Tuesday 28 April 2020

Welcome to Ipley Cross, Britain's creepiest intersection

There aren't any official numbers to prove it, but Ipley Cross is often hailed among England's most dangerous intersections, or "crossroads" as that land of knife-wielding spongiform hobbits calls it. I don't want to spoil Tom Scott's excellent four-minute explainer, but will point out that you'll get a visceral taste of the problem about 16 seconds in.

Ipley Cross, in the middle of the New Forest, is one of the most dangerous road junctions in Britain. Why? • Thanks to Bez, whoever you are: their definitive article on this junction is here.

You can sense something odd about the environment just looking at it. Long lines of sight suggest visibility, but hillocks create blind spots approaching the intersection. The huge clearing gives the uncanny impression of a trap cut in the forest. But it's the peculiar perfect geometry of the roads that draw automobiles and bikes into constant bearing and diminishing range, hidden from one anothers' view by door pillars and helmets until it's too late.

That said, I'm pretty sure this intersection is an SCP.