Obviously it will vary, but my experience in the suburbs of Minneapolis/St Paul (and driving in Europe and Australasia) has been the total opposite. Instead of stop sign hell every block causing gridlock during busy times traffic actually flows. "Minor car debris" likely comes from drivers who don't understand driving etiquette (use your bloody turn signal!) rather than road design.

The mini-roundabout's success suggests otherwise: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roundabout#Mini-roundabouts