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Why this British crossroads was so dangerous

Tom Scott · explainer · Watch on YouTube

Transit, cities & urban planningUX & UI design

What it is

Tom Scott explains why Ipley Cross in England's New Forest was one of Britain's most dangerous junctions. The angled crossroads lets a car's A-pillar hide approaching traffic and cyclists because there is no relative motion in the driver's view.

Why Hacker News recommends it

Used as the go-to visual demonstration of A-pillar blind spots and badly designed junctions.

  • 3 people recommended it
  • 3 different months
  • 0 strong recommendations
  • first 2020, last 2025

What HN commenters said

  1. “The Tom Scott video has a good animation on this”

    Good animation of cars approaching from behind cyclists.

    sitharus, 2020-04 · Recommendation · in “Collision Course: a type of road junction that is dangerous for cyclists (2018)”

  2. “Tom Scott made a good complementary video about this”

    A good complementary video on the junction.

    zinekeller, 2022-02 · Recommendation · in “Tesla to recall vehicles that may disobey stop signs”

  3. “Tom Scott has a good video for anyone looking for a visual of this phenomenon”

    Visual of a UK crossroads where the door pillar hides cyclists.

    DoughnutHole, 2022-08 · Recommendation · in “Effects of large vehicles on pedestrian and pedal-cyclist injury severity”

Excerpts from Hacker News comments, linked to the originals. Summaries and labels were written by a language model from those comments.

Topics: a-pillar blind spot, road design, cyclist safety, intersections, visibility

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