Despite being an extremely open and seemingly not dangerous junction in the middle of the British countryside, the Yew Tree Heath Road junction that crosses paths with Beaulieu Road (the major road) is the place where two cyclists have died, and many more people injured. Why at such an open junction you may ask? Well Tom Scott made an extremely well explained video, with Ashley Neal doing a more recent follow up, as the crossroads have been fixed now, as Yew Tree Heath Road now joins Beaulieu Road at a right angle, forcing drivers who would’ve normally gone straight across the junction at speeds in excess of 40mph in the old design, to slow down, make a left and then a right turn.
The reason these fatalities happen is due to the intersection angle of these two roads. As Tom Scott brilliantly explains in his video which was made all the way back in 2020, named “why this british crossroads was so dangerous”, the roads do not approach at right angles, but an awkward angle which may allow cyclists to be hidden in the A-pillar of vehicles on the minor road. Those who think it is clear will continue on, hitting a cyclist they have not seen. The cyclist cannot see the car driver either; the car approaches from behind the cyclist.
Tom Scott really shone light on the matter, informing us the only real option is to stagger the crossing, as speedbumps, chicanes, or similar types of traffic calming are not legal without street lighting, which means miles of new electrical cabling, and potentially ruining the local area’s famous dark skies. Same issue with a traffic light.
In 2022, this issue was resolved by a £500,000 investment by the government to re-align the road to force the drivers to slow down more on the approach. The stop signs were removed and replaced with “give way” or yield signs, as the stop signs were no longer necessary.
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new forest, ipley cross, ashley neal, tom scott, uk, kerosene, flashbacks, british, england, beaulieu, Beaulieu Road, yew tree heath road, the new forest, justanotherbrit, Britain, united kingdom, kerosene flashbacks, blindspot, apillarblindspot, failtostop, stopjunction, both parties failed to see each other
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Locations: 50°51’45.5″N 1°27’17.7″W
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