Greenwood Is Adding More Roundabouts – Here’s What That Means for Accident Claims

April 21, 2026

• Greenwood is adding more roundabouts, which will reduce accidents, lower injury rates, and improve traffic safety.
• When traffic accidents happen at a roundabout, determining fault can be challenging. Fault will impact your claim, so getting it right is crucial.
• Working with Greenwood car accident attorneys who understand the complexities of roundabouts is the most direct way to get what you deserve.

The first time you see a roundabout while driving, it might seem confusing. You may not be sure of the rules, and it can be a little scary and feel more dangerous than a regular, stop-sign-controlled intersection. But in reality, roundabouts are much safer and generally a more efficient way for traffic to move.

In Greenwood, IN, two new roundabouts were opened last year on Smith Valley Road at the Averitt and Woodman intersections. These roundabouts have proven to be a big success, and Greenwood plans to install even more in the coming construction seasons.

But while accidents are more rare and less dangerous at roundabouts, they do happen. If you are in one, determining fault will be key to a successful claim. With more roundabouts in Greenwood come the potential for more crashes, and here’s what that means for accident claims.

How Roundabouts Reduce Car Accidents

First, let’s briefly discuss how roundabouts work. When you come up to one, you’ll notice there are no stop signs, just yield signs. You are supposed to yield to the cars coming from your left and pull out when you have an opening.

This might be confusing the first few times, but it works extremely well. Carmel, on the other side of Indianapolis from Greenwood, has been dubbed “Roundabout City” for its embrace of this traffic control method. And the safety advantages have been proven: a 2022 study by the Indiana Institute for Highway Safety found that “injury crashes were 47% lower than what would have been expected without the roundabout conversions.”

That just scratches the surface. Carmel has a large number of “double teardrop” roundabouts (sometimes known as “dumbbell roundabouts”). These allow for people turning right to avoid the roundabout altogether while improving the flow for people heading straight. This lowers the chances of accidents even more: injury crashes were reduced by 84% and total crashes by 63%.

What’s more, even in injury crashes, the majority are nonsignificant. This is because drivers are usually going slower (unlike where someone might just blow through a red light at speed).

So, overall, the new roundabouts in Greenwood will significantly improve traffic safety. But as we said, they can be confusing. Accidents do happen. And when they happen in a roundabout, you’ll need Greenwood car accident lawyers who understand roundabout laws.

What Roundabout Laws Mean for Your Greenwood Accident Claim

The primary ways that accidents can happen at a roundabout are:

1. Failing to yield to the left and pulling into traffic
2. Failing to stop when the car in front stops and causing a rear-end collision
3. Speeding (note that while many roundabouts do not have posted speed limits, the speed limit on the road applies)
4. Improper lane changes
5. Aggressive driving (not leaving room or jumping out too fast)

If you are in one of these types of accidents, establishing fault will be crucial. Remember that it isn’t always as cut-and-dried as who hit whom.

Consider a scenario where you are sideswiped by someone avoiding a collision with a driver who is making an improper lane change. The driver changing lanes is more directly at fault…but the car that hit you might also have been speeding, making the lane change more dangerous.

Indiana is an “at-fault state” for car accidents, meaning that claims will be determined by the percentage of who is at fault. The driver changing lanes might be (to simplify) 65% at fault and the other driver 30%, while you might bear 5% of the blame.

It’s complicated. Fault will be determined by police reports, witness statements, traffic cameras, or any other way to assess what happened on the scene. While the accident might not be severe, you are still entitled to your claim. Working with a Greenwood car accident lawyer who understands roundabout laws can help you get what you deserve.

Insurance companies, including your own, might try to lowball you. That’s why you should check with a Greenwood car accident attorney before accepting an insurance offer.

Reach Out to Our Experienced Greenwood Car Accident Attorneys

The path to getting a fair settlement from your roundabout accident is straightforward: work with Greenwood car accident lawyers who will fight on your behalf, like the ones at Hensley Legal Group, PC, a dedicated Indiana personal injury law firm whose experienced attorneys have been fighting on behalf of the wrongfully injured since 1998.

Simply call us at (317) 472-3333, chat with us online, or fill out our contact form now for a free consultation with a knowledgeable Greenwood car accident attorney.