FROUNDABOUT WAYS
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Here in the UK we are well used to coping with American imports. However, our cousins across the pond are finding it somewhat tricky to get to grips with one of ours. Since a British-style roundabout opened in Clearwater, Florida, seven months ago, there have been 309 accidents. It seems American drivers just can't figure it out and, like the dodgems, keep on bumping into one another. Now local officials have brought in Barry Crown, a British consultant, ' to advise on changes to assist the traffic flow. Meanwhile Brits on holiday in Clearwater have been watching in amazement.
"It's a bit like the Wacky Races. There's nothing wrong with the roundabout, it's just the same as the ones at home. But Americans don't know how to use them properly," says Ron Cohen, a holidaymaker from Bristol. Locally, feeling against the £5m roundabout is running high, amid fears that it is only a matter of time before someone is killed.
The local authorities are undeterred and there are plans to build another one north of Clearwater. Commissioner Ed Hooper joked that they may change the name from roundabout to "intersection reconfiguration feature".