around for much longer abroad, but roundabouts are also becoming increasingly popular in Germany. According to the Accident Research of Insurers (UDV), they also stand for safer and smoother road traffic.
One of the most famous roundabouts in the world is that of Place Charles de Gaulle in Paris. Around the Arc de Triomphe de l’Étoile, vehicles from twelve streets that lead to the roundabout, including the Avenue des Champs-Élysées, scurry about 240 meters in diameter. The traffic often moves in unrecognizable lanes and apparently unregulated. The right-of-way rule applies here at every junction. The supposed chaos in the roundabout around the Arc de Triomphe is considered by many foreign visitors to Paris to be a symbol of the nerve-wracking nature of traffic in the metropolis.
In Great Britain, road users feel like they pass every intersection of several roads in a roundabout. It’s called “roundabout”. In southern Europe, roundabouts are also considered the measure of all things for safe and trouble-free traffic management.
The increasing number of roundabouts in Germany is viewed with some skepticism. The main points of criticism are that roundabouts often do not mean any increase in safety for cyclists, that buses and trucks have problems with small inner-city roundabouts, that roundabouts take up more space than intersections and that many motorists do not understand the traffic rules that apply there. In addition, traffic experts note that safety depends on the design of the roundabout. The same applies to the difficulties of large commercial vehicles.
However, many motorists still feel overwhelmed at and in roundabouts simply because they do not know the rules. Everything is actually very simple: in a classic, simple roundabout, the vehicles in the roundabout always have the right of way. The same applies to cyclists in roundabouts. That is why there is a traffic sign with the three arrows arranged in a circle on a blue background (for roundabout) and the traffic sign with the triangle standing on the point with a red frame on a white background (give way) in front of every entrance to the roundabout.
It’s not that easy in a two-lane roundabout: Here, those vehicles that want to leave the roundabout at the next exit or the one after that should get into the right lane, i.e. in the outer lane of the roundabout. If you want to get out later, you can choose the inner lane, but you have to switch to the outer lane in good time before leaving the roundabout. The traffic flowing there must not be impeded or endangered. Those who drive on the outside have priority. For those driving on the inside, this means that they may have to make another lap before they can safely pull out again, emphasizes the Goslar Institute for Consumer-Friendly Insurance of the HUK-Coburg.
When changing lanes in a roundabout, the same applies when exiting, but not when entering. Different right-of-way rules apply to a “fake” roundabout, which is a circular junction in official German. Such roundabouts are occasionally found in residential areas. They are easily recognizable by the lack of traffic signs “roundabout”. In roundabouts like this, “right before left” applies, so the driver entering has priority. Here the indicator must be set when driving in and out.
In the post-war period, roundabouts were still widespread in this country. In the course of the traffic law reform of 1969, however, the roundabout traffic sign disappeared from the road traffic regulations. In the years that followed, they were converted into crossings with traffic lights in many places. This only changed again with the change in the StVO at the end of 2000 and Paragraph 9a, which regulates behavior in roundabouts and defines the roundabout sign.
As an advantage of roundabouts in comparison with conventional traffic junctions, reference is initially made to greater traffic safety. This is ensured in particular by the low speed of the vehicles driving in a circle. In addition, the junctions are considered to be clearer and thus also promote the flow of traffic. According to experts, further arguments in favor of roundabouts are better economic efficiency due to lower maintenance costs than with traffic light-controlled intersections as well as less exhaust gases and noise.
Incidentally, the roundabout was invented neither in France nor in England. The first in the world was probably set up in 1899 in Görlitz on the Brautwiesenplatz. Columbus Circle followed in New York in 1904 and the circle around the Arc de Triomphe in Paris in 1907. And the largest roundabout in the world is said to be in Putrajaya, Malaysia, with an elliptical circumference of 3.4 kilometers. (awm)