For many of us, day-to-day driving is a pretty uneventful experience. Sometimes, it can even be relaxing or exciting. And thankfully, it’s not often that it actually feels scary.
But when you work as a truck driver, sitting behind the wheel is a whole different story. The job comes with long, exhausting hours on the road, late-night drives with no one around, heavy winds, steep routes, and intense traffic to get through in a vehicle that size. It’s a lot to handle.
So when one Redditor asked truckers to share the most terrifying places they’ve ever driven through, they had plenty of stories to tell. Find them below and see just how nerve-racking life on the road can get.
#41
North Dakota/Western Minnesota. Drove through the worst dust storm ever day before yesterday. HIgh winds made it difficult to hold the road, and there were times visibility was down to 15 ft. ahead. This is what the dustbowl must have been like in the 1930's.
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8points
#42
I have read that there are long stretches in New Mexico that have a high fatality rate with vehicle accidents because 1) these long, desolate stretches have little local or state police patrols, so people use the opportunity to drive at very dangerous speeds; and 2) when there are accidents, it takes a very long time for emergency services to find and reach the accident victims, so people who might've survived end up not surviving because medical aid couldn't get there in time.
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8points
#43
The Coquihalla pass in B.C Canada gets pretty wild in the winter. The “smasher” has many avalanches yearly, multiple snow sheds, and you often will hit 3 different seasons from top to bottom.
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8points
#44
285 in Atlanta.
awdude1:
It's the amount of accidents, EVERY single day I see wrecks. Multiple wrecks, everyday.
awdude1:
It's the amount of accidents, EVERY single day I see wrecks. Multiple wrecks, everyday.
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7points
#45
I'm not a driver, but I dispatch fuel trucks.
I know better than to drive on I-30 between Portland and Astoria in bad weather or at night if I can avoid it. I've been on the job for 2 years and have worked through too many wicked accidents to want any of that in my life.
I know better than to drive on I-30 between Portland and Astoria in bad weather or at night if I can avoid it. I've been on the job for 2 years and have worked through too many wicked accidents to want any of that in my life.
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7points
#47
My dad use to be a truck driver in Australia and there is a whole area where they use to think Yowies roamed. They would check there trucks and everything before hand so they didn’t brake down.
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7points
#48
US 550 in Colorado between Durango and Montrose: two lane road, cliff on one side, straight drop on the other, no guard rails, 15 mph hairpin curves and three 11K' passes. In my truck, I need both lanes to negotiate the curves.
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7points
#49
Highway 11/17 from North Bay to Kenora. 1000 miles of undivided two lane highway through Northern Ontario.
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7points
#50
There are some mountain roads that have switchbacks so severe that you're taking the turns in the oncoming lane. A head on collision is waiting. One example is the Lockheed Martin facility at the top of Empire Grade Road in California. Also, some mountain roads that don't have guardrails, or very small ones, when it's snowing. One example of that is the US 50 in Colorado.
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7points
#52
I'm a box truck driver on a route. It's a nightmare anywhere in Boston. Drivers, especially truck drivers, were not intended for that city.
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6points
#53
Been everywhere, hated the north east. Nothing terrifying but absolutely not planned for truck traffic. Lack of truck stops and routes is a nightmare.
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6points
#54
A lot of people have rightfully mentioned the stretch of I80 through Wyoming, but I'll add any of the major highways you need to take to get to Seattle from the east and southeast, particularly the areas around Yakima and Snoqualmie pass.
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6points
#55
My friend told me stories about trucking with his dad through Detroit.
Police had a checkpoint and told them not to stop at stop signs. I remember him saying was there was a broken down vehicle in the middle of the road and the police were plowing it out of the way. I think the vehicle was meant to force drivers to stop, then they would ambush their goods while they were stopped.
Police had a checkpoint and told them not to stop at stop signs. I remember him saying was there was a broken down vehicle in the middle of the road and the police were plowing it out of the way. I think the vehicle was meant to force drivers to stop, then they would ambush their goods while they were stopped.
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6points
#56
My FIL said Utah, especially at night time. Dark and lonely roads with crazy drivers.
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6points
#57
Nashville TN.
God dang they just can't figure out how to drive straight there.
Bonus answer, parking in Memphis.
God dang they just can't figure out how to drive straight there.
Bonus answer, parking in Memphis.
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5points
#58
As a professional who for decades was driving 50,000+ miles a year, and who has driven around most of the US of A, I claim honorary trucker status. Agree with many of these. And will also nominate Cresson Mountain, Route 22 between Ebensburg and Altoona PA. Whiteouts in winter, foul weather and pea-soup fog any season.
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5points
#59
Chattanooga Tennessee has an interstate that sharply curves due to the river and a mountain. All the trucks have to slow down in a short amount of time.
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4points
#60
I used to work in customer service for a trucking company. Most shipments that weren't delivering to Arkansas but had to go through were always advised to not stop unless absolutely necessary.
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4points