Road Injury

The 10 Most Dangerous Roads in the world, where road injury is a common occurrence.

World’s Most Dangerous Road # 1 | Road Injury

Bolivia’s Death Road

Road death is more common on this Bolivian Road than road injury.  Death Road spans 35 miles between La Paz and Coroico in Bolivia is estimated to claim the lives of 200-300 travelers every year.  Despite the fact that the death toll is extremely high, the beautiful landscape view keeps thrill seekers to travel the dangerous terrain. The road was built in 1930s during the Chaco War by Paraguayan prisoners.  Because of the extreme dropoffs up to 2,000 feet, single-lane width, and lack of guardrails, the road is extremely dangerous.  The rain and fog can make visibility precarious.  The road surface is muddy, and loosen rocks from the hillsides above.  In Bolivia’s worst bus accident, more than 100 people were killed when the vehicle veered of Yungas road into a canyon on July 24, 1983. The 64 km stretch of continuous downhill riding make this a hot spot for mountain biker enthusiasts.  At least 13 of these cyclists have been killed on the ride.

World’s Most Dangerous Road # 2 | Road Injury

China’s Guoliang Tunnel Road

Located in the Taihang Mountains of China, the small village of Guoliang is sitting on a mountaintop and was isolated from the rest of the world. The only way to reach it was to walk through a valley surrounded by steep cliffs, and then climb a series of cut out stone steps. Cut off from the rest of the world, the village was doomed to become a ghost town, unless a road could be constructed trough the cliffs.  This all changed in 1972. When the Chinese government decided it wasn’t worth to invest several millions into a road that would only be used by 300 people, the villagers decided to dig the tunnel road themselves. It was their only hope to get connected to the rest of the world.  Without any training, the construction of the tunnel was very dangerous. Farmers were working with explosives on the steep cliffs. Some of them died in fatal construction accidents, but the others kept on digging. Finally, on May 1, 1977, the tunnel was opened to traffic.  Today, the route—15 feet high and 12 feet wide—is a tight squeeze for vehicles, twisting past the tunnel’s 30 “windows,” which provide views off the precipice to a tumbling abyss hundreds of feet below.

World’s Most Dangerous Road # 3 | Road Injury

Chile’s Ruta 5: Arica to Iquique Road

Ruta 5, connecting Arica to Iquique, is the most dangerous road in Chile. Apart from the countless winding valleys you have to navigate, the bleak and colorless scenery give you a sense of isolation and create quite an eerie silence.  Cutting through the arid Atacama Desert, the road has many steep dropoffs and often experiences strong winds. Many small mausoleums can be seen roadside throughout the drive.

World’s Most Dangerous Road # 4 | Road Injury

Russia’s Siberian Road to Yakutsk

Connecting Moscow with the coldest place outside Antarctica, this road couldn’t be paved for weather reasons. In the winter there’s limited visibility, rain, snow, ice.  Did we mention that the winter lasts for 10 months of the year?   You would think that July and August, the two months of higher temperatures, would be a relief, but that is not the case.  The fact that the road is not paved means that it becomes a muddy slip and slide when the temperature becomes warmer and it rains.  Car jams in the thousands have been recorded.  Injury from a car accident or car jams are not the only thing that you have to fear.  Bored commuters have been known to kidnap, burglar, and fight other drivers when stopped on the road.

 World’s Most Dangerous Road # 5 | Road Injury

 China’s Sichuan-Tibet Highway

The Sichuan-Tibet Highway is the longest high altitude road in China at present. It was built from April, 1950 to December, 1953. It’s 2,758 metres above sea level and an absolute marvel of engineering. Consruction of the road was very difficult due to the tough terrain.  Landslides and rock avalanches are common. The construction of the highway began in April 1950, and on December 25,1954, it was open.  It traverses a number of rivers rising up 14 mountains with altitudes of between 4,000 and 5,000 meters. One of the most dangerous sections along this highway is the Trola Mountain.  The sight of wrecked vehicles scattered along the highway are a common scene.

World’s Most Dangerous Road # 6 | Road Injury

Alaska’s James Dalton Highway

Made famous by the reality TV series Ice Road Truckers, Alaska’s 414-mile James Dalton Highway is the only land link between the Arctic Sea oil fields and, well, civilization. Truck traffic picks up during the long, dark winter, when Arctic winds batter the highway and 12% grades turn into treacherous miles-long Slip’N Slides. During the summer, beware the rocks and dust kicked up by the speeding trucks.

World’s Most Dangerous Road # 7 | Road Injury

Greece’s Patiopoulo-Perdikaki Road

The road between the towns of Patiopoulo and Perdikaki in the Agrafa region ofGreece is renowned for its numerous perils! To call it a road is a bit kind, it’s more of a gravel riddled dirt track on which numerous deaths are recorded each year!  There are several reason why it’s dangerous and can cause injury.  The inability to stop on the loose gravel, enormous potholes, sheer drops on both sides and extreme narrowness and high traffic volume are some of the reasons why the road is so dangerous and can cause injury.  The Patipuolo – Pedikaki road is either a steep climb or descent with minimal grip due to the loose gravel surface riddled with enormous potholes. It is extremely narrow with severe drops on either side of the sloping track and there are no barriers to stop weary travellers from plummeting to their doom! The road is bustling with everything from pedestrians, livestock to motorcycles, trucks, buses and cars! Without any markings, judging distance from the edge is extremely difficult and avoiding the drops even in the light of day is hard enough but the problem is even more apparent at night when most accidents occur.

World’s Most Dangerous Road # 8 | Road Injury

Norway’s Trollstigen Road

The Trollstigen is a part of the Norwegian national road RV63, connecting the cities Ondalsnes in the commune Rauma and Valldal in the commune Norddal. This road was opened by King Haakon VII on July 31st, 1936 after 8 years of construction. Even today, the Trollstigen is an example of engineering design and art. You have to make 11 sharp turns ascending the road. There is a bridge over the waterfall Stigfossen in the middle of the climb. There is a large parking lot and a lot of souvenir shops at the top, 858 meters above the sea level. The observation platform is located a few minutes walk from the parking lot. It is 180 meters height. The road ‘s width does not exceed 3.3 meters in some places. It is prohibited to drive a car that is longer than 12.4 meters here.

World’s Most Dangerous Road # 9 | Road Injury

England’s The A682 Road

The A682 Road is Britain’s Number 1 Killer Road.  It ranks with highways from Bolivia to Baghdad for deaths and injuries.  The 14 mile single lane A682 between junction 13 of the M65 near Nelson, Lancs, and Long Preston in North Yorkshire, had 22 serious accidents in the past three years – two of them fatal.  There have been nearly 100 deaths or serious injuries on one 15-mile stretch in the last decade.

World’s Most Dangerous Road # 10 | Road Injury

Italy’s Stelvio Pass Road

This road is the second-highest drive you can take in the Alps, following the Col de l’Iseran.   It features 48 hairpin turns at high altitude. If you lose control at one of these corners, you’ll take quite a tumble.

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