Kent's New Turbo Roundabout

DHA recently hosted Kent County Council’s Principal Engineer & Project Manager, Christopher Koningen to talk about the innovative conversion of the Running Horse Roundabout in Maidstone to a ‘Turbo’ roundabout.

 

 

The two-lane roundabout has been one of highest crash sites in Kent with 22 personal injury collisions over a three-year period and weekly 'damage-only' collisions. 

 

VivaCity camera monitoring was able to assess the separation of vehicles on the roundabout in terms of time and distance to understand the occurrence of ‘near-misses’ on the roundabout. Combined with on-site observations, it was concluded that the main cause of collisions was drivers cutting across lanes while circulating, with traffic volumes and speeds as contributory factors, and that the introduction of a Turbo Roundabout would be an appropriate cost-effective solution.

 

Turbo roundabouts were first introduced in the Netherlands in the late 1990’s and are now widespread across a number of countries including Germany and North America. The innovative design results in fewer conflict points, a 50% lower accident rate and 46% more traffic capacity, with no increase in carriageway width. It achieves this by requiring drivers to choose the approach lane for their exit prior to entering the roundabout as directed on the new signage. They are then guided through the roundabout and discouraged from changing lanes by separating banding between lanes in the form of low concrete kerbs that are drivable but uncomfortable, until they reach their exit. The current layout at the Running Horse roundabout has red surfacing and white lining/hatching only.

 

The new turbo layout was implemented in mid-May so it’s too early to assess the reduction in collisions, and the impacts on queue lengths but it is encouraging to see the County Council being brave and applying innovative solutions to make our local road network safer and more efficient.

 

For more information about the turbo roundabouts, please fee free to contact DHA Transport's Rob Smith.

 

#turboroundabout #dhatransport #highwasyssafety #runninghorse