What was your most stressful driving experience?

Mine happened in the late 70s when my cousin was killed driving on icy roads. We all decided that we would drive to his funeral which in good weather took 5 hours one way. The night before we left it rained and the rain froze on the roads. I drove my uncle's car which had very bad tires and steering that tended to wander. It took us 7 hours to get there and when the funeral was over we drove back. The roads had not improved at all I drove straight through. On the radio the next day was the sad story of a young woman who was killed on the same highway I drove. I guess she was going too fast and couldn't make the curve She likely wasn't wearing a seat belt and the little Mustang she was driving certainly didn't have airbags. The radio didn't say that she was driving a mustang but one pulled out and passed me like I was standing still. 14 hours of ice road driving and I made it home safe and sound. I slept well that night.

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dancingtongue · 80-89, M

On Australia's Pacific Highway. I already was stressed from having to remember to drive on the "wrong" side of the road. But we hit "the arse end of a typhoon" as the bartender at the motel when we finally stopped described it, which had blown a couple of caravans--campers to us Yanks-- into wrecks, blocking lanes on the modern multi-lane freeway and forced us off onto the old two-lane highway, where I now have to really focus on which side of the road to be on, with sheer cliffs dropping off into the ocean on the side of my lane, twisting turns, and gale force winds. At the first opportunity I hopped back on the freeway, no matter if was backed up, and found the nearest motel and bar.

Runner-up: Sicily whenever a shirt-tail Sicilian relative sat shotgun and gave me instructions. Whether it was coming to a fork in the highway and her saying, stop, let me think!; or being stopped by the Carabinieri, her getting into an argument with the officer in machine-gun, loud Sicilian, grabbing the registration papers out of his hand, and saying "Go"; or managing to get us lost down a narrow alley, telling me to make a U-turn, my accidentally hitting and knocking loose a drain pipe and her saying "never mind, they will fix it".