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PennDOT says roundabouts reduce crashes, injuries and fatalities

3 min read
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North Strabane Township police Sgt. David Richards, a 26-year veteran of the department, said it seemed that a daylight shift would never pass without officers responding to a crash at Route 519, Brownlee Road and Thomas-Eighty Four Road.

“On daylights during the week, it seems like we made the trip almost every morning,” Richards said. “Someone wanting to go onto Brownlee didn’t look, or someone tried to go around a stopped vehicle and got hit by someone coming off Thomas-Eighty Four.”

“I just remember traffic backed up all over,” said police Chief Brian Hughes, who became head of the department about a year before the roundabouts were completed at the troublesome location.

In 2015, the state Department of Transportation constructed double roundabouts at the intersection of the three roads in North Strabane after umerous crashes over the years. Drivers were often uncertain whether motorists were going straight on Route 519 or turning onto one of the other two roads. PennDOT officials looked at several options for improving safety at the intersection before settling on the roundabouts separated by about 500 feet of road.

“It was a very dangerous intersection,” Richards said. “I know they talked about a few things like realigning the intersection or putting in signals before settling on the roundabouts.”

PennDOT recently reviewed data for 11 roundabouts on state roads that previously were controlled by stop signs or traffic signals. After reviewing crash reports submitted by state and local police between 2000 and 2017, PennDOT said fatalities and serious injuries were reduced by 100 percent, and minor injuries were reduced by 95 percent. The total number of crashes dropped 47 percent. Reportable crashes are those with injuries or fatalities, or in which vehicles need to be towed. Crashes without injuries or fatalities, or where vehicle can be driven from the scene, are considerable nonreportable by the state.

The roundabouts in North Strabane were not part of the study because at least three years of data was required, said Jay Ofsanik, a safety press officer for PennDOT.

In 2014, the last full year before the roundabouts were built at the intersection, there was one reportable crash with an injury and two with no injuries. There were 11 nonreportable crashes. Last year, two years after the roundabouts were completed, there were two reportable crashes with injuries and three without injuries. There were six nonreportable crashes.

“It seems like some people are confused about who has the right-of-way, especially those from not around here,” Hughes said of drivers going through the roundabouts. “Even I was apprehensive my first time through. But people who live in the area have it committed to muscle memory.”

Ofsanik said roundabouts have absolutely reduced the number of crashes at problem intersections.

“And they have also improved the flow of traffic,” Ofsanik said. “A lot of times, the driver does not even have to stop when passing through.

“And when there are crashes, they are less severe because the crashes are at an angle instead of a more serious T-bone type,” he added.

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