Dead Man 's curve - wikipedia Dead Man 's curve This article is about dangerous sections of roads. For other uses, see Dead Man 's Curve ( disambiguation ). This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. ( Learn how and when to remove these template messages ) This article is in a list format that may be better presented using prose. You can help by converting this article to prose, if appropriate. Editing help is available. ( January 2015 ) The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. You may improve this article, discuss the issue on the talk page, or create a new article, as appropriate. ( July 2014 ) This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( August 2010 ) A section of the 1915 Ridge Route in Lebec, California, abandoned when US 99 ( later upgraded to I - 5 ) was constructed over the Tejon Pass in order to make travel straighter and safer. Dead man 's curve is a nickname for a curve in a roadway that has claimed lives because of numerous crashes. The term is in common use in the United States. Contents 1 United States 1.1 Alabama 1.2 California 1.3 Colorado 1.4 Hawaii 1.5 Illinois 1.6 Indiana 1.7 Kentucky 1.8 Louisiana 1.9 Maryland 1.10 Michigan 1.11 Missouri 1.12 New Mexico 1.13 New York 1.14 North Carolina 1.15 Ohio 1.16 Oregon 1.17 Pennsylvania 1.18 South Carolina 1.19 Texas 2 See also 3 References 4 External links United States Alabama Interstate 20 east of the Birmingham International Airport, at its junction with Interstate 59 ; engineers built a curve into the highway to avoid a cemetery. Interstate 59 about 4 miles north of Gadsden. The S - shaped curve was built to avoid running into a steep mountain. A sharp turn in a series of sharp bends on Kali Oka Road, in Saraland, just south of a Crybaby Bridge. California An S - shape connector on the San Francisco -- Oakland Bay Bridge, as seen on September 29, 2009, from the U.S. Coast Guard station on Yerba Buena Island A curve on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles memorialized in the hit song `` Dead Man 's Curve '' by Jan and Dean Some say it is a nearly 90 ° right turn traveling west on Sunset Boulevard just past North Whittier Drive. Others say it is located near the Bel Air estates north of UCLA 's Drake Stadium going eastbound ( not westbound as in the song ). While an accident involving voice actor Mel Blanc prompted safety improvement, the curve remains today. Others remember the location as the curve at Evans Road going westbound ( as in the song ), a decreasing radius blind turn to the left with a downhill entry. Maximum speed in the first half of the turn is too fast for the last half of the turn, making it all too easy to lose control, run off the road and crash. A temporary S - shape curve on the eastern span of the San Francisco -- Oakland Bay Bridge ( part of Interstate 80 ). After its installation on September 8, 2009, to divert traffic as part of a replacement project, 43 accidents took place, including one fatal crash. A sharp turn in the shape of a `` U '' on SR 76 in San Diego County, near Red Gate Road. The curve has claimed the lives of many motorcyclists. Colorado A sharp turn on eastbound Interstate 70 near Morrison that is preceded by a 7 - mile ( 11 km ) stretch of a 6.5 % grade downslope, which has been the site of numerous fatal runaway truck accidents. A high - banked turn on eastbound US 50 just west of Cañon City that is preceded by an 8 - mile ( 13 km ) stretch of downslope, which has caused several vehicles to go over the banked edge and wreck. Hawaii A sharp turn at the end of Kapaa Quarry Road, which is a dimly lit utility road in Kailua, Honolulu County, that has claimed eight fatalities and is considered one of Oahu 's haunted roads. Illinois In Towanda, Illinois, an almost 90 ° Dead Man 's Curve on the original Old U.S. Route 66 was the site of many accidents ; a number of which ended in fatalities. The roadbed was eventually turned into a park and walking trail. Indiana In Indianapolis, a curve on Interstate 70 westbound at mile marker 83.1 When opened, it had a negative camber on the right shoulder, and several truckers lost control and hit