Feel the Thrill – 10 Most Dangerous Driving Roads in the World

Seemingly put on Earth for the heroic, the daring and the just plain crazy drivers out there, these 10 foreboding roads are quite simply the most life threatening places to drive in the world. Buckle up as we take a journey to the locations that even the likes of Lewis Hamilton would think twice about visiting.

Guoliang Tunnel Road, China

Many local villagers died constructing this 1,200 metre long tunnel cut into the Taihang Mountains located in the Hunan Province of China. Just 4 metres wide and 5 metres high, driving through the Guoliang Tunnel Road is a hair-raising experience many would rather avoid.

Splugen Pass, Italy

This crazily zigzagging road contains an incredible 42 hairpin bends and is a dizzying 2,113 metres at its summit. As if the road itself wasn’t a white knuckle test for even the most experienced rally drivers, a succession of dark tunnels adds to the kamikaze factor of the Splugen Pass. Take the San Bernardino Tunnel, it’s far safer!

Lysebotn Road, Norway

Yikes. Lovely as the scenery is, this bizarre route is exceptionally challenging so keep your eyes on the snaking road before you. A total of 27 hairpin bends will test your steering skills before a 1,100 metre tunnel tries your nerves. Only for the brave, this is a beautiful drive.

Atlas Mountains Road, Morocco

Looking like an immense python coiled around the Atlas Mountains, this perilous dust track would be dangerous enough without the questionable driving skills of the locals for whom the road is a genuine lifeline. The scorching sun bearing down on your vehicle makes it even harder to concentrate.

Leh-Manali Highway, India

The simply stunning Leh-Manali Highway stretches over 297 miles along the Himalayas mountain range reaching a vertiginous altitude of 3 miles above sea level at the highest points. Rusted crashed vehicles litter the way hundreds of metres beneath the road, hardly inspiring confidence. Only open six months of the year due to heavy snowfall, this one takes backbone to traverse.

Halsema Highway, Philippines

At 150 miles long the Halsema Highway is easily one of the most treacherous roads in the world. During the rainy season it becomes a veritable death trap as mud and rock slides render it impassable. Climbing up to 7,400 ft at its summit, there are no guard rails and it’s a long way down!

Col de Turini, France

This Gallic 15.3 km mountain pass through the Alps comprises a stage of the Monte Carlo Rally and has many hairpin turns along its impossibly tight road. Until fairly recently, crazy drivers would even speed along Col de Turini at night, their high beam lights causing the event to be named the Night of the Long Knives

Cotopaxi Volcan Road, Ecuador

Running approximately six miles up and around Cotopaxi Volcano, one of the world’s highest active volcanoes at 5,897 metres, your vehicle might need asbestos body paint if it decides to blow its top. Even the coolest driver is sure to feel a little hot under the collar during their ascent.

Taroko Gorge Road, Taiwan

Unfortunately, the scenic beauty of this road adds to its danger, as tourists make the winding mountain pass even more congested. The tunnels cut out of the mountain are a dazzling feat of engineering, but don’t marvel at the architecture too long, there are only tiny blocks to prevent your car from toppling off the mountain and becoming part of the panorama.

North Yungas Road, Bolivia

Would you choose to use a road the locals call El Camino de la Muerte? That’s the Road of Death to the English speaking thrill-seeker. You would have to be completely barmy to drive along this road by choice, which has an approximate death rate of 300 motorists a year. A single -lane 40 mile nightmare, if you don’t spin off the road to your doom there’s always the frequent landslides to tremble over.

This is a guest post on behalf of VroomVroomVroom.co.uk – a car hire comparison website based in the UK.

Filed Under: Car Opinions • Driving • Feature