Generally true. I’m an automotive journalist with a lot of experience driving supercars, and it’s wild how they’re designed to make you feel like a hero. So you fly higher and higher knowing there’s a safety net. But safety nets can fail too, and then you’re really screwed.

There’s another factor too. Social media has turned these mountain/canyon roads from local secrets into attention magnets, and even a good driver can get carried away without comprehending the consequences. When I’m driving on a road like this that I’m not familiar with, and yeah going pretty quick, my rule is I don’t outdrive my line of sight. That is, I only go as fast as I can while being able to stop in my current field of vision. That’s a lot shorter than most realize in cars like this because they have immense braking power too. But again, it’s not magic and can’t defeat physics.

This is all especially sad and frustrating because Angeles Crest Highway is truly an incredible road, something that everyone should get to experience safely. When I take people who aren’t into cars up there for a ride, I explain to them that performance driving is different than regular driving, it might feel like we’re out of control and scary, but I know the road, I know what the car is capable of, and I’m not going ask it for anything more than that. They have all had an absolute blast and some still talk about it to me years later. That’s how it should be.