JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas –
Driving through Washington Circle can pose a serious safety
challenge for motorists who use the intersection to get around Joint Base San
Antonio-Randolph.
Knowing the traffic laws and driving defensively are the
best ways motorists can make it through the circular intersection safely
without getting into any accidents, said Linda Howlett, 502nd Air Base Wing
safety manager at JBSA-Randolph.
“One of the biggest problems with Washington Circle is that
not everybody knows the proper procedures,” Howlett said. “The key to
Washington Circle is to drive defensively. You can’t assume that if you are
doing it right that everybody else is going to do it right.”
The circle, located near the Taj Mahal, is used by motorists
who are entering and leaving JBSA-Randolph and going to other parts of the
base. Harmon Drive and four other feeder roads connect into Washington Circle.
In Washington Circle, traffic travels one way,
counterclockwise, whether a motorist is entering it from Harmon Drive or one of
the four feeder roads.
Traffic laws require that motorists entering Washington
Circle must yield to traffic already in the circle. Once they enter the circle,
motorists must stay in the outside or right lane if they plan to depart the
circle at the first or second exit. Drivers who leave the circle from the third
exit or beyond need to use the inside or left lane until they are ready to
exit.
Motorists must use their turn signals when changing lanes or
exiting the circle. If two vehicles are side by side, the vehicle in the outside
lane has the right of way.
Tech Sgt. Matthew Brown, 902nd Security Forces Squadron NCO
in charge of operations, said motorists need to be patient while driving in
Washington Circle.
“Don’t drive aggressively, yield the right of way,” Brown
said. “It’s important to know your exit will come again if you miss it.”
Brown said during peak traffic hours motorists have the
option of using alternate routes, including roads that lead to the west and
east gates of JBSA-Randolph, to avoid Washington Circle.
Within the last five years, nine accidents have been
reported in Washington Circle, said Staff Sgt. Michelle Guerrero, 902nd
Security Forces Squadron NCO in charge of reports and analysis at
JBSA-Randolph.
Howlett attributes the low number of accidents at the circle
to motorists being careful.
“There are more close
calls than accidents because people are driving defensively, which is a good
thing,” Howlett said.