Without a doubt the toll highway north to south compared to the other highways that are available is pretty good. There are a few engineering deficiencies that do pose problems though. During and after a heavy rain, in some spots, water tends to pool in the middle of the roadway rather than drain off to the sides. Quite unexpectedly, a driver can find their vehicle traversing a section of pavement covered by and inch of water. Hydroplaning is a real possibility for those who do not slow down until the roadway is dry again. Some of the curves through the hills are a bit sharp and slant at an excessive angle making higher speed steering a challenge. Granted in this section speed limits are reduced, but that is not necessarily enough to keep bad drivers and bad cars in their own lane going around these bends.
While the road is pretty good, the same can not be said for the majority of drivers. The same driving mentality and practices encountered on the other highways are no different on this one. A lack of driverg skill, a complete absence of any sort of understanding or implementation of defensive driving theory, unexpected obstacles and poor vehicle maintenance abound.
Elsewhere in the world, these types of roads have both an upper and lower speed limit. A minimum speed helps ensure motorists don't come upon a vehicle bumbling along at 20 km/h escepecially important in the in the dark. Poor tire condition in light of the way this highway sheds water (or does not) is an accident waiting to happen.
On a highway such as this, there is no excuse for allowing motos with engines smaller than 250cc to dart about on either side of the roadway. As with most roads in the this country, day or night, it is not uncommon to encounter farm animals meandering about. It should not be possible for these animals to stumble onto the highway and certainly not herded down it by farmers moving their animals from one location to another.
Every so often, one passes an access road that feeds directly onto the highway and in some place actually crosses it and continues on the other side. Traffic entering, exiting and crossing the hwy are an ever present hazard. Normally on a road such as this there are entrance and exit ramps that preclude traffic entering the traffic flow until they have a chance to reach highways speeds and eliminate the possibility of misjudging the speed of oncoming traffic before hurtling oneself across the highway because waiting for a safer opporunity is just not done here.
There is a lot that is wrong with the highway system in this country. First and foremost is the is that highways really aren't highways because they are treated as and used as any other roadway for all manner of vehicles and purposes including as pedestrian walkways.
Bad drivers, poorly maintained vehicles, minimalist engineering, inappropriate vehicular traffic and all sorts of impediments and hazards to the flow of high speed traffic make this highway and all the others exactly the same - a threat to everyone who uses them.
The most deadly highway on the country? A dubious distinction, as they are all deadly. The only difference, this one appears on the surface to be a cut above the rest and as such an invitation to higher speeds and a false sense of security as one erroneously exhales a sigh of relief after leaving the regular highways at the top and bottom of this road and relaxes just a bit too much more often than not.