A foreign traveller was transferred injured to a hospital (link in Icelandic) in Reykjavík after a car she was a passenger in rolled over at the Skógarströnd beach road at Snæfellsnes peninsula in West Iceland. This is the second time in the last seven days that a car with foreign travellers slides of this road, which is a badly maintained gravel road and has been the scene of around 30 traffic accidents in this year solely.
The road is around 60 km (37 mi) stretch of the popular and scenic 86 km (53 mi) route between villages Stykkishólmur and Búðardalur.
The police commissioner in West Iceland has requested that the speed limit for this road segment will be brought down from 90 km/h (56 mph) to 50 km/h (31 mph) until its conditions have been improved.
In addition to blind rises, loose gravel, deep potholes and dodgy road margins there are several single lane bridges on this route. So please drive very carefully if you are heading this way.
Iceland’s government has been heavily criticized for not supplying increased funds for maintaining gravel roads around the country. In many areas they cannot support the extra traffic that comes with increased tourism.
Driving in Iceland
One of the biggest dangers of driving in Iceland is the narrow road network of the country. The majority of national highways are two-lane roads, one lane in each direction, and many of them are both curvy and pass through hilly landscape. Driver always have to be extra cautions when a road’s surface changes from being asphalt to gravel, which is something that can be expected all over the island. Adding snow and ice in the mix during the winter can make driving conditions extremely difficult.
Read more: Travellers in a compact car get stuck on mountain route 66 only suitable for trucks
Read more: The dangers of Iceland's narrow roads: A terrifying video of a car crash caught on a dashboard cam
Single lane bridges
The 39 single lane bridges along Highway 1, the “ring road” are extremely hazardous to foreign travellers who are unaccustomed to single-lane bridges and don’t recognize the road signs alerting motorists of the bridges. The signs which warn motorists of an upcoming single-lane bridge in Iceland can be confusing or used in ways not recognized in other countries, causing problems for foreign visitors.
Read more: 39 single lane bridges along the ring road potential death traps
A foreign traveller was transferred injured to a hospital (link in Icelandic) in Reykjavík after a car she was a passenger in rolled over at the Skógarströnd beach road at Snæfellsnes peninsula in West Iceland. This is the second time in the last seven days that a car with foreign travellers slides of this road, which is a badly maintained gravel road and has been the scene of around 30 traffic accidents in this year solely.
The road is around 60 km (37 mi) stretch of the popular and scenic 86 km (53 mi) route between villages Stykkishólmur and Búðardalur.
The police commissioner in West Iceland has requested that the speed limit for this road segment will be brought down from 90 km/h (56 mph) to 50 km/h (31 mph) until its conditions have been improved.
In addition to blind rises, loose gravel, deep potholes and dodgy road margins there are several single lane bridges on this route. So please drive very carefully if you are heading this way.
Iceland’s government has been heavily criticized for not supplying increased funds for maintaining gravel roads around the country. In many areas they cannot support the extra traffic that comes with increased tourism.
Driving in Iceland
One of the biggest dangers of driving in Iceland is the narrow road network of the country. The majority of national highways are two-lane roads, one lane in each direction, and many of them are both curvy and pass through hilly landscape. Driver always have to be extra cautions when a road’s surface changes from being asphalt to gravel, which is something that can be expected all over the island. Adding snow and ice in the mix during the winter can make driving conditions extremely difficult.
Read more: Travellers in a compact car get stuck on mountain route 66 only suitable for trucks
Read more: The dangers of Iceland's narrow roads: A terrifying video of a car crash caught on a dashboard cam
Single lane bridges
The 39 single lane bridges along Highway 1, the “ring road” are extremely hazardous to foreign travellers who are unaccustomed to single-lane bridges and don’t recognize the road signs alerting motorists of the bridges. The signs which warn motorists of an upcoming single-lane bridge in Iceland can be confusing or used in ways not recognized in other countries, causing problems for foreign visitors.
Read more: 39 single lane bridges along the ring road potential death traps
