(See also; Staggered Road Junctions Diagram)

Expressed loosely;- crossroads were formed over eons as travellers from east to west crossed the paths of those from north to south etc.  This occurrence continues today and one has only to examine any crossroads to see that in the majority of cases drivers go straight over rather than turn left or right.  The potential for danger is obvious!

Staggered road junctions are quite a modern feature on our roads and they came about in an attempt to reduce the possibility of a crash as two vehicles (both at right angles to, and unseen by, the other) approached crossroads intending to continue straight ahead.

The idea attempted to remove the crossroads danger element and force drivers to slow or stop at a road junction before continuing on their way and in the main they have achieved this quite successfully.  You will note that most staggered road junctions have been formed by creating a ‘kink' in one of the minor roads in order to achieve the two separate junctions.

There are two types of staggered road junction and both present their own set of hazards.  The use of the commonly employed phrases ‘safe' and ‘unsafe' to describe the two are misleading because neither is safe - in fact both are highly dangerous because to all intent and purposes they are still crossroads.

Therefore, whenever you approach a staggered road junction you should be aware of the probability that a vehicle coming from the minor road will generally want to continue straight ahead and possibly across your direction of travel.    GKB 2013