the a bridge abutment, losing their lives. The stretch was closed, re-engineered with a positive bank and with rain slots along the boundary and was reopened with a 40 miles per hour ( 64 km / h ) speed limit. Kentucky A treacherous stretch of Interstates 71 and 75 in Northern Kentucky, originally known as `` Death Hill '' and now known as `` Cut - in - the - Hill. '' Louisiana In northern Bossier Parish, a sharp curve on Louisiana 157 ( Hickory Drive ), just inside the city limits of Plain Dealing, south of the town cemetery. Maryland Interstate 83 ( Jones Falls Expressway ) in Baltimore. Michigan On M - 113 in Fife Lake Township, Grand Traverse County, Dead Man 's Curve small, 90 degree curve. ( 44 ° 35 ′ 03 '' N 85 ° 24 ′ 53 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 44.584075 ° N 85.414636 ° W ﻿ / 44.584075 ; - 85.414636 ) In Marquette Township, Marquette County, Dead Man 's Curve referred to a curve on County Road 492 ( previously a part of M - 15 ), where the first state highway centerline in the United States was painted. Geographical coordinates : 46 ° 31 ′ 54 '' N 87 ° 28 ′ 26 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 46.5318 ° N 87.474 ° W ﻿ / 46.5318 ; - 87.474 In Milford, MI, Oakland County ( 42 ° 33'37.4 `` N 83 ° 35'50.0 '' W ) Missouri Sharp turn on Missouri State Route 34 just east of Garwood, in Reynolds County. Missouri letter Hwy A in Franklin County between Washington and Krakow ( 38 ° 31 ′ 14 '' N 91 ° 02 ′ 14 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 38.520580 ° N 91.037139 ° W ﻿ / 38.520580 ; - 91.037139 ) New Mexico Near Mesita, a 180o bend in the road to the left on Historic U.S. Route 66 nicknamed `` Dead Man 's Curve '' Between Albuquerque and Tijeras, State Road 333 ( previously known as U.S. Route 66 ) makes a sudden curve near the I - 40 overpass. This stretch of highway has earned its name because of the rocky cliffs on the south side of the highway, and frequent deer traffic contributes to its hazardousness New York A 90o turn on New York State Route 17 in Binghamton, near the junction with Interstate 81 and Interstate 88, which also goes by the name Kamikaze Curve. The tight curve, which hugs Prospect Mountain along the Chenango River, is slated for improvements as part of NY 17 's upgrade to Interstate 86. Union Square in Manhattan had a long history of traffic congestion extending back to the 1890s, when trolley lines were first installed. Two parallel trolley lines made a double curve at the southwest corner of Broadway and Fourteenth Street. In spite of traffic wardens on duty, the trolleys regularly struck pedestrians crossing the tracks in the busy shopping district around the park. By 1930, the Fourteenth Street Association, a retail business association headed by its president, H. Prescott Beach, had successfully lobbied the New York transit authority to remove the above - ground rails, and move routes underground. North Carolina On northbound Interstate 77 in Charlotte, there is an S - shaped curve as it passes under the Brookshire Freeway ( exit 11, signed as Interstate 277 east of the interchange, and North Carolina Highway 16 in both directions ). The reason for this is because there are two left - hand exits and entrances : one ramp goes from northbound I - 77 to northbound NC 16, and the other ramp goes from the end of I - 277 to southbound I - 77. Ohio Dead Man 's Curve in Cleveland, Ohio The nearly 90o turn on Interstate 90 near downtown Cleveland, officially called the `` Innerbelt Curve '', at the point where the Cleveland Memorial Shoreway connects to the Innerbelt Freeway at a modified trumpet interchange just south of Burke Lakefront Airport. The advisory speed is 35 miles per hour ( 56 km / h ), although the maximum speed limit is 50 miles per hour ( 80 km / h ), as on adjacent sections of the Shoreway and Innerbelt. Location : 41 ° 31 ′ 02 '' N 81 ° 40 ′ 31 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 41.5173 ° N 81.6754 ° W ﻿ / 41.5173 ; - 81.6754 Dead Man 's Curve was constructed as part of the Innerbelt project in 1959. At the time, Interstate 90 had been planned to continue westward on the