I get that traffic circles can be tricky if you’re not used to them, but it’s not like they’re Rubik’s Cubes with Mayan hieroglyphics on them—they’re understandable. That may just not be the case for some drivers in Edmonton, Canada, where a traffic circle that was closed in the morning after a rollover accident was reopened later in the day, and, with local news cameras rolling, promptly hosted another (much more minor) wreck.
Of course, what makes this notable was that this hit-and-run happened to happen right on live TV, and was recorded and posted to Twitter:
What’s especially crazy—and perhaps revealing about people’s comfort with two-lane traffic circles—is that it seems the driver not at fault, the one in the truck is the one that left the scene of the accident.
The truck was in the inside lane, and the Lexus SUV was in the outside, which means that the SUV should be the one to yield, which clearly didn’t happen.
The Alberta Motor Association even made an animated explainer for these things:
Based on this, it’s clear the truck had the right of way, and really shouldn’t have bolted away. And the SUV should have looked out those big windows and not, you know, driven into that truck.
Not living in Edmonton, I can’t opine whether or not I agree with the tweeter as to if this is indeed the “most Edmonton thing that has ever happened,” though I can say, for the sake of the good people of Edmonton, I hope it isn’t.
It’s not clear if any legal actions are being taken against either driver, or if they’ve even been identified. Luckily the damage seems pretty minor.
Don’t let the traffic circles beat you, friends.