I’m the first to admit that I have some quirks. I’m scared of aircraft when they’re parked in unexpected places. I hate glitter, chalk, and sand because I can’t stand the way they feel. I’m terrified of driving on mountain roads.
And yet this past week, my family took a vacation that saw us pass airplanes parked on the side of the road, my kid drenched a hat in glitter glue, and we drove through Sequoia National Park–which, if you haven’t been there, consists of nothing but very windy mountain roads.
I wasn’t scared of the drive at first, especially since I didn’t know what to expect. I realized that there was a huge increase in elevation, but for some reason it didn’t occur to me that we’d have to somehow get from one elevation to another.
Thankfully my husband was driving, and thankfully I trust him. He’s a good driver, is very safety-conscious, and knows how I freak out. The roads were relatively well maintained, and there were quaint (and hopefully functional) retaining walls through a great deal of the drive. There was also construction which meant that we spend part of the drive behind pilot cars that led us through the work zone at a slow-ish rate of speed.
All in all, the way up wasn’t too bad, likely because we were mostly on the inside part of the road and I never looked down. Instead I was looking up at the scenery and the trees, which really are huge.
The way down was a different story. On the way down, we were mostly on the outside and I made the mistake of looking down. We were so high up I couldn’t even see the bottom. It seemed like the foliage extended for miles below us. At one point my husband, who was driving not-as-fast as the people behind us (lest I flip out) pulled into a turnout to let others go by. Only he didn’t tell me he was turning out, so all I knew was that our car was suddenly headed off the road. I think I still have fingernail marks in my thighs.
What’s weird is that even though the ride down was stressful, it wasn’t until afterwards that it became terrifying. I keep thinking about those steep drops and how a car could veer just a few feet and plunge to the bottom of the mountain…and no one would ever know! The people would die upon impact, and the thick trees would keep anyone from finding them. Heck, even if there were witnesses, how would anybody get to them?
According to the literature we were handed on our way in, drowning is the leading cause of death in Sequoia. (Men between 18 and 30–not kids–are most at risk, presumably because they’re the most…how to put it nicely…brazen?) But I’m convinced the leading cause of death is cars plunging off the mountain roads.
Irrational? Maybe. Probably. I hope so. But in any case, it will likely be a long time before we head back there. Don’t get me wrong: I want to go back. I’m just not sure I’ll be able to.
So, tell me: What driving conditions or types of roads scare you, if any? Tunnels? Bridges? Snow? Is anyone else as terrified of the mountains as I am? And does anyone have words of wisdom to help me calm down about them?
Heather- Oh, yeah, Rome drivers were SCARY! Couple that with being packed onto a public bus with a VERY inappropriate man pressed up against you, though, and I’d almost rather drive in Sequoia. (note I said “almost”)
Rome, Italy. Or perhaps Naples. The further south you go in Italy, IME, the crazier they are in driving. Oh, and let’s not forget mountainous Italian roads with very small concrete barriers on the side, sometimes dropping down to a lane and a half.
Perhaps this bridge: http://www.flickr.com/photos/80651083@N00/5732814925/. At least when you’re on it you can’t see over the edge, but the mental lead-up to crossing it is terrible (the pic’s perspective is taken from Hoover Dam–notice how the bridge towers over it!).
I pretty much just hate driving since I had kids. Every time I leave the house, I picture our deaths (sometimes we all die, sometimes it’s just my kids and sometimes it’s just me). For the first nine months after my younger son was born, I had to be medicated for anxiety.
I’ve been known to randomly pull the car over and make my husband drive because I’m having a panic attack. He is a very logical person, so he doesn’t really understand that I can’t control it, but he tries to be supportive.
Bridges scare me. Also HWY 101, in California where I looked DOWN an saw a helicopter flying scared me as a child. Any road with drop offs bugs me.
Jennie: if you were anywhere around Boyden Cavern or further down the road towards Cedar Grove on 7/19, we might have passed by each other :).
