Island Life: Vigilante Roadworks, Avalanche Warnings, Speeding Tourists

Borgarfjörður Eystri, a tiny village in east Iceland, has been the sight of ongoing civil protest, as the single unpaved road connecting the village to the rest of the country has been riddled with potholes and ignored by national road authorities. So the villagers took matters into their own hands, filling many of the potholes themselves with cement. They continue to pressure the national government to take action.

Iceland has been buried under a lot of snow lately, and nowhere else is that more true than in the Westfjords. Avalanche warnings have been in effect in the area for the past few weeks now. Mercifully, there have been no avalanches yet.

As you drive through the uniformly flat south Iceland, you may be tempted to put the pedal to the metal. That would be a mistake. Speeding is not only especially dangerous in Iceland, but the police are not playing around. Police in the region recently took away a driver’s license from a speeding tourist who was doing 155km/h in a 90km/h zone. Best not to tempt fate!

Read more about Island Life here.