MSN just ranked the Sea to Sky highway second on the list of the world’s most dangerous roads. Yeah weird I know. Take a peek at the list and look at the pictures then let me know what you think. Below is a list of the Top 15 Most Dangerous Roads in the World
World’s Most Dangerous Roads 15 to 1:
15. Sichuan-Tibet highway, China
Here’s a statistic for you – in 2006, for every 10,000 motorized vehicles there were 5.1 road deaths in China. This is probably (perversely) aided by the Sichuan-Tibet highway, which has high elevation and sees regular rock slides. The number of cars is growing and those numbers are set to rise …
14. Stelvio Pass – Italy
It’s 2,758m above sea level and a marvel of engineering. It’s also a bit of a bravery blackspot. The Stelvio Pass has become a favourite amongst auto enthusiasts as a place to push their cars to the limit to judge their handling. However, it isn’t uncommon to hear stories confirming that one’s car’s dynamics aren’t all that good while sailing through the air …
It’s steep. Really steep. It’s got an incline of nine per cent and features no less than 11 hairpins. The road climbs nearly a kilometer above sea level (nothing compared to an alp, but still) and its straights aren’t on uniform width – cars and buses must pull over to let one another by. Which can mean pulling over treacherously close to a long drop…
12. Ruta 5: Arica to Iquique Road, Chile
Wind is an issue here. Not the comedy kind but the “blow you off the road and throw you down a cliff” kind. There’s also the flat and monotonous terrain. That’s not ideal either, considering it’s pretty long and usually empty. There’s also other drivers speeding and smacking into one another.
11. James Dalton Highway, Alaska
This 666-km (no joke!) stretch of hell was built to support the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System. It’s not for “normal” cars, and it’s even worth reconsidering taking anything that doesn’t have a hardcore four-wheel-drive system. You’ll need fuel tanks, spare tires, food, radios, satellite phones and plenty of blankets to survive it. Or a massive truck (the Dalton provides the setting for the show Ice Road Truckers). Fuel is scarce and don’t expect the CAA to be any good up here.
10. Siberian Road to Yakutsk, Russia
Connecting Moscow with the coldest place outside Antarctica, this road couldn’t be paved (for weather reasons, apparently). In the winter there’s limited visibility, rain, snow, ice and all manner of chilly nastiness. That’s for 10 months of the year. The other two months (July and August) should be a gentle relief. But no. No paving means the road becomes a mud trap when it rains. Thousand-car-long jams aren’t unusual; and, to add insult to injury, while the jams are happening bored commuters have been known to kidnap, burgle and beat other drivers.
9. Luxor-Hurghada Road, Egypt
The road linking Luxor and Hurghada (in case you hadn’t guessed) gets hairy at night, because most drivers don’t turn their lights on. Cue massive head-on collisions and high fatality rates. But things can get more dicey if you turn your lights on – bandits and terrorists patrol the roads and happily shoot passers-by.
8. Grand Trunk Road, India – Afghanistan
This 16th-century stretch of road was built to connect India with the major cities of Pakistan and Afghanistan. The road hasn’t changed much since it was built, but the world has. Congestion, animals, pedestrians and all manner of other things populate it. Lots of them become statistics …
7. Cotopaxi Volcan, Ecuador
Tourists use this road quite a bit, but maybe they shouldn’t. The Cotopaxi Volcan road connects the Pan American Highway with the Cotopaxi Volcan national park. It’s a 40-km dirt track covered in potholes and runs through streams that like to flash flood. Not ideal if you’re on a family holiday.
6. Coastal Roads, Croatia
As Croatia rebuilt itself, its youth have found somewhere to play – the coastal roads. Seen as giant test tracks, there are plenty of accidents along them. You have rocks on one side, sea on the other; add in some eastern European driving standards – some of the worst in Europe according to the stats – into the mix and … ouch.
5. Pan American Highway, Costa Rica
The Costa Rican part of the truly epic Pan American Highway holds some of its most dangerous stretches. Nicknamed the Hill of Death, the section from Cartago to San Isidro de El General consists mainly of narrow curves and steep cliffs, and is susceptible to landslides and flash floods. Best avoided.
4. BR-116, Brazil
You can tell this road is a little dicey from its Portuguese nickname: Rodovia da Morte. For those of you who can’t guess, that means Highway of Death. How charming. Unlike Robin Hood’s Little John, the name is not ironic. The Curitiba – São Paulo stretch (which earned the nickname) winds around and through steep clif
3. Nairobi–Nakuru Highway, Kenya
As far as highways go, this one isn’t that long: a mere 140 km. It was recently repaved in an effort to stem road traffic accidents (as it was pretty dangerous before). Sadly this didn’t do much to stop the crashes. Drivers saw the smooth road as more of a raceway and now speeding is a massive problem. As are pedestrians walking across the speeding traffic.
2. Highway 99, Canada
You know that road that many consider to be the most beatuiful road in the world, the road that connects Vancouver to Whistler… Well apparently it is the second most dangerous road in the world… Maybe pre-construction it could have ranked top 10. Maybe. But probably not. But the newer four lane sea to sky is not the second most dangerous highway in the world. Just look at the pictures of the other roads.. they look like they should have death written on them. the sea to sky is full of life and smiles. Not death.
1. The North Yungas Road, Bolivia
It’s known as The Death Road. That should tell you enough. It’s unpaved, very narrow and prone to rain. Oh, and there’s a massive certain-to-end-your-life drop there, too. Traffic flow isn’t fast, with good reason. Over 100 people lose their lives on this road every year.