In the United States they teach you how not to drive through a roundabout

We have often talked about how to handle driving through a roundabout. We are used to driving on roads that are full of them and it is something routine for us. Roundabouts are not only common in Spain but in other European countries there are also roundabouts on many roads, and French, German or Italian drivers also tend to know how to enter them and exit without causing accidents. In the United States, on the other hand, it is not common at all to come across one.

The Simpsons already warned us, in their infinite wisdom, in that episode where they came to Europe and got trapped in a roundabout without knowing how to get out of it. In their home country some roundabouts have started to be installed where there had never been any before, and problems are starting to appear, since American drivers don’t quite understand how these traffic elements work, which are used to regulate traffic at intersections.

On Reddit a video has appeared showing the problems caused by a newly installed roundabout in northwest Kentucky, replacing an intersection between Routes 60 and 801. On this stretch around 4,000 vehicles pass per day and the crossing causes quite a few accidents over the course of a year. To prevent those accidents, the traffic authorities decided to copy the Europeans and build the roundabout. But, apparently, when getting a licence in the United States you are not taught how to drive through a roundabout.

In the video you can see how several drivers cut into the oncoming lane to turn left at the roundabout, without respecting the direction of traffic inside it. Luckily, no accident occurred during the recording, although there was a close call when a driver went the wrong way inside the roundabout.

As strange as it may seem, in Spain, where we go through so many roundabouts every day, there are still problems understanding how they work, so we recommend that you read this article on how to drive through a roundabout, to avoid risks and drive through them correctly.