Carmel man seeks world record for time spent driving in a roundabout

As she was leaving their Carmel home to go to work, Cathy Sands had one request for her husband: Don't embarrass the family.

Too late.

"I said, 'I'm driving around in a roundabout for three hours,'" Oran Sands said. "I think I've already embarrassed us.'"

Trying to set a RecordSetter world record, Sands drove his black, 1987 Volkswagen Cabriolet to the roundabout at 106th Street and Keystone Parkway on Oct. 13. And he drove. Round and round and round and round.

He looped for three hours and 34 minutes. "Five minutes would have sufficed," he said, "but anybody else attempting to do that would at least have to beat that."

Sands, 64, got the idea for his record-setting attempt while on his way home from work one day. He is a software developer at home-security company Defender Direct. Adrift in his own thoughts, Sands said he missed his turn in a roundabout and had to circle around again. When he got to his turn for the second time, he realized no one else in the roundabout knew he was on his second lap.

"I realized if I went around one more time there would be an entire group of people around again," he said.

On the day of the attempt, Sands put two GoPro cameras in his car: one by the rearview mirror on the windshield and the other in the backseat facing the front of the car. He chose the same roundabout at 106th Street because it's dog-bone style, more oval than circle. The roundabout also has two lanes, so he wouldn't impede traffic.

Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard, a roundabout advocate, rode in the car with Sands for about 10 minutes. They put the top down on the convertible. The two men discussed driving, traffic and, of course, roundabouts.

"I was pretty dizzy after about 10 minutes with him," Brainard said.

The mayor said the record attempt is a testament to the safety and low cost of building roundabouts in cities. Brainard said Carmel has 94 roundabouts and six more are expected by spring.

By the end of the 3½-hour journey to nowhere, Sands said he drove about 65 miles and used less than a quarter tank of gas. His right foot fell asleep a couple of times. A few other drivers who heard about the attempt joined Sands, completing a few laps of their own before continuing on their way.

Sands said the footage of his drive was edited and posted on YouTube before being sent to RecordSetter, a world-record-chronicling company that evolved out of a project from the Nevada desert festival Burning Man.

Dan Rollman, chief executive officer of ReccordSetter, said Sands' submission was the first time the organization had recognized this kind of category.

"We have received Oran Sands submission and are thrilled to recognize it as an official RecordSetter.com World Record for 'Longest Time Driving In a Roundabout' (3 hours, 34 minutes, 33.24 seconds)," Rollman said in an email to The Indianapolis Star.

Sands has not yet sent a video to Guinness World Record representatives.

"It was just kind of a fun thing to do," Sands said.

A handful of friends cheered him on during his attempt.

His wife did not attend.

Call Star reporter Olivia Lewis at (317) 444-6126. Follow her on Twitter: @TheWrittenPeace.