LUZERNE COUNTY, Pa. — Roundabouts have been quickly making their way into Luzerne County. There have been seven installed in the past eight years in areas like Avoca, Nanticoke, and Dallas. Upon their initial installation, the traffic circles caused some confusion for drivers in the area.
"They can be confusing if you don't read the signs before you get into the circle; now you don't know what lane to be in or what lane you need to take out of it," said Frank Tunis.
Tunis has been driving trucks for more than 40 years. He's now teaching others the rules of the road as the CDL Director for Fortis Institute in Plains Township. He says roundabouts are still a lesson of their own.
"As long as you realize that going in and you're able to blend and get in and get out, you can keep all the traffic moving. That will be considerably easier on traffic and the chance of an accident," said Tunis.
That's a trend PennDOT is seeing, as well. A new survey by PennDOT looked at crashes near roundabouts across Pennsylvania- including all seven in Luzerne County. PennDOT found crashes overall were only down 3% at roundabouts compared to the intersections they replaced.
However, non-serious crashes were reduced by more than half, 51%. Crashes involving serious injuries were down about a quarter, 24%. Penn DOT attributes that to traffic slowly moving through the circles- compared to the usual stop-and-go intersections.
Jeff Bucher is the PennDOT Chief of Highway design and technology. He says these numbers are the reason why the Department of Transportation has been pushing the implementation of roundabouts for years.
"You have the high-speed T-bone collisions, and so forth. So it's low-speed, sideswipe collisions. The crashes are much less severe than other types of collisions," Bucher explained.
Tunis agreed with the survey, saying he's seen too many drivers try to push those yellow lights over the years.
"Where people are trying to rush through or something like that. so that is the idea behind them, keep them moving and keep them moving safely," added Tunis.
So, love them or hate them, PennDOT says the roundabouts won't be going anywhere, despite what Talkback 16 callers hoped for a few years ago.
They say the pattern isn't causing more crashes or causing tornadoes, either, as suggested by a former talkback caller.
However, Bucher mentioned he did hear the talkback comment all the way in Harrisburg.
"I heard that comment a few years ago; no, there is no relation there. Vehicles are going quite slow through roundabouts, yes." he laughed.
PennDOT says roundabouts are usually installed for operational and traffic purposes, compared to solely safety reasons.
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