Death Road
Located in Bolivia, The North Yungas road that connects the Bolivian capital of La Paz with the low-lying region of Yungas in the Amazonian rainforest, is also known as Death Road and is dubbed the worlds deadliest. The road seldom gets any wider than 3 meters with cliffs that drop 2,000 feet. Driving up or down this 43-mile switchback is extremely perilous due to fog and landslides, and a shear drop on one side that runs the length of the entire route with more than 200 tight narrow corners. The Road is above cloud level which often causes visibility issues. Before 1994 approximately 300 people a year would lose their lives on the road. It’s not uncommon to see vehicles in front or behind you to go plunging over the edge, usually as a result of other drivers trying to overtake one another. Road rage is also a major problem as drivers get inpatient and pressure other drivers to go faster. There’s been cases of people ramming their Vehicles into other cars, forcing them over the edge. The most infamous accident on the road happened on July 24th 1983 when a bus reared over the edge killing 100 people. The government of Bolivia is trying to improve safety, but construction is costly and slow due to harsh conditions. The northernmost section of the original road has been replaced by an alternative route with a modern and much safer two-lane motorway. Today, the deaths are mostly local workers and backpackers still using the infamous road. If you’re a thrill seeker, tour operators lead bike rides along the road, but it is believed that more than a dozen cyclists have lost their lives there the last decade.