Britain invented the roundabout in 1856 with the first roundabout built in the industrial town of Sheffield.
Historian Giles Blandstrepthow, reveals Britain’s roundabout secrets in his book England’s Roundabouts.
“One thing about roundabouts is that they’re a great British tradition. The first 19th century roundabout had a rather inauspicious beginning when sixteen carriages crashed into each other causing multiple injuries. It was not until 1923 that road regulations were established and vehicles were directed to go around a roundabout in the same clockwise direction as other vehicles.”
Ever since 1968, roundabout day has been celebrated in Britain traditionally on November 19, the first day a roundabout was used in England and Wales.
Britain currently has over 670,000 roundabouts and the current Coalition government is planning to build over 60,000 more roundabouts by 2015.
The town with the most roundabouts is situated in Essex, Leecharver, which has 354 functioning roundabouts. For a small town with a population of 120 that’s enough roundabouts to go around for a fricking lifetime.
Next Monday is ‘U Turn’ day in England, and Prime Minister David Cameron will commemorate the day with a massive ‘U Turn’ in Downing Street.
