Some motorists are still having a little trouble using the new two-lane roundabout at Evans Road, according to the head of the local RCMP traffic section.

“I haven’t been to the scene of any incidents myself, but I have heard through ICBC there have been a few claims,” said RCMP Cpl. Bruce Abbott.

It’s likely because the roundabout is new and people are not accustomed to it yet, he suggested.

“We are seeing some claims,” said Mike Weightman, ICBC’s road safety coordinator for the Fraser Valley. He’s been made aware of at least six claims being filed after crashes occurred in the roundabout.

Failing to yield to oncoming traffic seems to be one of the major sticking points.

“Primarily what we’re seeing is people are failing to yield to vehicles already in the roundabout, and they are failing to drive defensively when they’re ready to exit,” he said. “They’re expecting people to yield, but that is not always the case and they are running into trouble with that.”

Drivers need to remember to slow down, yield to traffic, and to signal their intention to exit, Cpl. Abbott agreed.

“Some people try to come in at 50 kilometres an hour,” he said. “They need to slow down.”

Abbott stopped a couple of drivers recently who came flying into the roundabout from the industrial side.

“Then they try to straighten it out, going from one lane into the next and then back again, which is a real no-no. We will be ticketing for that,” Abbott said.

If people are not sure how it works, they should pull over and watch for a while.

“Motorists have to understand that if they’re confused, they’re putting others at risk,” he said.

The City of Chilliwack website offers a wealth of information and guidance about navigating the roundabout at www.chilliwack.com. Also check out the local video of the roundabout at www.theprogress.com.

Weightman said he’s parked nearby on a few occasions and observed the traffic movements. His sense is that the new roundabout is a “great” engineering device.

“It’s pretty impressive when things are moving smoothly,” he said. “We can expect some problems, but overall things are working as expected. All we have to do is wait until people learn how it operates.”