12 of the Deadliest Roads in the World

You may feel inclined to scream your head off during the height of rush hour as you commute to and from the city but we guarantee you that the experience is downright pleasant compared to what you are about to see. City planning in first world countries has largely made driving around a chore more so than a threatening experience, even accounting for all of the reckless drivers out there. However, driving can be deadlier than ever if you find yourself on the wrong roads in the wrong places. We decided to pull together a list of the 12 deadliest roads in the world. Buckle up and slow down because things are about to get dangerous.

Karnali Highway

Renting a car in Nepal should come with online car insurance, of that we have no doubt. While much of Nepal is properly paved for driving there are still exceptions, namely the Karnali Hightway. Most of the roads into and out of the Himalayas are going to be treacherous for drivers used to the Western ways of the world and the Karnali Highway is no different. This is a 155 mile stretch of road that is mostly made out of rough rock and dirt. Surfaces tend to get slick with perspiration and the constant dips and rises will destroy the bottom of your vehicle. According to traffic statistics about 50 people die per year on this road. Despite this we still see many cyclists make the trip out there purely to try and traverse the terrain. We don’t get it either.

Commonwealth Avenue

If you find yourself as a tourist driving in the Philippines then you should make sure to have some great low cost car insurance companies on speed dial. Driving in the Philippines can be a nightmare for tourists and it can be downright deadly if you find yourself on the Commonwealth Avenue located in Quezon City. The Commonwealth Avenue is a painted picture of everything that anxious drivers fear: 8+ poorly marked lanes, cyclists, police officers, and ridiculous traffic laws. The sheer insanity of rush hour leads to a multitude of accidents seemingly by the hour and fatalities are sadly commonplace. To navigate this treacherous road, considered one of the most dangerous urban roads in the world, you need confidence and strict maneuvering abilities as well as a bit of luck.

Atlantic Road

Norway is one of the most beautiful countries on earth that few people are taking the time to go see despite a relatively cheap flight and adequate lodging. The Atlantic Road, which connects the islands of Kristansund and Molde to one another, can be both a high point and a low point on your travels. The Atlantic Road can be a beautiful and scenic experience if you go through it during the right time periods. However, if you find yourself along the oceanic stretch, traversing up to eight bridges, during a storm you will quickly find out why the road is so deadly. The ocean stretch of bridges gets battered by waves and winds during storms and leads to many car accidents and fatalities. If you go on a trip during the right time of day then you’ll be treated with one of the most beautiful and scenic road trips imaginable. It’s all about timing, we guess. The road itself is just 5.14 miles long and was built from 1983 to 1989.

James Dalton Highway

Driving in Alaska can range from a pretty cool experience to absolute dread in the blink of an eye. The pros and cons are actually pretty similar here. It’s pretty awesome to drive in a place so lacking in over populated areas. It’s also terrifying to take roads like the James Dalton Highway for that same reason: you are pretty much completely alone in the middle of nowhere. Due to Alaskan terrain this highway is just pock marked with epic potholes and the flat surface also leads to increased wind which pushes your car around while flinging debris at you at the same time. We advise keeping safety blankets, food, and heating utilities on hand while driving here.

Vitim River Bridge

If dangerous roads can become tourism destinations then we fully believe the Vitim River Bridge may become popular one day. Located in Siberia, the Vitim River Bridge spans the Vitim River which is an offshoot of the Lena River. Called an ‘adventure road’, this bridge is a single lane entity with no guardrails and a straight drop into the water. The bridge is only six feet wide and made up of crickety old wood. During the winter this wood becomes slick with ice and travel becomes borderline impossible. Only 34 people have recorded actually making it over the bridge alive, though it is just 1,870 feet long. Barely wide enough for a car to fit, we deem this road a hard pass from us.

Federal Highway 1

If you wind up on Federal Highway 1, spanning along the Baja Peninsula in Mexico, you will be treated to some beautiful sights. You will also be treated to sharing a road with people that don’t require drivers licenses. The road straggles along for around 1,000 miles and it routinely dips near cliffs and climbs up mountains. Several states in Mexico don’t require drivers to pass a drivers test so this means that the road becomes esven more dangerous as a result.

Luxor-al-Hurghada Road

Certain roads become dangerous thanks to adverse weather conditions and others become dangerous due to the natural terrain. The Luxor-al-Hurghada Road, located in Egypt, is dangerous because of those aforementioned things and more: bandits. Driving this road at night can be a recipe for disaster as bandits have been known to constantly target travelers. It has gotten so bad that some drivers will go without using their headlines at night solely to avoid getting any attention drawn to themselves. The way we see it: we don’t need to be on any road where bandits are likely hanging out.

Route 622

Route 622 is an infamous road located in the Westfjords of Northwestern Iceland. To call this a road would be kind as it is really more of a paved, dangerous, hardcore trail to ride on. if you manage to muster up the courage to take the trip you will need a vehicle that has both high ground clearance and studly 4WD. The road is unpaved and conditions worsen dramatically if even a drizzle of rain passes through.

Skippers Canyon Road

This road was built in New Zealand’s South Island almost 150 years ago during the great gold rush. The road was chipped out of a mountain side by hand thanks to a ton of miners who needed to get through to find prospective riches on the other side. The road is almost 17 miles long and absolutely terrifyingly narrow. The road is unpaved, one way, and ringed in by a cliff side drop off of deadly proportions. The road is so dangerous that insurance companies in the area refuse to honor your service if you willingly take the road.

Fairy Meadows Road

The name of this road implies anything but fear and yet here we are, ranking the Pakistani road #5 on the deadliest roads in the world list. The World Health Organization rated the road a ‘9 out of 10’ when it comes to danger and the reasons are plentiful. The road is at a high altitude and there are a severe lack of modern safety conveniences. The lack of guard rails and pavement make any sort of travel consistently treacherous and the drop off from the cliffs is completely deadly. Randomized narrowing roads and sharp turns make this an almost impossibly scary road to drive on.

BAM Road

Do you want an adventure that could potentially lead you and your car to complete destruction? Will you settle for just reading about one? Ah, good. The BAM Road is one of the deadliest roads on the entire planet and as such it has become a haven for thrill seekers. This road stretches across 2,700 miles throughout Siberia, Russia. To navigate the length of this road you’ll have to deal with broken down wooden bridges, gravel roads, and borderline impassable sections due to weather elements. In order to make it through this road trip you’ll need to have an off road vehicle or an adventure motorcycle. Oh, yeah, and a lot of nerve.

Old Yungas Road

Bolivia is a beautiful country and there are many reasons to visit and tour the place. However, you would do best to skip out on taking the Old Yungas Road which has been christened as the deadliest road on the planet. Unfortunately the Yungas Road is one of the few routes that you can take in order to to get from La Paz to Coroico. The road itself zig zags along the mountain side at heights of of over 15,000 feet before dipping down to heights of 3,900 feet. You’ll experience rainforests and mountain terrain all in a moments time. The road itself has no guard rails and sheer cliff drops of over 2,000 straight feet at multiple points. This is a single lane road that leads to an estimated 300 deaths per year. In fact, the road is so deadly that it has become something of a tourist destination — figure that out for yourself.