Shoreway, connecting with its current location via the never - built Parma Freeway. It soon became apparent that the curve was too sharp for travel at typical Interstate speeds, and in 1965, the state lowered the speed limit from 50 mph ( 80 km / h ) to 35 mph ( 56 km / h ). Four years later, authorities completed the first set of safety retrofits, which included banking the curve and installing rumble strips and large signs. According to the Ohio Department of Transportation ( ODOT ), the crash rate on the Innerbelt ( which includes Dead Man 's Curve ) is two to three times the regional average for urban freeways, despite the reduced speed limits on the roadway. The department has investigated ways of enhancing safety on the stretch, including a complete realignment of the roadway to reduce the degree of the curve. As of 2014 the proposed configuration of the curve as presented in the ODOT Innerbelt Plan is still planned to be built but not until the mid-2020s. According to a 2013 ODOT count, 64,720 vehicles travel on the curve every day. A sharp bend in U.S. Route 50 ( Columbia Parkway ) east of Cincinnati Sharp turn 5 on Interstate 75 just north of downtown Dayton Oregon On the Mount Hood Scenic Byway between Zigzag and Government Camp See also Terwilliger curves Pennsylvania The northern terminus of Interstate 476 in Clarks Summit is a 180 ° turn, with an advisory speed limit of 20 miles per hour ( 32 km / h ), created in order to access a toll plaza before the interchange with Interstate 81. On U.S. Route 22 in Easton, there are several dangerous sharp turns that go past a graveyard. ( This is most commonly known as `` Cemetery Curve '' for that reason. ) Streetlights were installed to help cut down on nighttime crashes ; the lightposts are themselves frequent victims of collisions. The Conshohocken Curve is a point on the Schuylkill Expressway notable as a point of slowness because of the 90 degree turn. The point lies at about mile marker 331. South Carolina A dangerous curve on South Carolina Highway 9 about 10 miles west of Chester, South Carolina, is responsible for several fatal crashes. Deceased drivers ' families and Chester County officials have been lobbying the South Carolina Department of Transportation to improve road safety. Texas A sharp, sudden turn on U.S. Route 175 ( C.F. Hawn Freeway ) at the interchange with SH 310 southeast of downtown Dallas. After a fatal truck accident in 2008, the state installed additional beacons and also flashing chevrons to further draw motorists ' attention to the hazard. As of 2010, the department of highways is studying plans to eliminate this curve by extending the C.F. Hawn Freeway westward to Interstate 45. See also Hairpin curve Slaughter alley References Jump up ^ Allen, Irving Lewis ( 1995 ). The City in Slang : New York Life and Popular Speech. New York : Oxford University Press. ISBN 0 - 19 - 509265 - 1 -- via Google Books. A bend in any road that has a history of vehicular accidents always seems to be called Dead Man 's Curve. Jump up ^ Algar, Selim ( October 8, 2012 ). `` Police : 4 Killed in Gruesome Long Island Accident : Driver Only Had Learner 's Permit ''. New York Post. Retrieved August 8, 2015. The site is so frequently the scene of horrific accidents, first responders call it ' Dead Man 's Curve '. Jump up ^ Google Maps view of curve in Birmingham Jump up ^ `` Dead Man 's Curve ''. Urban Legends Reference Pages. Snopes.com. May 23, 2007. Retrieved August 25, 2015. Jump up ^ Google ( August 25, 2015 ). `` Curve in Los Angeles ( Sunset Boulevard ) '' ( Map ). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved August 25, 2015. Jump up ^ Google ( 5 November 2016 ). `` Location of Mel Blanc 's crash on Sunset Blvd at UCLA '' ( Map ). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 5 November 2016. Jump up ^ Google ( August 25, 2015 ). `` Sunset Boulevard and Evans Road '' ( Map ). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved August 25, 2015. Jump up ^ Lee, Henry K. ; Michael Cabanatuan ; Jaxon Van Derbeken ( November 10, 2009 ). `` Changes coming to Bay Bridge after death plunge ''. San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved November 11, 2009. Jump up ^ Google ( August 25, 2015 ). `` SR 76 and Red Gate Road in San Diego County '' ( Map ). