Traveling is fun. We get to go to exotic locations, enjoy great food, learn about different cultures, and get away. However, with travel certainly comes some intrigue and, in this case, danger. As in roads that you would be wise to avoid.
As you’ll see, these roads and highways have many common themes: high elevation, no guardrails, poor maintenance, hairpin turns, extremely narrow, high travel (including pedestrians), beautiful scenery (ie – major driver distractions), and, in a few cases, few (if any) road markings.
The views and description on the video might make you think twice about where to vacation next summer.
Some of the roads mentioned that you’ll want to avoid include (with pictures from myfirstclasslife):
Patiopoulo-Perdikaki Road, Greece
At 23.5 kilometers long and with elevation changes over only 500 meters it doesn’t sound scary. However, if you add in the poor road quality, rare road markings, heavy traffic, people, and animals, tight turns, and loose safety standards and it’ll make you think twice.
Taroko Gorge Road, Taiwan
Carved into and through mountains this road is not for the faint of heart. Drivers face constant danger on the narrow roads from erosion, landslides, and deep mud pits from the huge amounts of rain and earthquakes.
Skippers Canyon Road, New Zealand
You know it’s a road you probably should avoid when rental insurance agencies won’t let you take their cars on this road. It’s so narrow that if two cars meet one will have to back up (for many miles) to create enough space for the other to pass.
Passage de Gois, France
A relatively short and straight road (only about 3 miles long) that links France to an Atlantic Coastal Island. However, looks can be deceiving. This road gets submerged twice per day as the tide comes in. Many motorists end up losing their cars to the rising waters just by timing their trips incorrectly. You’ll want your tide charts before risking this roadway.
Tianmen Mountain Road, China
Don’t eat lunch before going on this road. At 11 kilometers in length it boasts 99 hairpin turns and has a huge elevation change. Although not as narrow as some of the other roads shown its constant sharp turns result in many fatal accidents and near misses.
Zojila Pass, India
This is one of the most dangerous 9 mile stretches in the world. Located in the Himalayan Mountains at an elevation of 11,575 feet (over 2 miles high) drivers must contend with high winds, large amounts of snow (winter) and mud, narrow lanes, steep drops, and poor traction. It gets so treacherous in the winter months that India has to close the road in order to clear it. Drive on this road at your own risk.
On the video, you’ll also see a couple of others that are quite dangerous. One in Egypt is notorious for drivers traveling without their lights on (to avoid terrorists and bandits) and another highway through the middle of Australia where people routinely fall asleep because the road is straight with no exits (and very boring) for several hundred miles.
Click next to see the video footage and a couple of other roads that will elevate your blood pressure if you decide to drive on them.
