This is an e-mail I just sent out to the editor & staff at the trib:

I'm writing to you about my concerns regarding the new traffic circle in Morro Bay. I'm a Morro Bay resident, and not only have I witnessed some disturbing driving at the new roundabout, I've almost been in two accidents myself!

The other day an elderly woman almost drove up into the circle (onto the pavement in the middle), and today someone turned left instead of right and the car behind him followed. In today's case, a backhoe was being operated at the site and the workers with the flags weren't expecting someone to be driving in the wrong direction, and one of the flaggers almost got hit! Additionally, on two separate occasions I have almost rear ended people who have stopped while driving the roundabout- apparently they were in a stupor as to where to go next... Anyway, it has only been a few weeks that the circle has been operable, and unless you've lived in Europe (as I have), you probably haven't had much practice driving roundabouts, so I understand that some people might be confused about the logistics.

Please, please, PLEASE have someone on staff write an article on "How to Use a Traffic Circle" before someone in Morro Bay has a serious accident! I greatly appreciate your time and effort. I'm sure you can find many leads on your own, but here are a couple that I found:

There's a great diagram at this site, but it's pixelated:

http://www.calgaryarea.com/se/mckenziearea/mckenzietowne/trafficcircle/traffic.htm

All the info. you'd ever need:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roundabout

Thanks again.
Sincerely,
Kathie Roach-Wright of Morro Bay