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Running in circles or reducing incidents?

Believe it or not, roundabouts aren’t just there to make you question your sense of direction, make your GPS recalculate for the fifth time, or give your Uncle Bob another conspiracy theory to support. These circular marvels are actually traffic safety ninjas.

Studies by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) have shown that roundabouts typically result in:

How to maneuver the roundabout

Don’t let these circular conundrums make drivers question everything you thought they knew about right-of-way, geometry, and your own patience. Here what to know so you can manage roundabouts without the road rage:

• Counterclockwise travel — Traffic travels counterclockwise around the center island. (In other words, spin around to the right.) Drivers should choose the lane where they want to go after the roundabout since there’s not much time to shift gears (or lanes).
• Entry yields control — Vehicles entering the roundabout yield to traffic already circulating. (In other words, whoever is in the circle first has the right-of-way.) Drivers must yield to traffic in all lanes of the roundabout, not just in the lane closest to them, and allow room for larger vehicles like semis or those pulling trailers.
• Don’t stop if you don’t have to — The entrance to the roundabout is a “yield” rather than a “stop.” (In other words, plan ahead so you can enter seamlessly into the circle so the confident roundabout renegade behind you doesn’t join you in your back seat!)
• Low speed — The curvature of the roundabout requires slower vehicle speeds (15-25 mph) throughout the roundabout. (In other words, slow down!)
• No power necessary — Unlike traffic signals, roundabouts are not susceptible to power failures to keep a tab on traffic chaos.

Think of navigating a roundabout like you are joining a polite game of bumper cars — everyone’s circling, and nobody’s crashing. You enter and exit only when you’ve proven you know how to yield without panicking (or making eye contact). Until then, you can always ask Siri how to avoid them altogether, but you may want to leave the house earlier!

Where the idea originated

For the critical thinkers who like to know where this concept of avoiding vertigo on the way to the office originated, here’s a historical detour to see that the idea isn’t new. Roundabouts have been a concept since an 18th century inventor called Pierre L’Enfant designed what became known as “traffic circles” in Washington DC.

The traffic trickery became part of the transportation system in 1905, when the Columbus Circle opened in New York City—one of the first traffic circles designed for cars. We have William Phelps Eno to thank (or criticize, depending upon your opinion of roundabouts) for that. The first European roundabout was built in 1907 in Letchworth Garden City, England — not for traffic, but as a pedestrian island. So yes, the early roundabouts weren’t even meant for cars, which might explain why some drivers still treat them like mysterious crop circles.

Improvements were made in the UK in the 1960’s to help prevent circular intersections from locking up, by not allowing vehicles to enter the intersection until there were enough gaps in circulating traffic. In addition, smaller circular intersections were proposed to not just fit the geography but that made vehicles turn more tightly, resulting in slower entry and circulating speeds.

The modern roundabout has greatly improved in terms of operations and safety, when compared with older roadway rotaries. The benefits of which include:

• Promoting lower speeds and traffic calming which reduces incidents;
• Reducing conflict points and traffic back-ups which improves traffic flow and reduces driver anxiety and frustration;
• Improving vehicle operational performance (e.g., gas conservation, reducing engine overheating, etc.); and
• Meeting a wide range of traffic conditions with versatility in size, shape, and design.

These obnoxious orbs are popping up everywhere across the U.S. and Canada, but now you are prepared to circle in style!

Key to remember: Roundabouts aren’t just a fancy way to make you feel like a NASCAR driver. Once you crack the circular code, you may just embrace these engineering superheroes for their ability to not only reduce traffic jams and fender benders but save lives!

State inspection counts continued multiyear climb

State-plan agencies conducted nearly 38,400 inspections in FY 2025, a 4.2 percent hike over the more than 36,800 total in FY 2024, according to the Grassroots report. Compare this with FY 2023, and inspections were up 9.8 percent. Most inspections were categorized as safety inspections, and those saw a 4.9 percent jump in FY 2025. Health inspections also strengthened by 2 percent.

Programmed (or planned) inspections were the primary driver in state-plan inspection growth. State agencies conducted almost 15,900 programmed inspections in FY 2025, an 11.1 percent expansion from the prior year and a 21.7 percent spike from FY 2023.

Employee complaint inspections reached nearly 10,400 in FY 2025, but that was relatively flat, slipping 0.5 percent from FY 2024. Still, it’s just over 9.2 percent higher than FY 2023.

State-plan inspections exceeded federal OSHA totals

State and federal enforcement trends moved in opposite directions in FY 2025. While state-plan inspections approached 38,400, federal OSHA inspection counts declined to 30,273 in total. Federally, that figure was a 12.6 percent fall from FY 2024’s 34,625 inspections, or an 11.5 percent decrease from 34,221 in FY 2023.

