ITS and Traffic Priority at Roundabouts

Roundabouts have been a thorn in the side of drivers around the world for generations. Most ITS solutions seem to address freeways and conventional intersections. Is there anything ITS can do to improve traffic flow through roundabouts?

Roundabouts use two complementary systems for controlling traffic flow:
(1) Traffic in the roundabout has priority, or
(2) traffic entering the roundabout has priority.

The choice seems so symmetric, like choosing right- or left-hand traffic. In the United Kingdom, traffic in the roundabout has priority. In contrast, on many Massachusetts roundabouts, including one on my commute, entering traffic has priority. At rush hour, as drivers in the roundabout yield to the incoming traffic, the roundabout gets more and more packed, until the flow locks up and spreads the traffic jam to the surrounding roads.

Freakonomics » The Nobel Prize in Physics and Traffic Priority at Roundabouts

Roundabout Geometry Design

Maryland Roundabout Design Guidelines

Roundabouts with unbalanced flow