New Delhi, Aug. 17 -- Every weekday morning, Rishi Kumar finds himself caught in what he calls 'a slow-motion whirlpool of traffic' on his way to the office in central Delhi. "These roundabouts in Lutyens' Delhi really test my patience and my driving skills, and cause unexpected delays in reaching office," he says. "They are beautiful, but they are also big traffic bottlenecks now."

Kumar's frustration is shared by millions of commuters who find it hard to tackle the increasingly gridlocked roundabouts across Indian cities, where cars and auto rickshaws cut diagonally across lanes, two-wheelers try to squeeze between buses, and vehicles entering the circle keep pushing forward until those already inside are forced to brake.

The basic ru...