Wednesday, September 26, 2007

The Most Dangerous Roads in the World

1. Bolivia's "Road of Death"

North Yungas Road is hands-down the most dangerous in the world for motorists. If other roads could be considered impassable, this one clearly endangers your life. It runs in the Bolivian Andes, 70 km from La Paz to Coroico, and plunges down almost 3,600 meters in an orgy of extremely narrow hairpin curves and 800-meter abyss near-misses. A fatal accident happens there every couple of weeks, 100-200 people perish there every year. In 1995 the Inter-American Development Bank named the La Paz-to-Coroico route "the world's most dangerous road."

Among the route there are many visible reminders of accidents, wreckages of lorries and trucks lie scattered around at the bottom...


The buses and heavy trucks navigate this road, as this is the only route available in the area. Buses crowded with locals go in any weather, and try to beat the incoming traffic to the curves. It does not help that the fog and vapors rise up from the heavily vegetated valley below, resulting in almost constant fogs and limited visibility. Plus the tropical downpours cause parts of the road to slide down the mountain.
Apparently some companies make business on the road's dubious fame by selling the extreme bike tours down that road. "Gravity Assisted Mountain Biking" is one of them.
If you are nuts enough to consider it, please be advised that you will be only adding to the road hazards, as it's hard to spot a cyclist on the road's hairpin curves, and your shrieks (as you fall down the abyss) will disturb the peace and quiet of the villagers nearby.


















2. Russian Siberian Road to Yakutsk

This is the official federal-government highway to Yakutsk, and it is also the only one to get there. As there are no other roads, the intrepid motorists are doomed to wallow in this dirt, or wait in week-long 100 km car line-ups (they say women even gave birth there while waiting). This can turn into a major humanitarian disaster during rainy spells, when the usual clay covering of the road turns into impassable mud blanket, swallowing trucks and tractors alike. In the meantime the city has to partly airlift food products.




















































3. Russian-Georgian "Military" Mountain Roads
Sukhumi "Military" road in the former Soviet Georgia, in Caucasus mountains, which truckers and wine-drunk crazy "Lada" drivers navigate with the utter abandon, typical of the local mountain people...


8 comments:

Anonymous said...

That is so cool. My 12 year old son was actually telling me about the road in Bolivia the other day. I'll have to show him this post.

Ivica Miskovic said...

Thanks! I am happy that you like this article, bookmark this blog, soon i will put some new content about most dangerous road , you cant believe your eyes, trust me

Areekkodan | അരീക്കോടന്‍ said...

Oh....Really breath taking....
Also is there roads in that accident pictures?
I thoght this is the condition of our state Kerala in India and now it found to be a universal problem..ha..ha...haaa...

Clearcut Communicator said...

Hi Ivica,

Very interesting blog entry. I am in E. Africa and i have a new automotive buy and sell magazine with a section where i ask readers to write in about their mishaps on the road. I am interested in using your write up about the Bolivian Road if you'd allow me to with your credit? the magazine is not sold but distributed freely.

Clearcut Communicator said...

Hi Ivica,

Very interesting blog entry. I am in E. Africa and i have a new automotive buy and sell magazine with a section where i ask readers to write in about their mishaps on the road. I am interested in using your write up about the Bolivian Road if you'd allow me to with your credit? the magazine is not sold but distributed freely.

Ivica Miskovic said...

Zuhra - Offcourse, why not.. ;) Soon i will publish 2.nd part of the Most Dangerous roads... Need to see that ;)

Anonymous said...

I lost my Grandfather on the Death Road.

Chanelle said...

There will be no driving down roads like these. Not for me!