What's the most dangerous corner you regularly drive?

"Haimatox" (haimatox) 10/16/2014 at 09:15 • Filed to: None

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When I say dangerous, I'm talking about the corner you have had the closest calls on, or have been told the most horror stories about. Remember, you have to drive these roads on a regular basis. Personally, I have three corners to report.

This is a deceptively tight corner. As you can see, the signs are doing their best to warn drivers of the upcoming danger. I know at least three people who have crashed off here during the winter.

The photos above and below this show the corner I affectionally call "Mini-Corkscrew" and "Blind Turn 5." The left fork leads to the "Mini-Corkscrew," and the right turn leads to "Blind Turn 5."

This is the view as you approach "Blind Turn 5." It's completely blind until you're very deep into the turn.

The damp bit of road leading up to the "Mini-Corkscrew"/ "Blind Turn 5" frequently freezes over with black ice in winter, adding an extra level of danger.

Finally, this is the most dangerous turn I drive on a regular basis. As you can see, it is a hairpin turn, but the severity of the corner is not the dangerous part.

As you can see from the above and below photos, this hairpin turn is flanked by not one, but TWO blind crests. Obviously, this makes it very difficult for someone making the turn to judge the correct time to go. I was nearly taken out by a CR-V a few weeks ago because I couldn't see it coming.

So, Oppo. What's the most dangerous corner(s) you drive? Show (or describe them to) me in the comments.

Zipppy, Mazdurp builder, Probeski owner and former ricerboy > Haimatox 10/16/2014 at 09:17

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There is a turn on my street that people always park at, and if there's a car coming the other way, it gets REALLY dangerous.

EL_ULY > Haimatox 10/16/2014 at 09:20

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none unfortunately :'(

macanamera > Haimatox 10/16/2014 at 09:27

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A lot of the back roads around me have a number of off-camber decreasing radius turns. Bad design, and people always go off.

McMike > Haimatox 10/16/2014 at 09:28

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This one has caught me off guard a lot of times.

You leave the highway at 75, then slow for this decreasing radius corner.

I have had a few shit shit SHIT moments when I realize I early apexed it again.

anonsagainstanonymous > Haimatox 10/16/2014 at 09:28

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whoa whoa whoa whoa that last junction. Haven't I've seen that brought up as a terrible junction before? A couple years ago or so?

Jonathan Harper > Haimatox 10/16/2014 at 09:29

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This section of the Taconic Parkway, where it crosses Peekskill Hollow rd is exceedingly dangerous. There's a serious accident there every couple months, and I know at least two were fatal over the summer.

The roadway gets very narrow and winds down into a little valley before winding back up into the hills. People who don't know the road well can't maintain their lane and end up causing all kinds of problems. The rock wall on one side is all marked up with rubber and paint, it's pretty gnarly.

John Bulzacchelli > Jonathan Harper 10/16/2014 at 09:33

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Heading north there is a pretty nasty mid-corner hump in the right lane too. If you're not ready for it and going a little too fast it can really unsettle the chassis.

djmt1 > Haimatox 10/16/2014 at 09:34

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I hate this turn because if you end up in the left lane you are doomed to a 30 minute detour.

Jonathan Harper > John Bulzacchelli 10/16/2014 at 09:37

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Yup, just before the big 180 degree sweeper heading north there's a nice fat chassis unsettling bump, if I'm in a really stiff car it's not surprising to get 2-3in of lateral movement over that bump.

Also southbound, mid corner on the same sweeper which decreases radius towards the end there is a biiiig hump that practically catapults you towards the center divider, which of course has spindly metal bits sticking out of it from where other people have hit it, just waiting to thrash one of your tires or give you a nice big scrape in the paint.

Sn210 > Haimatox 10/16/2014 at 09:41

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Its not that dangerous, but i still dont like it. Its a 25mph corner, but im in MA so add 10. Also, everyone likes to hug the center line, as illustrated by this car that got captured by Google. There's no shoulder, a couple of boulders, and telephone poles. I've seen tire tracks on the lawn of the house in the top left corner plenty of times. I drive it twice a day

theProgrammer > Haimatox 10/16/2014 at 10:13

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This one is a monster. You have to cross 3 lanes of traffic at rush hour to get to the other side while the cars on the other lanes are trying to get in your lane. And if you don't make it, you will be faced with a half an hour detour. When merging at the end it is also difficult since the traffic is usually at a standstill and no-one is willing to give way.

