Dangereous drivers force road rethink
 

It seems dangerous drivers "are forcing" the council to change a road layout.

I know this crossroads
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYeeTvitvFU

https://www.hants.gov.uk/News/08102020Ipleycrossroads

I'll have to take a drive to see if the work has been done.

macafee2

I would avoid an extra journey to check that out!

A cheaper and simpler solution would be for drivers to stop at the stop line and look left and right :) In the video drivers were not stopping at the stop line. If cameras were put there to catch and prosecute those drivers that did not stop, a penny to a pound says people would moan and say it is all about making money.

Change the road layout in the New Forest a National Park, I wonder how easy it was to get that plan passed.

macafee2

Agree, it is hard to believe that with such good visibility there are accidents at the junction.

Not far into the forest from jtn 1 I came across a caravan minus a wheel a few years ago. Very bumpy in that area to tow a caravan at 40 let alone more then that.

macafee2

Caravan speed limit is generally 50mph where appropriate. 60mph on motorway

Except where indicated otherwise, i.e. at that location.

As the guy in the video indicated, it is the staggered crossroads that is the problem. There is an equally dangerous staggered crossroads beside the Chieftain factory on the A45 Coalisland road/ Farlough Road intersection which has several accidents and near misses a year. The approach on the main road has a slight bend approaching from Dungannon and limited visibility from Farlough road with vehicles darting out whenever there is a break in traffic. Rush hour is the most dangerous time. Really needs traffic lights but sadly there is no chance of that happening (despite petitions) until the body count piles up.

I think it is the visibility that actually causes the issue. If you look at it, it appears to be open, with the road surfaces not very visible until it is too late. Looking ahead, it appears as though the road continues. With vehicles coming from the left and right seemingly being small in your peripheral vision ie not immediately noticeable.

Imagine the same road with hedgerows continuing until around 50 feet from the end of the road, where it either stops or curves around each corner. From a distance this gives the appearance of a break in the road, therefore making people aware that there is some form of junction.

We have a number of crossroads like these, a lot of them have been staggered over the years for obvious reason. However, the majority of them have some kind of visible warning that there is a break in the road, therefore alerting the driver to be aware. One example not as dramatic looking due to the height of the camera, is HERE, but it shows the references around. Quite a lot of the roads in a 10 mile radius of where I live, are like this, but I cannot think of one as open as that in the OP. A simple privet hedge at each corner I think would alleviate a lot of the issues.

I drove to the cross roads this afternoon. There is no problems with visibility. The chap in the video pointed out it was the A pillar of cars that was an issue as well as cars approaching the stop sign were coming from behind the cars travelling south on the main road, from the right. It did not look that way this afternoon.
I don't think he mentioned that drivers fail to stop at the stop line which could be seen in his video. The size of the A pillar "would not be an issue" if people stopped and looked.

The work has not been done, there is a fenced off area that I presume will be the new part of the road. Now here is a thought.
Traffic will approach the main road, stop, pull out onto main road, turn left, drive only a "few" yards and either slow or stop to turn right and...... get rear ended cos they pulled out in front of an approaching car. They need to swop the side roads so drivers turn left of the main road and not right.

macafee2

when I posted I had thought turning left as better but it makes no difference, I don't know why I got myself confused but I did, sorry.
Rear end risk remains