There has been a spike in collisions at roundabouts, according to the latest car crash numbers released by the Region of Waterloo.
Overall, crashes rose five per cent from 2009 to 2010. That's an additional 260 collisions on the region's roads.
In 2009 there were 85 crashes in the region's 11 roundabouts, and that number climbed 54 per cent in 2010, with 131 crashes reported.
The roundabout at Erb Street and Ira Needles Boulevard saw the highest number of crashes at 30, with the Sawmill Road and Arthur Street roundabout coming in second.
Bob Henderson, manager of transportation engineering for the Region of Waterloo, says it's the volume of traffic in the roundabouts that's the main cause, not bad drivers.
"We understand that drivers are still on a learning curve. We're seeing improvements every year with the exception of this year. That's not unusual."
The region has launched a series of education videos as well as interactive teaching maps that explain how to use the roundabouts.
Faith Morphy is a centre director for Young Drivers of Canada, she says "We need to make sure that people know how to use [roundabouts] properly because they should be safer than regular intersections because of the way the traffic flows in them."
The newest, largest and most expensive roundabout in the region, on Homer Watson Boulevard at Block Line, opened on Saturday.
It is the first to have three lanes, and the region says the goal is to build more like it, to decrease the overall number of crashes, especially at dangerous intersections and at high speeds.
The intersection at Ottawa Street and Homer Watson Boulevard remains the most dangerous in the region, and a three-lane roundabout is planned there, among others.
Both the region and driving instructors remain fans of the roundabouts, in part because despite the rise in crashes, most aren't as serious.
