If you don’t trust a road that was hand carved 140 years ago, then don’t come to Skipper Canyon Road on New Zealand’s South Island. The road is so narrow that if you come up against a car coming in the opposite direction, one of you will have to reverse until there’s a wider place to pass.
This could lead to you reversing for up to two miles on an unpaved road with no barriers. And even worse than this, if you get into an accident on this road and you’re in a rental car, the rental car insurance might not cover the damage done.
Sichuan-Tibet Highway
If you can’t handle roller coasters and you’re thinking to drive on the Sichuan-Tibet Highway, you might want to rethink your plans. The highway crosses over 14 mountains that have an average elevation of 13,000 feet. The oxygen levels along the highway are only half of what we have at sea level. As you can see in the picture, the road also has 99 switchbacks to get down the Yela Mountain.
If you can handle that, that’s great, but you’ll still need to worry about the landslides which happen on the regular. Oh, and not to mention, there are also some parts of the highway which aren’t paved. So, yea, good luck!
Cat and Fiddle Road
As you can see from the sign, this road in England is not to be taken lightly. The road is nicknamed “the widow maker,” because it turns spouses into widows. It has a very high incidence of fatal accidents due to its many sharp turns. Motorcyclists who are thirsty for adventure see these turns as a reason to bring their bikes out to the open road. But, because the road is in the countryside, other members are also encouraged to come hang out in the road, livestock. This poses an additional danger. Cows and sheep like to wander out into the middle of the road frequently.
So, if you’re planning to drive out to this road any time soon, be sure to watch out for speedy motorcyclists and cows who are just chilling, grazing, and are completely unaware of their surroundings. In order to manage the danger, safety measures have been taken, like lowering the speed limit.
Bayburt Of Yolu
Located in Turkey’s Trabzon province, you’ll find the Bayburt of Yolu road. The road is surrounded by a steep drop of hundreds of feet. While most people would be scared off from that alone, that’s not the only reason to make you turn your car around the other way (if you’re able to).
The road is extremely narrow and has a lot of sharp curves. Plus, it’s a gravel road. The worst is that the gravel on the road is loose and you can feel the rocks falling down from beneath your car while you drive. Definitely not the way you want to feel when you’re that high up. Even an expert driver needs to take major precaution.
Furka Pass
The Furka Pass is a high mountain pass in the Swiss Alps. While it is a paved wide road, it has a large number of switchbacks and hairpin turns, which will make even the biggest roller coaster enthusiast dizzy.
When you combine that with the fact that you’re driving on the side of cliffs plus the fact that you’ll have to drive up and down steep gradients, you can imagine why this road is so challenging. And if you’re thinking about driving this road in the winter, you better rethink that idea.