Circular forms of convergent points for roads have been used since the middle ages, especially during the Renaissance. The concept became popular in many cities to varying degree, such as L'Arc de Triomphe in Paris (Russell, Luttrell, Rys; Roundabout Studies in Kansas). In 1903 Eugéne Hènard suggested gyratory operation for traffic control at intersecting streets and his concept of "giratoire-boulevard" was instituted in Paris in 1907 at Place de l'Etoile, now called Place Ch. D'Gaulle. The earliest practical use of a gyratory intersection in the United States is reported to be Columbus Circle installed in New York City in 1905. However, the gyratory systems installed in the U.S. in the early 1900's were not well regulated and there were no uniform rules of the road, causing the circular intersections to fall out of favor by the mid-1950's. Subsequently, many of the old circles and rotaries were replaced with signalized intersections.

It is important to emphasize that these traffic circles or rotaries were not modern roundabouts and generally did not have any of the same proportions or characteristics that make modern roundabouts a safe and efficient intersection control mechanism. Many of these old traffic circles were inefficient, confusing and/or had high crash rates. The FHWA reported in 1999 that the earlier designs often gave priority to entering vehicles, facilitating high speed entry, high-crash statistics, congestion and negative perception by drivers.

The United Kingdom has had roundabouts in various forms since approximately 1909. The trend to use roundabouts was formally recognized in Great Britain in 1929 when a joint effort between the Ministry of Transport and the Town Planning Institute issued MOT Circular No. 302 that appears to have the earliest use of the term "roundabout." Research in Great Britain led to the idea of "yield at entry" (the give way rule) and adopted it as a mandatory standard in November 1966. In short order, the volume "locking problem" ended, capacity improved, crashes reduced, and a complete change in roundabout design philosophy emerged.

Continued research in the U.K. determined that where sufficient reduction of traffic speed is obtained due to deflecting at entry, crash rates were low. In 1975, Great Britain then revised its design guidelines to recommend a curved path or "deflection" be achieved by providing angled deflection islands, usually raised, at entry and a suitably sized and positioned central island to prevent vehicles from taking too straight a path through the intersection. New design standards were formally adopted in 1984. Thus, the "modern roundabout" was formally established with three principal features: yield to traffic in the circle, deflection at entry, and low design speed controlled by amount of deflection. Any circular intersection designed and built prior to the mid-1980's is not a modern roundabout.

The number of roundabouts and signalized intersections in the U.K. is now about equal. The high capacity, low delays and good safety records have resulted in the use of roundabouts at more than 90% of freeway and bypass interchanges in the U.K.

Roundabouts were exported to France from the U.K. in the mid-1980s. France has the same population as the U.K. but with approximately five times the land mass. With such low traffic density, 90% of French roundabouts are single lane with volumes of less than 2,000 vehicles per hour. Between 1983 and 2000, France installed more than 17,000 roundabouts, and they are now being implemented in France at the rate of approximately 1,000 per year.

Indeed, as small single lane roundabouts are inexpensive, require minimal right of way, and offer superior safety records, they quickly spread to all European countries. In the Netherlands, more than 400 were built between 1986 and 1992. In Norway, there were 15 in 1980 and more than 500 in 1992.

Australia is a former English colony and a member of the British Commonwealth, and has been influenced by émigré British traffic engineers who introduced roundabouts in the late 1950's. Australia has mostly low traffic densities and therefore has a large number of single lane roundabouts that have sufficient capacity and very low accident rates.

It was not until after 1990 that the first modern roundabouts began to be built in the United States. Any circular intersection built before 1990 in the U.S. is not a modern roundabout, yet opponents still continue to confuse them with the older traffic circles that can be admittedly confusing, inefficient and/or dangerous.

Roundabouts are deceptively complex and many of their most important and useful properties are counter-intuitive to both engineers and the public who are much more familiar with signalized intersections. At present, U.S. engineers are tentative about using this new technology. Although old technology may be comfortable, the benefits of using roundabouts (safety, cost, impacts and operation) in appropriate situations should encourage U.S. engineers to make the effort, according to Barry Crown, U.K. transportation engineer and advisor to the FHWA on its recently released Guide to Roundabouts (see www.cccnh.org).

According to Crown, the United States has many low-density intersections like France and Australia and has adopted single lane roundabouts because of their good safety record. However, like the U.K., the U.S. also has very high traffic volumes and will benefit from introducing more high capacity multi-laned roundabouts.

Russell, Luttrell and Rys conclude in their 2002 report that:

Recent US studies prove that the modern roundabout is safer and more efficient than all other forms of traffic control at most intersection locations. In some parts of the USA, once they have been installed, drivers have good experiences with them and become converts to their many benefits. However, in the USA at present, misunderstanding, misinformation, bias and prejudice still exist against the use of modern roundabouts in many areas. In many places . . . opposition based on misinformation, misunderstanding and bias have limited the growth that has been experienced in other countries and some states, particularly Maryland, Oregon and Washington State. There needs to be more education programs and research results aimed at the public. Acceptance is coming slowly, but it will come. The authors believe that in a few years, the numbers of modern roundabouts will grow exponentially, and as more drivers experience the benefits, they will become widely accepted.