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved August 25, 2015. Jump up ^ Google Maps view of curve in Colorado Jump up ^ Gathright, Alan ( 2007 - 07 - 12 ). `` Stretch of I - 70 has deadly legacy ''. Rocky Mountain News. Archived from the original on 2007 - 07 - 14. Retrieved 2007 - 07 - 13. Jump up ^ Google Maps view Jump up ^ `` Archived copy ''. Archived from the original on August 24, 2012. Retrieved October 1, 2011. Jump up ^ ( 1 ) Jump up ^ `` The Mother Road : Historic Route 66 - Dead Man 's Curve ''. Retrieved 5 October 2014. Jump up ^ Google Maps view of I70 west at mile marker 83.1 in Indianapolis Jump up ^ Google Maps view of curve in Covington, Kentucky Jump up ^ Google Maps view of curve in Plain Dealing Jump up ^ Google Maps view of curve in Baltimore Jump up ^ Kulsea, Bill ; Shawver, Tom ( 1980 ). Making Michigan Move : A History of Michigan Highways and the Michigan Department of Transportation. Lansing : Michigan Department of Transportation. p. 10. Jump up ^ Federal Highway Administration ( 1977 ). America 's Highways, 1776 -- 1976 : A History of the Federal - Aid Program. Washington, DC : US Government Printing Office. p. 127. OCLC 3280344. Jump up ^ `` The Mother Road : Historic Route 66 - Turn by Turn Road Description - New Mexico ''. Retrieved 5 October 2014. Jump up ^ 2 Jump up ^ `` Google Maps ''. Retrieved 5 October 2014. Jump up ^ `` New Mexicans move to make roads more wildlife - friendly ''. Retrieved 5 October 2014. Jump up ^ `` UNION SQUARE AND THE DEMISE OF ' DEAD MAN 'S CURVE ' ''. Bowery Boys. Retrieved 15 January 2017. Jump up ^ Connoly, Louise. `` The New Woman. '' Harper 's Weekly ( June 7, 1913 ) : 6. Jump up ^ Google ( October 25, 2017 ). `` I - 77 north at Exit 11 in Charlotte '' ( Map ). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved October 25, 2017. ^ Jump up to : Chapter 4.0 : Conceptual Alternatives -- Innerbelt Curve, Cleveland Innerbelt : Conceptual Alternatives Study, Ohio Department of Transportation / Burgess & Niple / URS Corporation, 2006 - 08 - 11. Retrieved 2012 - 07 - 22. Jump up ^ `` Encyclopedia of Cleveland History -- Innerbelt Freeway ''. Retrieved 5 October 2014. Jump up ^ Google Maps view of curve in Cleveland Jump up ^ Ohio Department of Transportation ( 2007 - 05 - 16 ). District 12 Speed Zones. p. 5. Jump up ^ Sweeney, James ( 2001 - 04 - 22 ). `` Dead Man 's Curve could be worse - in fact, it was ''. The Plain Dealer. Jump up ^ Ohio Department of Highways. `` 1957 - 1958 Biennial Report excerpt ''. Retrieved 2012 - 07 - 22. Jump up ^ Cabanatuan, Michael ( 2009 - 11 - 11 ). `` Ideas offered to slow S - curve motorists ''. San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2009 - 11 - 11. Jump up ^ Sweeney, James ( 2001 - 04 - 22 ). `` Roadblock to improving safety ; Inner Belt changes being studied, but Dead Man 's Curve might be dead end ''. The Plain Dealer. Jump up ^ Marshall, Aaron ( 2012 - 07 - 22 ). `` Cleveland 's Dead Man 's Curve Not Going to Stop Tipping Trucks Anytime Soon ''. The Plain Dealer. Retrieved 2012 - 07 - 22. Jump up ^ Contract Group 4, Innerbelt Plan Jump up ^ Grant, Alison ( 2014 - 08 - 12 ). `` Traffic Congestion Easing across Northeast Ohio ''. The Plain Dealer. Retrieved 2014 - 08 - 13. Jump up ^ Cuyahoga County Annual Average Daily Traffic 2013 ( PDF ) ( Map ). Ohio Department of Transportation. 2013. Jump up ^ Google Maps view of curve in Cincinnati Jump up ^ Google Maps view of curve in Dayton Jump up ^ Google Maps view of curve in on the Mount Hood Scenic Byway Jump up ^ Google Maps view of curve in Easton Jump up ^ `` Shine the lights on Cemetery Curve ; Tuesday will be a great day for no - shows - Oct. 28 letters to the editor ''. Easton Express - Times. 