On The Road: Mad Max Death Sculpture

For first-time visitors to Iceland, a waterfall, glacier and black-beach nature safari is kind of a must. As you make your way out of town on Route 1 heading south, escaping the Reykjavík city limits and speeding on through the open plains of gnarled black lava and creeping yellowish moss, you’ll soon come across this somewhat ghoulish sight. It looks like a grim piece of modern art, or maybe a dystopian ‘Mad Max’ road gang territory marker, stating: “YE WHO TRESPASS HERE RISK A NASTY RAMMING AND CRASHING BY THE VIKING MOTORBIKE WARRIORS OF HVERAGERÐI!” And actually, that’s not as far from the truth as it might seem. This macabre pile-up is intended to warn drivers to take it easy on the famously windy and treacherous Hellisheiði mountain pass that lies just ahead. The message? “Three dead this year. Is your seatbelt fastened?”