“A staggered crossroad is one where the side roads are not opposite each other. When you see a staggered crossroad sign, it indicates that you are on the main road and that road will be joining on both sides. This sign shows that the first road will be on the left and the second road will be on the right.
As with all junctions, you need to scan the road well ahead to identify where the side roads are and look for traffic and pedestrian movement.
At some staggered junctions, the side roads are quite a long way apart. Because of this, you must always be aware that a vehicle, that is pulled out of the first side road ahead of you, might not pick up speed. It might be about to turn off into the second side road.
When emerging at a staggered crossroads, you need to be aware of traffic that might be pulling out from the junction on the opposite side of teh main road. What is the red car doing here? The driver has signal to turn right but has he or she seen the yellow car? The red car might pull out at the same time as the yellow car. This is not a problem as long as the drivers are aware, but could cause major problems if they have not seen each other.
If you intend to turn left and then right, or vice versa, take special care to ensure that you don’t cause problems for drivers on the main road. When they see you pull out, they will probably be expecting you to increase speed as you would normally do when emerging from a T-Junction and could be taken by surprise when you go slowly in order to make your second turn. This means that you need to leave bigger safety margins, making sure that the gap in the traffic is big enough to allow you to complete the turn safely.
The key points are:
– A staggered crossroad is one where the side roads are not opposite each other.
– Staggered crossroad signs indicate which side road is nearest.
– Drivers pulling out of the side road at a staggered crossroad might not speed up.
– Leave a bigger gap than normal in traffic when emerging to go ahead at a staggered crossroad.”
