Why are there no roundabouts in USA and Canada?

Question

Roundabouts as an alternative to signals are great. They are safe (no t-bone collisions), they decrease idling time, decrease wear and tear of brakes, decrease stop and go hence promoting fuel efficiency etc. You can put a nice landmark in the roundabout and that can make the junction look pretty as opposed to ugly lights. And they dont need electricity and other maintenance that signals do. And n.america has loads of space.. why not then?

Answer 1

there are all over the place in maine, there are about 6-7 right around my house.

Answer 2

We have several here in Boston.  They are the sight of traffic accidents, unfortunatly.  People just don't drive the same way here.  We call it a rotary in the North East.

Answer 3

Roundabouts are popping up in NY like mushrooms, one place I pass through has either five or six right in a row. No lie. They are a pain in the neck if you drive a large vehicle like a truck or school bus.

Answer 4

You are incorrect in your assumption.  We have lots of roundabouts in southern Ontario where I live.  

Roundabouts are an effective alternative to traffic lights... pity that most people don't use them properly.

Answer 5

I have actually seen roundabouts in South Carolina.

Answer 6

I've seen them in Edmonton AB, Dawson Creek BC and Whitehorse YT (but the last two have just one lane).  They're usually called traffic circles in Canada.  There's not many of them around and they can be very confusing for people who've never learned to drive in them.  Personally, I don't like them and I will go out of my way to avoid the things.

Answer 7

Yea I love the roundabouts.

I live in Washington and there's some on the eastern side.

Heck I have 4 in my town.

The only problem with them is there's a lot of partyers here and during winter they don't slow down and they cruse right through taking out signs and going right through the middle.

But other than that they are great.

Answer 8

There are some roundabouts - just not many. I think the main reason we don't have them is fear of change. But many new roads are being built with roundabouts, and I think that once people get used to them and understand the benefits we'll see more.