Thanksgiving_Twins_Mom- We were there on 7/19, I think! Maybe we drove by you 🙂
I think the scariest road I was ever on was on our honeymoon. We were driving around the north end of Maui. In looking at a map now, it was probably between Honokaohau Bay and Poleua Bay somewhere on route 340. At the time, the road went from a typical 2-lane scary road to what was a roughly paved 1-lane road that seemed like it might not be all that stable in parts. I was driving rather slow and still concerned about our plummet to death in one of the narrower sections, when a school bus full of kids comes zooming up behind me and passes me on the outside. I swear they must have had 2 wheels off the road hanging over the cliff. At the next widening, we turned back because we had no idea if the road got even worse. That bus driver has nerves of steel. I was surprised they would even let buses go on a route like that. Here, they cant even generally take a route that crosses a railroad with full signals if there is a suitable alternate with a bridge or tunnel.
I hate driving next to semi-trucks. My grandfather and I almost got pushed off the road by one on the side of the mountain. It was changing lanes right into us. My grandfather’s fault, he was driving in the blind spot, but I was young and didn’t know that and it terrified me and to this day I am careful not to drive beside them. They scare me coming at me too.
I don’t like to drive in snow on highways, especially when dark. I was in a whiteout where I could not see a thing. It was the scariest moment of my life. Period.
I don’t mind rain. I don’t go for mountain driving unless I am doing it. I just feel more in control if it’s me. And I would go slowly.
And, I never drive on highways. I just don’t go to places that require it. There are some exceptions like a family trip to see relatives, that are rare. But normally, no merging and no high speeds for me. I don’t care if my husband points out that 2 lanes are more dangerous. I JUST DON’T LIKE HIGHWAYS. Too much can go wrong in a second and the speeds are so high…ouch. No thank you.
It’s not environment so much for me, it’s other traffic in said environment. I drove the Coquihalla (a high mountain highway in B.C.) in April, in a new to me minivan, through hail and freezing rain, with semi trucks everywhere. Scary. Also, anywhere I am trapped in traffic and don’t have an escape route, like a tunnel, tends to freak me out.
I hate those roads! My husband and I went on a road trip out west after college it was fun but most of the time I spent gripping onto the door handle terrified we were going to go off the road!
To Kecia’s comment above the Grand Canyon terrifies me! When we went there we went in a shop (before we even saw it) and saw a book about how many people have died there there was at least one where a family had parked there car to overlook the canyon and left the sleeping kids in the car, the car ended up rolling off the cliff! We will never be taking a family vacation there!
Hey, when were you driving through Sequoia? We were there from 7/13-7/20 (4 days at Grant Grove and 3 at Cedar Grove)! Driving there doesn’t scare me nearly as much as it used to (a year of taking a lightly-traveled but twisty hilly back road to my kids’ preschool gave me time to practice and grow more comfortable with narrow winding roads) but when I parked at a turn-out between Boyden Cavern and Grant Grove for DH to shoot some photos of Kings Canyon, I decided not to go near the edge b/c looking down would have freaked me out big time.
After 9/11 driving across the GW Bridge (connecting NY/NJ) REALLY freaked me out. Now I’m okay with it but the Lincoln & Holland Tunnels still make me shudder.
As a kid, I’d always imagine one subway tile coming loose and then all heck breaking loose. Of course as an adult I understand that’s not going to happen (not that way, at least – terrorism is a different story) but I’m still uncomfortable with long, underwater tunnels.
Something else I know I could never deal with – Grand Canyon on a Mule. Eeek!
really tight curves on winding country roads… so many have died on certain curves in Western PA because of how bad those curves are and the trucks and bigger vehicles needed to go up and down the steep slopes from the mountains also plow right through the barriers.
I still sometimes hold my breath over bridges. It’s a habit from childhood.
There’s a crazy windy road from PCH (near Malibu?) to Thousand Oaks, CA. It wasn’t until after we drove on it that our friends told us the story of some drummer who disappeared and his car wasn’t found until years later.
but overall, I think you’re crazy. 😉
I remember driving with my wife on one of the California coastal highways. Not only were there plunges into rocks and ocean, but with all the curves, the full size GM car and my wife driving, I was soooo sick. Looking down to our instant doom made it worse!
I’m never real comfortable with tunnels that go under water, like in NYC.