Three of Madison's most crash prone intersections are roundabouts:
http://www.channel3000.com/news/Three-of-Madison-s-most-crash-prone-intersections-are-roundabouts/16170598
That article is from 3 years ago. Virtually all of Madison's roundabouts are out of the top ten list in the report from last year.
According to the article, none of the intersections were in the top 25 list before they were converted to roundabouts though. I think the crash results are meaningful. Keep in mind, this is around the time Rep. Craig introduced a bi-partison bill that would give more control to local communities to what roundabouts get built and less control to Madison bureaucrats. Did the early crash results from Madison and Oshkosh play a part in that? I think the public takes notice (and voice concerns to their elected officials) when they read articles stating that crashes have spiked after the completion of a roundabout.
Yes, the crash results are meaningful,
all crash results are meaningful...especially more recent ones showing roundabouts are becoming safer (two roundabouts remained on the top-ten list for Madison, at least as of the 2013 data, but dropped in position):
2013 Madison Police Report,
Madison.com 2014 News Story. As both suggest, failure to yield and improper turn/lane usage top the list of reasons - two items that are not directly correlated with the size of the roundabout, but rather driver behavior. Two of the biggest prior offenders - the pair on Thompson Dr, dropped off the list after residing there for several years.
As for the failed legislation, when did adding more bureaucracy ever solve anything? Intersection projects are approved by the DOT, not by the legislators, however, they can persuade the DOT to increase the priority of a project. Many of the roundabouts that have been constructed (albeit mostly of the single-lane variety) have been for serious crash injury issues, which the roundabouts have largely cured. Locals already get a say and I know of at least a dozen projects that were changed because of local input. It doesn't help when people don't follow the process and decide to complain after the comment periods have passed. While I'm sure the crash records had some impact, the bigger reason is there still is a large hatred of all roundabouts, many times without logical reasoning. The funny thing is, survey after survey continues to show the tables completely turning after a roundabout has been opened to traffic, with the number of those not liking the roundabouts shrinking dramatically.