‘Dumbest idea ever.’ Some Kentucky drivers not fond of new roundabout in Morehead.

An effort to improve traffic flow near the Bath and Rowan County line hasn’t gone as planned yet, as a new “mini-roundabout” has some drivers struggling more than they did before.

The roundabout was built to replace the US 60-KY 801 four-way intersection, which the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet said was dangerous despite best efforts to make it safer with warning signs, rumble strips and more.

“The existing four-way-stop intersection at KY 801 has a history of high-speed, T-bone (right angle), and other types of severe crashes,” the transportation cabinet said in a statement when construction on the mini-roundabout started in April.

“An engineering study showed a roundabout-style traffic flow would be the most viable safety alternative because merging traffic promotes slow speeds and decreases the number of places where traffic crosses paths – as compared to right-angle crossings at signals or stop signs – thereby helping to reduce severe crashes,” the transportation cabinet said.

Some local residents don’t seem to agree.

“This will cause more wrecks,” Facebook commenter Lacy Stephens said on a Facebook post from District 9 of the transportation cabinet. “Dumbest idea ever.”

PSA on KY roundabout turns into viral joke for wrong reasons

A video shared by Walker Construction on Facebook was intended to be an example of how not to drive through the new roundabout. But the video instead went viral on the internet as users believed it was drivers who actually didn’t know how to drive through a roundabout.

Drivers are seen in the video turning left into the roundabout, taking the wrong lanes and backing up traffic for people who were driving through the roundabout correctly. Walker Construction has made multiple Facebook posts since the video went viral in an effort to clarify that the wrong-way driving was done intentionally to educate people on the incorrect way to handle the turns.

But the internet took off with the video, making fun of Kentucky drivers in the process.

The video was shared to Reddit on the subreddit “r/IdiotsInCars,” where it received over 100,000 upvotes and thousands of comments.

The video was then shared to YouTube, where it got more than 360,000 views in two days.

“This is the funniest unscripted video I’ve seen this month,” one YouTube commenter said.

The wrong way driving in the video may have been intentional, but some Kentucky residents aren’t optimistic about what the actual results will be.

“Hope no one gets killed trying to get to the dollar general,” Facebook commenter Carol OBoyle said. “Seems a little confusing.”

The intersection is heavily-traveled by tractor-trailers, and people hauling campers and boats to Cave Run Lake. The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet assured drivers that the roundabout would feature an “island” in the middle which could easily be driven on in case it was needed for larger vehicles.

The project was still under construction last week, and some tractor-trailers appeared to have issues with making the turn.

The transportation cabinet made an effort to alleviate issues ahead of time by sharing a video on how to properly use a mini-roundabout. The example video came from Saline, Mich., and was shared on April 1. The transportation cabinet also provided some “rules of the road” on how to handle it.

Charles Blevins responded to the video by calling the forthcoming roundabout a “monstrosity.”

“Why keep fixing things that aren’t broken?”

Other commenters testified to their appreciation for roundabouts.

“Traffic circles, roundabouts, rotaries, or whatever you call them are effectively used all over the US and throughout the world,” Bill Vincent said in a comment. “They move more traffic quickly and safely than either stop signs or red lights. At the very least it will slow down drivers who might have otherwise ignored signs or lights.”

Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this article did not make clear that the viral video on YouTube was intended to be an example of how not to drive through the new roundabout. The article has been updated.