2010 - 10 - 28. Retrieved 2010 - 12 - 15. Jump up ^ Ritter, Jana. `` Recent Fatal Crash Prompts Action To Fix `` Deadman 's Curve '' ``. TruckDrivingJobs.com. Retrieved 18 May 2016. Jump up ^ Google Maps view of curve in Dallas External links Video of Cleveland 's Dead Man 's Curve westbound ( 0 : 44 ) on YouTube Streets and roadways Types of road Limited - access Freeway / Motorway Dual carriageway / Divided highway / Expressway Elevated highway By country Australia Brazil China Croatia Czech Republic Germany Greece Hong Kong India Ireland Italy Pakistan Portugal Spain United Kingdom United States Main roads Arterial road Collector road County highway Express - collector setup Farm - to - market road Highway Link road Two - lane expressway 2 + 1 road 2 + 2 road Parkway Super two Trunk road Highway systems by country Local roads Alley Backroad Bicycle boulevard Boulevard Country lane Dead end Driveway Frontage road Green lane Main street Primitive road Road Side road Single carriageway Single - track road Street Sunken lane Other terms Channelization Concurrency Detour Hierarchy of roads Private highway Route number Special route Business route Street hierarchy Toll road Road junctions Interchanges ( grade - separated ) Cloverleaf Diamond Free - flow Directional T Diverging diamond Parclo Raindrop Roundabout Single - point urban ( SPUI ) Stack Three - level diamond Trumpet Intersections ( at - grade ) 3 - way junction Bowtie Box junction Continuous flow Hook turn Jughandle Michigan left Offset T - intersection Protected intersection Quadrant roadway Right - in / right - out ( RIRO ) Roundabout Seagull intersection Split intersection Superstreet Texas U-turn Traffic circle Turnaround Surfaces Asphalt concrete Bioasphalt Brick Chipseal Cobblestone Concrete Reinforced concrete Corduroy Crocodile cracking Crushed stone Diamond grinding of pavement Dirt Full depth recycling Glassphalt Gravel Ice Macadam Pavement milling Permeable Plank Rubberized asphalt Sealcoat Sett Stamped asphalt Tarmac Texture Road hazards Aquaplaning Black ice Bleeding Crosswind Dead Man 's Curve Expansion joint Fog Ford Hairpin turn Level crossing Manhole cover Oil spill Oversize load Pothole Road debris Road slipperiness Road train Roadkill Rockfall Rut Speed bump Storm drain Washboarding Washout Whiteout Space and time allocation Barrier transfer machine Bicycle lane Climbing lane Complete streets Contraflow lane Contraflow lane reversal High - occupancy toll lane High - occupancy vehicle lane Lane Living street Managed lane Median / Central reservation Motorcycle lane Passing lane Pedestrian crossing Pedestrian zone Refuge island Reversible lane Road diet Road verge Runaway truck ramp Shared space Sidewalk / Pavement Shoulder Street running railway Traffic calming Traffic directionality Traffic island Traffic lanes Traffic signal preemption Unused highway Wide outside lane Woonerf Demarcation Bollard Botts ' dots Cable barrier Cat 's eye ( road ) Concrete step barrier Constant - slope barrier Curb F - Shape barrier Guard rail Jersey barrier Kassel kerb Noise barrier Raised pavement marker Road surface marking Rumble strip Traffic barrier Traffic cone Structures Bridge Causeway Overpass / Flyover Underpass / Tunnel Glossary of road transport terms Road types by features Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dead_Man%27s_Curve&oldid=829411871 '' Categories : Interstate 90 Roads in Ohio Transportation in Cleveland Road hazards Hidden categories : Articles needing cleanup from January 2015 All pages needing cleanup Articles with sections that need to be turned into prose from January 2015 Articles with limited geographic scope from July 2014 Articles needing additional references from August 2010 All articles needing additional references Articles with multiple maintenance issues All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from August 2015 Articles with unsourced statements from July 2014 Articles with unsourced statements from July 2012 All articles with failed verification Articles with failed verification from July 2012 Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2014 All articles containing potentially dated statements Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2010 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 8 March 2018, at 13 : 47. 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Question: why do they call it dead man's curve
Answer: numerous crashes