Love or hate them, roundabouts are seemingly popping up everywhere. You can expect two new roundabouts to pop up soon near Allen East Local Schools.
Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT), AAA Ohio Auto Club, and Ohio State Highway Patrol (OSHP) teamed up a roundabout and driving safety education event at the school.
The new roundabouts will be installed on S.R. 309 at Napoleon Rd as well as S.R. 309 at Thayer Road. These intersections have a high crash rate when compared to similar intersections around the state. According to the Federal Highway Administration, there is a 75% reduction in serious injury crashes when reverting an intersection from a stop sign to a roundabout. The AAA Ohio Auto Club was also on site to demonstrate the dangers of distracted driving, especially as students deal with these changes on their everyday route. AAA took students through a brake reaction timer, and the test showed students hands-on how significant the reaction time changed with even the slightest distractions.
"Distracted driving is a huge issue on our roadways, and the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety actually found that distracted driving is a factor in about 6 out of 10 teen crashes, so it's really an issue for this age group and especially as they learn to drive and gain experience. They need to focus on the road ahead instead of on their phones, their passengers, or anything else that might distract them," says Kimberly Schwind, spokesperson for AAA Ohio Auto Club.
The Allen County intersections were on a list of over 100 around the state identified by Governor Mike DeWine. The governor directed ODOT to target safety improvements at these intersections.
"We want them to know how to navigate a roundabout safely, be able to take the information back to their families and friends and explain how easy they are to navigate," says Cheri Newton, ODOT District 1 Public Information Officer.