Trevor Slattery, ACTOR > Haimatox 10/16/2014 at 10:28

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Rock Creek Parkway in DC. When it rains...total anarchy. You can count on at LEAST one spectacular wreck. I love driving it because it is great fun. But if you don't understand what the phrase "decreasing radius" means and it is wet out, you can get in BIG trouble.

Haimatox > anonsagainstanonymous 10/16/2014 at 10:39

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Come again? I've only been on Oppo for a year.

Haimatox > EL_ULY 10/16/2014 at 10:39

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That's not a bad thing...

Haimatox > djmt1 10/16/2014 at 10:40

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Well at least it isn't dangerous...

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > Jonathan Harper 10/16/2014 at 10:40

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I'm going to be moving to that area in the next year or so. The roads are one of the big draws for me.

Haimatox > Zipppy, Mazdurp builder, Probeski owner and former ricerboy 10/16/2014 at 10:43

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Narrow roads are (one of) my biggest fear.

Haimatox > McMike 10/16/2014 at 10:44

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I can imagine so many ways that can go wrong. It goes from "shit, I early apexed" to roll, crunch, crash.

Bob > Haimatox 10/16/2014 at 10:46

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I have a fairly easy 11 mile commute to work but as soon as I get to the parking lot I'm faced with this...

I want to take a left up there, but cars coming from the left can't see me and I can't see them. The person driving the Jeep and that other asshat on the right ALWAYS PARK IN THE SAME SPOTS! I've been almost creamed many times. Gives me anxiety just looking at the picture.

Matthew Keyser > Haimatox 10/16/2014 at 10:48

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John Weaver Parkway in Elkhart IN. It's the best route to take into my school every morning because of the 50MPH speedlimit, basically 0 cops running radar and realistically has a flow of traffic around 65MPH. The last corner is a tightening, long sweeping corner that leads to a traffic light. Coming out of the corner, there is a little dip in the road which is very, very noticeable to the driver. Especially when his dip in the road is filled with water and you hydroplane at 75 because you're running late for school. It's a nice reminder that getting to school on time isn't worth risking your car, or even worse. But it's no wonder why you can't go a week without hearing news that a stupid high school was messing around and crashed his car into a tree.

Haimatox > Bob 10/16/2014 at 10:48

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Parking lots are indeed scary.

Haimatox > theProgrammer 10/16/2014 at 10:49

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Oh wow that's scary. Whoever designed that clearly wasn't thinking...

anonsagainstanonymous > Haimatox 10/16/2014 at 10:54

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Wow. this is annoying. I know I've seen that junction. I think it was in a video? I'm probably mistaken, though. sorry.

Haimatox > anonsagainstanonymous 10/16/2014 at 10:57

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Nothing to be sorry about.

McMike > Haimatox 10/16/2014 at 10:58

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More like "fall, crunch, scab." I usually take that route with the motorcycle.

Haimatox > McMike 10/16/2014 at 11:02

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Ouch.

McMike > Haimatox 10/16/2014 at 11:03

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LOL, I didn't go down, but those are the thoughts that go through my head .

thebigbossyboss > Jonathan Harper 10/16/2014 at 11:05

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Barrett HIV road?

thebigbossyboss > Zipppy, Mazdurp builder, Probeski owner and former ricerboy 10/16/2014 at 11:06

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I used to drive that street everyday where is that?

thebigbossyboss > theProgrammer 10/16/2014 at 11:07

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Oh god, we have something like that here. All right lanes exit left all left lanes exit right. I hate that shit.

thebigbossyboss > Haimatox 10/16/2014 at 11:14

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This stupid thing is the MAIN truck route connecting two halves of Ottawa that are separated by a river.

It is dumb because it suffers from a high level of pedestrian fatalities and also a truck turning left will cut across the right lane 9/10 times. The trucks have to rotate one go left one, one go right they can't go at the same time.

Can't say I blame them because the curbs are so far out, but you gotta really watch that shit I have almost been crushed between a truck and the corner many times in my car. Not from cutting in a truck turning right but by a truck turning left.

They put barricades on the sidewalk now to prevent pedestrians from being run over by the trucks as a few were this year, but the barricades are gone now, because the trucks have run them over too many times. They need to cut the right hand curb back a LOT.

It's just not safe.

Zipppy, Mazdurp builder, Probeski owner and former ricerboy > thebigbossyboss 10/16/2014 at 11:18

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Pickford?

Jonathan Harper > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie 10/16/2014 at 11:41

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A good draw or a bad draw? If you're here, I think it's safe to assume you take some pride in your driving. You'll be fine.