Collectively, the states also outpaced federal OSHA for programmed inspections in FY 2025. Compare nearly 15,900 programmed inspections for these agencies to 13,962 for federal OSHA. Still, the overall percentage of programmed inspections balanced differently, with 41.4 percent for states and 46.1 percent for federal.

Violations rose steadily in states

Over 74,000 violations were found in FY 2025 for state plans, compared to more than 72,200 the previous year. That’s a 2.5 percent boost. About half were considered serious, willful, or repeat (S/W/R), while the other half were tagged other-than-serious (OTS). Both categories experienced an uptick that year.

The number of inspections with violations also expanded 2.9 percent (from about 23,840 to 24,520). At the same time, employers were cited less frequently on a percentage basis (63.9 percent of inspections in FY 2025 versus 64.7 percent the prior year).

State penalties set a new benchmark

Aggregate penalties in state-plans shot up 6.9 percent to almost $149.1 million in FY 2025. The multiyear trend is even more telling — total penalties escalated over 24.9 percent from FY 2023 to 2025. Both of these percentages outstrip the cumulative rate of inflation over the same period.

Where serious penalties were issued, penalty rates advanced 2.9 percent in FY 2025, to reach about $3,026 on average. This means the penalty rate has finally surpassed the $3,000 milestone. A serious violation relates to a substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result, and the employer knew or should have known of the hazard.

Finally, employers contested citations in nearly 4,240 inspections with violations in FY 2025. The figure is almost unchanged from the previous year and represents 17.3 percent of inspections with violations. A proper contest suspends the employer’s legal obligation to abate and pay a penalty until the item contested has been resolved.

What’s next?

According to the federal OSHA budget proposal for FY 2027, the states are anticipated to conduct the following in FYs 2026 and 2027:

The projected dip in FY 2027 inspection activity is tied to OSHA’s proposed budget reduction. However, Congress has not yet finalized appropriations for FY 2027. Actual funding levels remain uncertain for that year. That means the number of inspections conducted could change.

Key to remember

The latest statistics on state-plan enforcement for FY 2025 are available. The data show that state inspection counts went up while federal OSHA inspections went down. State-plan violation counts and penalty amounts also grew. The figures suggest that state agencies remain a significant enforcement force.

Realities of heat exposure

Landscaping and grounds-keeping consistently rank among the most heat-exposed occupations, and the pressures that keep crews working through dangerous conditions are familiar to anyone in this industry:

• Piece-rate and schedule pressure - Many landscaping crews are paid by the job or the property, not the hour, which creates a built-in incentive to keep moving rather than stop for rest or water breaks.
• Lack of acclimatization - New or seasonal hires haven’t built up tolerance to prolonged heat exposure, yet formal acclimatization schedules are rare on small crews.
• Minimal shade and hydration infrastructure - A client’s front yard doesn’t come with a break room or a water cooler.
• PPE that traps heat - Long sleeves, gloves, and boots protect against cuts and debris but reduce the body’s ability to cool itself through sweat evaporation.
• A “push through it” culture - Much like fall protection on residential roofs, heat safety often gets treated as optional until someone feels dizzy or nauseous.
• Regulatory uncertainty - There is still no final federal heat standard. OSHA published its proposed rule in August 2024, and as of 2026 it remains pending. In the meantime, OSHA continues to cite heat hazards under the General Duty Clause, and OSHA updated its National Emphasis Program for Outdoor and Indoor Heat-Related Hazards on April 10, 2026, effective immediately and scheduled to remain in place for five years.

Cool down the risk

Two hours in the high-90s heat left me wiped out doing a task I chose to do and at my own pace. An eight-hour landscaping shift offers none of those luxuries unless an employer builds them deliberately. That means:

• Scheduled water, rest, and shade breaks. Not just breaks “if someone asks.”
• A real acclimatization plan for new hires and anyone returning from time off.
• Monitoring conditions throughout the day, since heat-related deaths are disproportionately common in the mid-afternoon, with over a third occurring between 2:00 and 4:00 p.m.
• Train crews and supervisors to recognize early signs of heat exhaustion in themselves and each other, since by the time symptoms of heat stroke appear, it’s already an emergency.
• Supervisors should know how to respond to a heat emergency, including calling 911 and moving the affected worker to a cooler area while waiting for emergency medical services.

None of this requires a complicated program. A cooler of water, shade or a pop-up canopy, and a supervisor willing to slow the pace when the heat index climbs go a long way toward keeping a crew safe.

I got to walk inside, crank the AC, and call it a day. Most landscaping crews don’t have that option until the job is done. With no final federal standard yet but enforcement activity clearly increasing, it’s worth remembering that heat-related illnesses can turn serious fast. A few minutes of planning can be the difference between a hot afternoon and a heat-related emergency.