As I’ve discussed at length, roundabouts are the big fad among city planning departments. My last encounter with roundabouts was in —- of all places —-Randleman, where what should have been a simple stop for gas off U.S. 220 turned into the adventure of a lifetime.

But it’s nothing compared to the adventures drivers are experiencing on Hillsborough Street down in my hometown of Raleigh:

Drivers on Hillsborough Street are still flummoxed by a twin-ring roundabout that replaced the stoplight at Pullen Road more than a year ago. And they’re still crashing their mopeds, bikes and cars there.

Eighty accidents have been reported since traffic began rolling around the two-lane circle in July 2010.

Wait, make that 84. Let’s add four crashes over the weekend in the roundabout in front of N.C. State University’s Bell Tower.

One car flipped over and flattened a fence on the circle’s rim, in front of John Wardlaw’s office building. The latest crashes had not been logged Monday on the Raleigh police website, but Wardlaw reported the overturned car to the Road Worrier.

Seems to me drivers everywhere should study up on navigating roundabouts.