There are some really awesome two-lane roads up there, in fact it's not far from where Raph first rolled his Beetle.

Jonathan Harper > thebigbossyboss 10/16/2014 at 11:41

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Hill.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > Jonathan Harper 10/16/2014 at 11:52

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Yeah, it's a good draw. I know that traffic can be a bitch, but there are so many good roads in that area it's totally worth it. The other big draw is proximity to the city and the price of space relative to anything else that distance from it. I used to work in the film industry and would fly up to New York for gigs all of the time and worked on a few up in that area. I fell in love with the area pretty much immediately. In fact, I think that one of the properties I was looking at was about a half of a mile from where the Taconic meets 21 there.

Jonathan Harper > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie 10/16/2014 at 11:57

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Cool! Yeah my girlfriend is an actor and she's been in a couple different things shot up there. My parents also have a house in the area, which is why I know that bit of the Taconic so well.

You really wouldn't guess you're under an hour from NYC up there, it's great. Traffic is no where near as bad at the LIE or the Turnpike, so you can take some solace in that. My personal record is 37 min from 125th st to rt 301...in the middle of the night. :)

Let me know when you make the move, maybe we can go for a drive, I'll show you some good roads.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > Jonathan Harper 10/16/2014 at 12:09

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Nice! Yeah, I'll give you a head's up when I make the move.

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > Haimatox 10/16/2014 at 12:11

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Used to:

Only slightly banked, sharper than it looks, and a large ravine with no guardrails.

Now:

Nothing dangerous, other than the other drivers. Oh Florida and your flatness.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > Haimatox 10/16/2014 at 12:27

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The locally dubbed " five corners ". Because uncontrolled five-way intesection, yo. Also it's barely above sea level so every time there's a major storm the drain system clogs with sand and the whole intersection floods. I've seen the water get up above the curb before.

Oh and also one of the roads goes to the ferry so there is a loooooot of traffic that goes through there. There's never any major accidents because of the low speeds but there's plenty of collisions and in the height of summer traffic backs up through the intersection for over half a mile in each direction.

BoulderZ > Haimatox 10/16/2014 at 13:08

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When I regularly drive, I'm on my bike. Lots of paths, small city (Boulder, CO), so driving isn't usually my best choice. However, when I do get to drive, it's on our much more interesting canyon and mountain roads. Most of them are actually really good. Flagstaff road, however, has some issues. The sharpest hairpin, at more than 180 degrees, is also fairly steeply descending, and has the lanes narrowing in the turn, and a large boulder that just meets the fog line. If you get a look at the rock, there are big scrapes from vehicles brushing it. The guard rail on the outside is all beat to hell, too, some from snow removal but a lot from vehicles overcooking the turn. It's not even that much fun on a road bike as your forearms are already aching from the descent and the brakes are already fading a bit. Worth it for the scenery and climb, though.

Tohru > Haimatox 10/16/2014 at 13:15

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This corner on County HH south of Lyndon Station. County HH is a 55mph county highway.

The three trouble spots are highlighted.

Blue is about 30ft. higher in elevation than red.

Orange has a small bridge with ~2" bumps at the entrance and exit. Oh, and a curve as well.

When you're heading southbound you go through this dropping sweeper at 55 and then just as the chassis is unsettled from the right-left you hit the first bump and the ass end tries skating out on you.

When you're heading northbound the bumps in the middle of the right turn want to shift the car into the southbound traffic.

This gets more fun when the bridge freezes up in winter. This was the most common spot to see cars off the road during my commute.

Tohru > thebigbossyboss 10/16/2014 at 13:15

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Barrett Hill Road.

Tohru > Haimatox 10/16/2014 at 13:17

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"Which is why we should have 8 foot wide lanes so people slow down because they get nervous!" - that pants-on-head-retarded article on the FP a week or two ago.

Tohru > Haimatox 10/16/2014 at 13:26

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I don't do this one often, but I end up on it every time I go to Madison. The exit from I-39/90/94 southbound onto Hwy. 51 southbound isn't that bad, but the entrance from Hwy. 51 northbound onto I-39/90/94 northbound is. The radius decreases, increases, and decreases again. Hwy. 51 is 55mph in this section, so that's what you generally enter the on-ramp at.

They've had to post the ramp down to 25mph and they've reworked it twice in 10 years. It hasn't helped. The interchange was built when the Interstate was 2 lanes. Now it's 3 lanes plus the merge lane.