Roundabout – Element of Safety, Ecology and Economy

Statistical analysis reinforces the conclusion that road accidents are not random and even more unpredictable or unavoidable, although their occurrence is random. The concentration of road accidents at intersections is high, around 25-30% of the total number of road accidents. The intersection itself is an area of concentration of conflict points, where the occurrence of road accidents is both theoretically and practically possible due to the contact of vehicle flows from three different directions: intersecting, separating and merging. Increasing the safety of intersections therefore boils down to taking measures to reduce the number of conflict points and the degree of their potential danger. The article describes the purpose, advantages and disadvantages, conflict points, classification and types of roundabouts. The benefits of roundabout organization in terms of road traffic safety, environmental safety and increasing the road's passing capacity, thus reducing waiting time at intersections, are also analyzed.