Episode Summary: This is a segment from a past episode on Roundabouts.

Roundabouts have proven benefits but are not widely used globally

Leekei and Olabanji are wondering why the usage of roundabouts around the world remains relatively limited despite the proven benefits they offer in terms of reducing carbon emissions, facilitating smoother traffic flow, and minimizing energy usage during commuting. 

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Featuring Carbon Almanac Contributors Olabanji Stephen and Leekei Tang

Olabanji is from Lagos Nigeria, he’s a Creative Director and visual designer that helps brands gain clarity, deliver meaningful experiences and build tribes through Design & Strategy. He founded Jorney - a community designed to help people stay productive, accountable, and do their best work.

Leekei is a fashion business founder, a business coach, an international development expert and podcaster from Paris, France. 

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The CarbonSessions Podcast is produced and edited by Leekei Tang, Steve Heatherington and Rob Slater.

and actually roundabouts

are everywhere in France.

2

When you drive around in

France, there's everywhere.

3

And I think , the roundabouts

are in the carbon oar, right?

4

Yeah.

5

I mean, they are.

6

And in the, the carbon OAC

states that roundabouts actually

7

help us lower carbon emissions.

8

In the most interesting way,

and it probably has the most

9

mind-blowing statistics.

10

I mean, I couldn't have imagined that,

that the roundabouts are that effective.

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Ooh, tell us.

12

Yeah.

13

so I mean, based on the study done in

Virginia, um, Mike McBride, the former

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city engineer of, of Carmel, Indiana, he

estimates that one roundabout in his city.

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Uh, in a city of about a hundred

thousand people saves seven to

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5,708 liters of gas annually.

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that's, that's a lot.

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How much is that?

19

That is a lot.

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Uh, and, and I mean, think about

it, they, they say that there's a

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study that was also done in 2005.

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Roundabouts would actually

save about 981 million hours.

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Of driving and fuel consumption

by over 2 billion liters.

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If all, wow.

25

Yeah.

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If just 10% of the intersections

in the United States with, with

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traffic lights were converted to

roundabouts, that's the amount of

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energy and time that will be saved.

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About 2 billion liters of gas.

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And so why roundabouts are

so effective in saving.

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Traffic time and uh, and fuel consumption.

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I don't drive, so I don't.

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Uh, well, yeah, I, I think,

I think a number of things.

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I think first of all, um, rather

than being idle in the car, waiting

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for the light to turn from red to

green, there is really no stopping.

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And so, um, first of all, there

is a smooth flow of traffic and

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it just saves time so people can

drive around rather than waiting.

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In a single spot for, for a long time.

39

And, you know, traffic lights can

build up traffic very, very fast.

40

And that happens in Nigeria.

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Um, and, and I know that it,

it definitely happens in other

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parts of the world for sure.

43

You mean traffic jam?

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Yeah.

45

And so there's, there's traffic jam and.

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And that's just, that just goes

away with, with roundabouts.

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And I think the other part is

there's no need for electricity.

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I mean, there's no red, red

light green lights, so no,

49

there's no need for electricity.

50

And the, the coolest part is we can

have trees inside the roundabouts

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and we can have really nice.

52

Plants.

53

Oh, can, can you have trees?

54

Because you need to see what's, uh,

do you need to see what's on the other

55

end of the, I mean, on the other, when

as you go around, you don't actually,

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you don't need to see what's, um,

um, what's on the other direction.

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Do you?

58

Yeah.

59

Well, maybe for some roundabouts you might

have to, but I doubt if that's, if y.

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That has to happen in all roundabouts.

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Cause I mean, I see, I see a lot of

pictures since I started looking up

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roundabouts and I see some beautiful

trees in some parts of the world,

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and some even have like, it's almost

like, uh, I wouldn't say forest,

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but it's, it's like a few is needed

together and just, just being.

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If, if that word applies.

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So, so that's great because it,

it makes the traffic smoother.

67

Yeah.

68

So safe time and also driving time.

69

Yeah.

70

Um, does not require

electricity and maintenance.

71

Yeah.

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I mean, not maintenance

while the, the light bulb.

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The track lights.

74

Yeah.

75

Uh, And, uh, are they more

effective in terms of accident?

76

I don't know.

77

Uh, I don't know as well.

78

Um, but personally I don't hear of

too many accidents that happen, um,

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roundabouts, at least not, not around

where, I mean, I see accidents a

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number of times, but hardly ever.

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I don't think I've even seen

one happen, um, at a roundabout.

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I don't know if that might be a factor.

83

Um, I don't know if it's generally safer

or maybe there's no difference yet,

84

but, um, but I don't, I don't think so.

85

Hmm.

86

And so what are the

disadvantages of roundabouts?

87

Because if it's so good, if you

should have them everywhere.

88

Yeah.

89

Um, I'm not sure if there are too

many disadvantages of roundabouts.

90

I think, um, I think it,

it's up space for sure.

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That's one thing.

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Cause you know, oh yeah, that's

some land you have to give away

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to, , um, to build a roundabout.

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And so traffic lights generally

don't require so much space.

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Um, they're literally just.

96

Um, but, but roundabouts would

require some space, um, and maybe

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more maintenance, um, as well.

98

I think the other thing to it is, If, I

mean, most drivers are used to traffic

99

lights, especially if that's a lot

more in the places that they drive.

100

And so getting used to the fact that maybe

there's no traffic light here anymore,

101

there's no roundabout, might take a while.

102

Um, but I don't think that's a

hard thing to adjust to generally.

103

So, yeah, I don't know that many

disadvantages that, that roundabouts

104

have accept the land that they take up.

105

I'm, I'm reading on the Carbon Al.

106

That also drivers are

initially opposed to change.

107

I think this is the one of our

biggest problem, it's not so much

108

about the runabout, but it's change.

109

It's humans.

110

Yeah.

111

Right.

112

Uh, yeah, I, I totally agree.

113

, we're, we're a bit opposed

to change as humans, but if.

114

I mean, if there's a decision to build a

roundabout and the roundabout is there,

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you, you're gonna have to drive around it.

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I don't know how supposed to change

you are, but if you wanna get to

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where you're going, you around it.

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