• High speed is not as dangerous as wide variance of speed among vehicles. Driving 55 mph next to a lane of creeping traffic is more perilous than driving 75 in a crowd of motorists all moving at the same approximate speed.
• Most drivers don't use their mirrors often enough, especially when doing so would prompt them to nudge forward a foot or two and let me place my fast-food order a couple of minutes sooner.
• The most dangerous part of a vehicle is the brake pedal. Some drivers think it's a resting place for the left big toe, unaware that the flickering red brake lights herald their cluelessness to everyone behind them. In a dangerous situation, mashing the brake pedal often makes things worse.
• Rapid acceleration is not always bad. My safety theory is simple: It is impossible for me to have a wreck in an intersection through which I've already accelerated.
• It should surprise no one, then, that I'm a big fan of "roundabout" intersections, which is the main point of this column. If you've been to Esther Short Park lately, you might have noticed the roundabout at 6th and Esther streets, outside the new Columbian building. More than once a day I'm reminded of its profound advantages. Consider the immense joy of approaching an intersection that has (1) no red light, (2) no stop sign and (3) no left turns. What a deal!

And there are more advantages. It's virtually impossible to have a head-on collision or get T-boned at a roundabout intersection. Accidents typically are glancing blows. And a roundabout showcases the glorious "Yield," which is my favorite traffic sign because it transfers decision-making power from the state to the motorist. The uncaring red light has no interest in my needs, wants or haste. But my friend the Yield sign trusts me and lets me decide all by myself if and when it's time to accelerate.

Truck drivers love roundabouts because the large radius allows them to make turns more easily. And for all motorists, U-turns are easier to execute in roundabouts; simply circle around.

Total acceptance? Not a chance!

Of course, the Hounds of Whinerville and other folks in the all-change-is-bad faction hate roundabouts, but their complaints fade quickly if they stop fretting, read and obey signs at a roundabout, and use some common sense.

There was great hand-wringing and teeth-gnashing in north Clark County last year when construction began on a roundabout on Pioneer Street (state Highway 501) at 45th Avenue, between downtown Ridgefield and I-5. But in a recent Saturday sleet storm I found the intersection easy to negotiate. Ridgefield Police Chief Carrie Greene says the free-flowing roundabout is a big improvement over previous traffic jams.

In the upper Burnt Bridge Creek area of northeast Vancouver, the intersection of Northeast 49th Street and Northeast 137th Avenue today looks like a war zone. But spring will bring completion of roundabout construction at an intersection where cars often back up 10-deep at a four-way stop. Ryan Miles, a Vancouver city engineer, said there was early skepticism among area residents, but once they learned the advantages of a roundabout, worry turned into hope. In fact, another roundabout is planned 10 blocks south on 137th, at 39th Street.

Roundabouts usually work best on streets with moderate amounts of traffic. Light-traffic areas don't need the feature, and in high-traffic areas such as major highways, roundabouts can interfere with high-speed traffic. (Exception: The roundabout just west of downtown Astoria, Ore., at U.S. highways 101 and 30 seems to work rather well.)

Don't just take my word for it. The Federal Highway Administration reports "a reduction in crashes after building a roundabout of about 37 percent for all crashes and 51 percent for injury crashes." The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety studied 24 new roundabouts nationwide and reported a 39 percent overall crash reduction, a 76 percent injury crash reduction, and a 90 percent fatal crash reduction.

Statistics won't satisfy the Hounds, but the rest of us - we who abhor red lights, stop signs and left turns- find roundabouts easy to love and fun to drive.