(from Yahoo! Cars UK)
Think your local roads are bad? From Bolivia to China and beyond, we name the world's 10 worst routes.
We all know local roads which can be considered 'dangerous' - poorly lit lanes, potholed tracks, stretches of motorway which attract the area's wannabe Schumachers and so on.But what are considered the worst roads if you're travelling overseas? Below, in reverse order, is a top 10 of the world's worst roads, compiled by the Association for Safe International Road Travel.These roads will have you driving among the clouds, along fast-eroding cliff tops with 3,500m drops, across deadly streams, through bandit territory and more. Suddenly, our local drive looks a whole lot less stressful...10) Grand Trunk Road (India) 'GT', as it's often called, was built about 500 years ago to connect the east and western regions of the Indian subcontinent. Rudyard Kipling called it 'a river of life', but for the modern driver it's a nightmare. The 1,550 mile road is full of trucks and rattling buses manned by drivers without much respect for their lives - or yours. And then there's the cyclists, the pedestrians, the salesmen, the ox carts, the cows, the buffalos... You get the idea.9) Patiopoulo-Perdikaki Road (Greece)This dirt track leads from Patiopoulo down to Perdikaki in the Agrafa region of Greece. It's steep, busy, full of huge potholes and extremely slippery (due to the gravel surface). It's also very narrow in places, with no lines or guard rails on the edges. That's less than ideal given the sheer drop… on BOTH sides. The majority of the many fatalities here occur at night. Funny, that.8) A44 (United Kingdom)Much of the A44, a major road which runs from Oxford in southern England to Aberystwyth in west Wales, is fairly innocuous, but a 25mile section between Leominster and Worcester has a load of blind corners. A quarter of accidents here involve vehicles leaving the road, and even more are head-on collisions. Campaigners have helped get the speed limit reduced to 40mph in recent years, and it's monitored closely by officials. Nevertheless, the route remains popular with speeding bikers.7) Luxor-al Hurghada Road (Egypt)Egypt's most dangerous road links two tourist locations - the ancient city of Luxor in the south, and Hurghada, a hub for diving schools on the coast of the Red Sea. The route is well-known bandit territory, with travellers facing a high risk of ambush and hijack. To avoid detection at night, the vast majority of drivers opt not to use their headlights. And that has a rather predicable side-effect...6) Cotopaxi Volcan (Ecuador)This 25mile-long dirt track, one of countless dangerous roads in Ecuador, connects the Pan American Highway with the Cotopaxi Volcan National Park, which boasts one of the highest active volcanoes in the world. The treacherous route is peppered with holes, but the 'highlight' of the journey comes when you need to cross a bridge-less stream. It's particularly dangerous during flash floods… and flash floods seem to occur here even in the lightest of rains. You won't find that mentioned in any travel brochure. 5) Coastal roads (Croatia)The Croatian coast (yes, a rather generic entry) makes the list due to the narrow and twisty nature of the roads, and a general lack of markings, lay-bys and side rails. For tourists, it's a particularly scary proposition when you add crazy, fast-driving Croats into the mix. The scenery on the jagged coast is absolutely stunning, but if you're driving, it's probably best to watch where you're going - and keep your fingers crossed that others do too.4) Pan American Highway (Costa Rica)The Pan-American Highway system, the longest drivable road in the world, runs an incredible 30,000 miles from Alaska to the lower reaches of South America. Several stretches can be considered 'tricky', but the most infamous section is Cerro de la Muerte, a high mountain pass which runs from San Isidro de El General to Cartago in Costa Rica. It's steep, narrow, twisty, full of holes and susceptible to flash floods and landslides. Did we mention that the name translates as Hill of Death?3) Sichuan-Tibet Highway (China)China has a massive population but, even so, the road accident figures make grim reading. At least 100,000 people are said to die on Chinese roads each year - or one person every 5 minutes. And, in fact, the least populated regions boast the highest death rates. If that bothers you, you'll want to avoid the 1,240 miles-long (but not very wide) Sichuan-Tibet Highway, which traverses at least a dozen different mountains with an average height of 4,000-5,000m. The high altitude means you'll be driving among clouds, and there's a high risk of landslides and avalanches to boot.2) BR-116 (Brazil)Brazil's second longest road runs 960 miles from Porto Alegre to Rio de Janeiro. The middle section, which covers around 250 miles from Curitiba to São Paulo, is the most infamous due to its high accident rate. Officially it's named Rodovia Régis Bittencourt, but it's known locally as 'Rodovia da Morte'. That's Highway of Death. Think steep cliffs, poor road conditions and unstable weather. Enough said?1) The North Yungas Road (Bolivia)Some of the nominations here may seem a little quirky, but few will deny that Bolivia's 'Death Road' is THE most dangerous in the world. North Yungas Road snakes across roughly 70km of the Andes, from La Paz to Coroico, with drops of up to 3,500m... and dozens of wrecked vehicles at the bottom. Drivers need to contend with crazy hairpin turns, oncoming traffic (often rushing to beat you into bends), an almost constant layer of fog and, during tropical downpours, high risk of landslides too. In the past, as many as 200-300 travellers are thought to have died in a single year, but it's carried significantly less traffic since the opening of a bypass in 2006. Tourist companies continue to cash in on the road's notoriety by offering extreme bike tours down it. We'll give that a miss, thanks.
The a44 appears to be listed more through driver/rider judgement than conditions,compared to the rest listed ? the mind truly boggles at most of them...
The A44 is one of my favourite biking roads. Picking up the A4103 to get a loop in. Shame it has such a bad rep. I used to live out that way in fact I was born and bred Malvern (Worcestershire). Now I live in Loughborough and have the pleasure of the Market Harborough to Melton roads and all around there.
bluesbiker In: Birmingham in th
Posts: 2510
Karma:
I lived in malvern and worcester for about 6 years. I can't say the Bit between worcester and Leominster is particularly bad. I'd have thought the bit between Aberystwyth and Langurig was far more dodgy.
Some of the bits out towards Rhayader are great as well - well worth a run out there to the cafe just short of the town when the weather is kind.
I suppose the critics will be on about the stretch between the new (Knee down roundabout) at the bypass/A44/A4103 through to Bromyard - lovely road if clear and ridden within ones ability.
See what BJ? I may do the A44 to Rhyader in the next couple of weeks. If the weather is nice and dry its a great run out and I guess about 260 miles from Leicester thats about 140-150 miles from yam yam land LOL
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