Dangerous roads claim the lives of many people every year. It makes you wonder, what is it about the most beautiful, remote, and deadly places on earth that make people from every race and culture go, “We can travel there. Frequently.
Let’s build a road!” It seems like some of the most dangerous places on earth are also some of the most beautiful. Yet sometimes, these deadly roads are just boring highways a few miles away that are deadly because of frequent human error. However they got their reputation, here are 25 of the most dangerous roads on earth.
Trollstigen - Norway
Source: http://www.dangerousroads.org/ Trollstigen (or Troll’s Ladder) is a narrow mountain road in Norway with a 9% gradient, 11 hairpin turns, fog, poor traction, and limited visibility during rain. Local government has attempted to widen this dangerous road where possible, but there are many places where that’s impossible because, you know…mountain.
Passage Du Gois - France
Source: http://www.amusingplanet.com/ This bridge goes underwater with the tide, so if you don’t time your crossing correctly, things will go poorly for you. Even when it’s not underwater, the Passage Du Gois is always wet, and littered with slippery seaweed and other random things from the ocean. This is why most people build tunnels or bridges. All that said…it’s kinda cool. But I’m not driving on it. Ever.
Luxor-al-Hurghada Road - Egypt
Source: http://www.gonzotrucker.com/ Luxor-al-Hurghada is 299 miles through the blistering heat of the Egyptian desert, with legit bandits. Yes, bandits. So if you break down, you’re in the middle of nowhere, cooking in your own juices, and then…bandits (or disgruntled local militia men, whatever). Some people drive very fast (even at night) along the mostly unlit road (sometimes without their headlights!) to avoid the bad guys, and it often ends about how you’d imagine. Did we mention legit, real, not in a movie, bandits?
Kuandinsky bridge over Vitim River - Sibera
Source: http://www.travelchannel.com/ Image: Сергей Доля This bridge is wide enough for only one car, made of rotting wood and rusting metal (because it snows ALL THE TIME), and has no safety rails. Because it snows all the time, it’s always slippery. Yet people cross this bridge every day. Not sure if they win a prize for bravery or are simply disregarding with their own mortality. (Image used with permission from Blog From Russia)
Eyre Highway - Australia
Source: http://www.dangerousroads.org/ Eyre Highway is the definition of a long, lonely road. It looks kind of like Mad Max meets wombats, but it’s so long and desolate that many drivers fall asleep, leading to a high number of accidents and fatalities. If it were in the US, there’d be a Wawa and billboards to give you something to look forward to, but instead…this road literally bores people to death.
