BOZEMAN — It's the age-old question: should you use your blinker or not in a roundabout?
Nick Ross, the city's director of transportation, says he doesn't use his blinker, but it could be helpful for some.
Bozeman drivers ed teacher Steve McCormick couldn't disagree more.
"The best thing you can do is signal right as you leave the roundabout. That lets people know you're leaving," McCormick says.
In the summer of 2022, Bozeman devised its SAFE plan in response to a few tragic deaths.
"SAFE is an acronym for Streets Are for Everyone. The goal of that plan was to take actionable steps to prevent severe and fatal injuries when crashes happen. We understand people are going to crash into one another. What we can do is help to control the speed and severity of those crashes, and roundabouts are a big tool in our roundabouts to help that out," Ross says.
Steve tells us there is a proper procedure for driving in roundabouts.
"So, the first thing you do when you come up to the roundabout is look to the left and make sure no one is coming. If someone is coming, you must yield. Or stop right there. If nobody is coming, keep going. Do a quarter turn to go right, a half turn to go straight, three quarters to go left, or all the way around can be a u-turn," McCormick says.
Roundabouts originated in the United Kingdom; besides being inherently British, they are keeping the streets of Montana safe.
"Luckily, Bozeman is one of the safest places in the country to walk and drive. As of two years ago, we had one of the lowest fatality rates on our streets for all cities of 50,000 people or more," Ross says.
McCormick says the roundabouts at the airport are most infuriating.
There are currently twelve roundabouts and ten neighborhood circles in Bozeman.
