Modern safety requirements on cars may seem harsh at times, but as the images below demonstrate they certainly save lives.
High performance cars are extremely comfortable and swift, and thankfully many are also incredibly safe if things happen to go wrong.
As seen here on jalopnik.com, below are terrifying accidents where amazingly, no one was seriously hurt!
2004 Ferrari 360 Modena
Location: Eastern France
Incident: Man borrows his friend's Ferrari and loses control after showing off for his girlfriend. He crashed into another car and ran into live power lines, downing electrified cables and breaking the car in half.
Injuries: None.
2008 Ferrari F430
Location: Lisbon, Portugal
Incident: Driver speeds on highway, loses control, and slams into a guardrail with great enough force that the car breaks in two.
Injuries: Driver escapes with a handful of scratches.
Porsche 911 Turbo
Location: London, England
Incident: Blew a tire at high speed and immediately swerved to the left, clipping an Audi A6 and rolling into a fence.
Injuries: None.
2003 Dodge Viper RT/10
Location: Indianapolis, Indiana
Incident: Driver lost control at 130 mph; car began rolling at 65 mph.
Injuries: None.
2003 Ferrari 360 Modena
Location: Adelaide, Australia
Incident: Suspected drunk driver lost control while trying to overtake another car at triple-digit speeds. Left the road, drove up a 40-foot embankment, became airborne, and rolled twice before sliding upside-down into a field. The car was only three days old.
Injuries: Driver got out of the car without a scratch. Witnesses report that he was smoking a cigarette and standing around like nothing happened.
Taxis are generally not particularly interesting vehicles. Most of the time they are a regular car with standard white or yellow colours and markings. However in some areas either by design or accident taxi cabs can take on a new, interesting and even exciting look!
See below are few examples and different taxis. These images and many more can be seen on epidemicfun.com here.
Some roadways are complex to navigate, others have unforgiving terrain or amazing scenery, whereas some roads are downright dangerous.
This article at Waze.com takes a look at the most memorable drives you can take. Here is a small sample to whet your appetite!
The Road of death, Bolivia
The North Yungas Road (also known as the El Camino de la Muerte, ‘Road of Death’ in Spanish) is a 43 mile road connecting La Paz and Coroico, 35 miles northeast of La Paz in Bolivia. Famous for its extreme danger, it was christened as the “world’s most dangerous road” in 1995 by the Inter-American Development Bank. The single-lane width, extreme drop offs, and lack of guardrails, only add to the danger lurking behind. Further, the fog and rain can make visibility poor and the road surface muddy, loosening rocks from the hillsides above. It is estimated that 200 to 300 travelers are killed per year on this treacherous road. Although, the old North Yungas Road is much less used by traffic nowadays, an increasing number of adventure bikers travel it for the thrills.
The Judge Harry Pregerson Interchange, LA
The Judge Harry Pregerson Interchange is situated in Los Angeles, CA and is one of the most complicated interchanges in the country. It permits entry and exit in all directions between the I-105 and the I-110. It’s a stack interchange with layers of bridges making a complicated network of roads allowing smooth flow of traffic though both the interstate highways. This interchange was opened in 1993. It is a 4 level interchange with a restricted access lane that can be used by high-occupancy vehicles.
Russia’s Lena Highway, the Highway from Hell
The last 600 miles of the Russian Federal Highway from Moscow city to the Siberian city of Yakutsk is called the “Lena Highway”. This bizarre road runs parallel to the River Lena on the final leg to Yakutsk. As if the road of mud was not a big problem, Yakutsk is considered one of the the coldest cities on earth, with January temperatures averaging -45 °F. But surprisingly, it is only in the summertime that the road becomes impassable. Whenever it rains in summer, the road virtually becomes a slush pit making it impossible for the vehicles to pass through it. This being the only road to Yakutsk makes the traffic heavy and even more complicated to negotiate.
Col de Turini, France
Situated more than 1 mile above sea level, Col de Turini is a mountain pass situated in south of France in the Alps. It’s also part of a 20 miles rally stage of the Monte Carlo Rally of WRC, which combines 34 challenging hairpins and long stretches where cars top 111 mph. It is one of the most exciting roads on Earth. The pass was featured in the very first episode of Top Gear series 10, when the presenters went in search of the greatest driving road in the world. At its highest point, Col de Turini is 1607m high. In the north, the Col de Turini starts with a dazzling series of hairpins. Finally, we end up riding in a gorge, with a wild river on the left, and a steep rock-wall on the right.
Lysebotn Road, Norway
This is probably the most fun road you can travel on four wheels, and then maybe on your two legs checking out the various hiking trails leading from the area. In fact, this might be considered the most breathtaking place in Europe. It all starts with the narrow road up the steep walls of the Lysefjord, Norway. It has 27 switchbacks and a 1.1 km long tunnel at the bottom, with 3 switchbacks inside. The last 30 km of Lysebotn road is a true roller-coaster! It’s narrow but has a perfect surface, winding left and right all the time. If you happen to ride a motorcycle in Norway, then this is the road you simply cannot afford to miss!
What are the biggest driving distractions for both men and women?
The results below come from a survey or more than 3000 drivers in the United States.
It shows that road rage is the biggest distraction for men, and kids in the car for women
If you're someone who's naturally apprehensive about using public transport then don't read this post! If you do frequent an underground train system no doubt you would have seen some pretty weird stuff and even stranger people in your time. Thanks to Kontraband here are some (typical) subway oddities! View a few more here.
Although this was actually a pretty decent vehicle, it failed because Ford hyped it as a super-powered car of the future, which it wasn't. Some automotive historians have speculated that it was the ugly-as-sin vertical grill that doomed the car because it turned off consumers.
Greatest Lemon: 1961 Corvair
Where should we start? The placement of the heavy engine behind the rear axle caused the car to spin out. In addition, the Corvair constantly leaked oil, its heating system occasionally filled the cabin with toxic fumes, and the steering column was a solid piece, which tended to skewer drivers in accidents. Way to go, Chevy! The ad above looks nice though
Groceries, handbags, wallets, purses and drinks. All these things and more have been left on the top of cars by people when they drive off. However, it's pretty rare to see this many things left on there at the same time!
I'll bet you never thought there were so many ways to secure a motor vehicle.
Some of them are clever, others are over the top, some are plain stupid, while others are just right. You can see them all here!