How Roundabouts Marked the End of the Traffic Light Era

The first turbo roundabout in Croatia will be built at the intersection of Strossmayerova Street in Osijek and Jelačićeva in the suburban settlement of Višnjevac in two months. It is a specific traffic solution in which priority is given to the main flows at the intersection, writes the BH News Agency Patria.

However, Bosnia and Herzegovina will have to wait some time for its first turbo intersection, although such and similar solutions, explains Osman Lindov, a professor at the Faculty of Transport and Communications in Sarajevo, to the Patria agency, would greatly solve the problem of traffic jams in the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as in other BiH cities.

- In any case, Bosnia and Herzegovina should focus on building roundabouts wherever possible, and where there is a need, so-called turbo roundabouts – explains Professor Lindov. He notes that roundabouts have actually marked the beginning of the end for traffic lights worldwide, and that our country should follow these trends.

- Nothing can replace traffic lights in populated areas yet, but when it comes to large intersections, I don't think traffic lights have any place there anymore. Roundabouts cause fewer traffic jams, and they are also safer – explains Lindov, but adds that the fact is that Bosnian and Herzegovinian drivers are still getting used to this type of traffic solution, considering that the first roundabouts began to be built more widely in our country only a few years ago.

In turbo roundabouts, traffic lanes are separated by markings and physically divided by small but visible elevations. Before entering the roundabout, the driver must decide which lane to enter the intersection with, because once you enter the roundabout, there is no more changing lanes, and thanks to the specific design of the central part, the inner lane becomes the outer lane at a certain moment.

Exiting is only possible from the outer lane, and after a full circle, the vehicle exits the roundabout – meaning there is no circling, reports Patria.