Breaking down anywhere is never fun and at some point, it will probably happen to all of us. It is both frustrating and a nuisance when you’re on a journey, especially a time sensitive one. However, most breakdowns occur in fairly well-lit, populated areas and a recovery service can be contacted straight away. Although there are some places in the world where you certainly wouldn’t want to breakdown:

1. The Death Road

Location: The Youngas Road, Bolivia – 38 miles

Known as the ‘death road’, this road is incredibly narrow with almost no room for vehicles to pass each other. To make matters worse, one side of the road has a 2,000-foot cliff drop alongside it. To top it off, the area experiences sub-zero temperatures and the altitude makes the air thin, making it harder to breathe!

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2. The Loneliest Road 

Location: Highway 50, Nevada, USA – 3,008 miles

Both long and lonely, Highway 50 is one of the lengthiest roads on earth. It traverses the harsh Nevada desert between Utah and California with up to 400 miles of it being completely uninhabited. Getting stranded here would be both immensely lonely and life-threatening. A journey on this route would require a few essentials:

A mobile phone with full charge

Spare fuel

Food and water

Torch

Spare tyre

3. Smooth to dirt 

Location: Trans-Siberian highway, Russia – 6,800 miles

The Trans-Siberian Highway is a little short of 7000 miles long running between St Petersburg and Vladivostok in Russia. What starts as a smooth asphalt soon turns into little more than a dirt track for some 3,000 miles! Many refer to as a mud bath as after significant rainfall (which happens a lot in this region) the track becomes difficult to navigate by foot, let alone vehicle. If you find yourself in a sticky situation, consider Car Recovery Swindon from a site like https://www.nd-services.co.uk/hgv-breakdown-recovery-swindon/

4. The Road to Hell

Location: N2 Road, Eastern Cape, Africa – 1401 miles

This route has the dubious honour of being the most dangerous road in the whole of Africa. One of its infamous bends is known as ‘hospital bend’ and the entire road has claimed the lives of around 1,200 people every single year. Not only is it dangerous to drive but gangs rob drivers and wild animals could pounce from the bushes at any point. This is the last place you’d want to breakdown.

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5. Not enough slip roads and too long between junctions

Location: M40 Motorway, England UK – 89 miles

Breaking down on a UK motorway is a pain but to have this happen on the M40 would be a nightmare. This particular motorway is renowned for having a severe shortage of slip roads and incredibly long stretches of motorway between service stations and junctions. A nightmare for anyone stuck in an emergency! The motorway runs between Birmingham and Uxbridge. Planning this route, it would be wise to stock up on additional fuel. Also, if you end up on the hard shoulder it could be a while before you are recovered, especially in heavy traffic.