Photo by Michael T. Ruhl

WTOP reports this morning that Virginia has replaced some smaller intersections in Loudoun County with roundabouts, and more might be on the way. The reason? Safety:

Obviously there are some places where traffic lights are just plain necessary, but some experts think traffic would flow better if intersections were replaced by smaller roundabouts.

Traffic safety studies show that roundabouts reduce fatal crashes by 75 percent because they cause drivers to slow down, and cut down on the number of conflict points. There is also no electricity required to run lights.

Obviously, Clark Griswold would disagree. Still, roundabouts — which we in the District are used to — are becoming more and more popular across the country. According to this article, in 1997 there were only between 200-300 roundabouts in the whole country, while there are over 2,500 today.