You prefer circle or square? I prefer circle

[theking]

I've been to Europe a few times to places like Spain, France, Germany, etc., and traffic circles seem to be are more common over there especially in France. Between a square (4-way stop) and a circle (roundabout), I feel like the circle is more efficient so I prefer circles over squares. Here's a photo I took of one of the biggest traffic circle I drove through:

[theking]

Here's an aerial view of it:

sp

[Reporter]

Where do they go if they just drive in a circle?

[theking]

They don't do a full circle unless they missed their exit. The advantage of traffic circle is traffic is always moving and the drivers don't have to stop, just yield when needed so those intersection can handle more traffic in the same amount of time. It's just more efficient based on my experiences of being on both circle and square intersections.
sp

[theking]

There are many in the U.S. as well. This one is located in Woodbury, Minnesota if you're in the area and want to try it out:

[Reporter]

I prefer to just turn at the corner of a square to a road I want to go into. Circles make you turn your neck too much.

I'm not in Woodbury.

[theking]

Because of the angles and degree of the circle, your neck actually turn less than a square.

Here's one in St. Paul:

This is “Meet a Roundabout,” a new series of posts about roundabouts in the Twin Cities area that are improving traffic efficiency and safety. Posts include pictures and video of the roundabout and a history of how they came to be. This is the first post in the series.

On a recent beautiful Wednesday night, as the sun was setting with an orange glow across the horizon, I was driving my friend to his soccer match in West St. Paul, just off of Wentworth Ave. To drive to the indoor athletic field, we rolled through two of three of Wentworth Ave’s roundabouts. Two form an partial “dumbbell” interchange with U.S. Highway 52 (two of four highway ramps are split to the north off of Thompson Ave) and the third is at the intersection of Wentworth Ave E and Oakdale Ave. The three roundabouts at three succeeding intersections along Wentworth is likely one of the closest spacing of roundabouts in the entire state of Minnesota.

[ProudLao]

There are many in the U.S. as well. This one is located in Woodbury, Minnesota if you're in the area and want to try it out:

The indoor soccer complex I played in is right next to this roundabout.

[Reporter]

You make one stare to a corner and you go. Circle makes you constantly keep your neck turned.

Not my thing.

I’m not in St. Paul, either.

[Reporter]

Is it?  I never saw this place.

The indoor soccer complex I played in is right next to this roundabout.

[ProudLao]

Is it?  I never saw this place.

Yes it is. Not sure why you didn’t see it. Maybe you came from Cottage Grove side.

[Reporter]

Yeah. That’s what I did.

Yes it is. Not sure why you didn’t see it. Maybe you came from Cottage Grove side.

[theking]

You make one stare to a corner and you go. Circle makes you constantly keep your neck turned.

Not my thing.

I’m not in St. Paul, either.

Your neck don't constantly turn. You still look straight ahead as you turn with the circle. That would be dangerous if you keep your neck turn in a roundabout. It's like going on a straight road and keeping your head turn to the side.

You haven't try one but once you try it, you'll see what I mean. It doesn't have to be your thing as sometimes you may just approach it since there are also many roundabouts in the U.S. too.

I'm sure ProudLao would agree about the turn head thing too if he drove through the one next to the soccer field.

If you're in the Twin-Cities, there are several roundabouts in that area as well as other areas in the state of MN.

After doing both and you still prefer square, nothing wrong with that either..

[Reporter]

That sound attractive at all.

No need to practice it. If I come upon it, I’ll drive through it. If not, no issue.

I think they are there to reduce speed, not that they turn the head less.

[theking]

What I like best about roundabouts is when you approach one with no traffic, you don't have to stop nor turn your head at all, just simply go through it smoothly like some of the cars in the video below  :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaICdKez2jg

More efficient and safer when comparing it to a 4-way stop sign intersection in my experience.