Steve Sailer writes: In 1982 I was driving with a college friend from Houston through Dead Man’s Curve on Sunset Blvd but there was a traffic jam. Eventually, we saw why: Scott Baio, star of the then hot new show “Joanie Loves Chachi,” had smashed his brand new sports car (with dealer paper plates into a tree) and he was standing on the curb talking into a pre-cellular radio phone in an agitated manner.
My friend went home to Texas feeling his first trip to L.A. had fulfilled all of his hopes for what L.A. was like.
According to Snopes: “Exactly where Los Angeles’ version of “dead man’s curve” can be found is the subject of some debate, but by general consensus it’s a tight corner of Sunset Boulevard near the Bel-Air Estates north of UCLA’s Drake Stadium. (In this map of the UCLA campus, it’s the curve of Sunset just above Drake Stadium, which is identified with a yellow number 78.) This turn is particularly tricky for persons driving eastbound (left to right on the map above) on Sunset, as a long downhill stretch on which it’s all too easy to spurt well over the 35 MPH speed limit leads up to the curve, where a driver suddenly finds he must bank sharply left or centrifugal force will send his car crashing through a wall of trees bordering the UCLA campus. Motorists unfamiliar with this part of Sunset Blvd. (or those who know about it but opt to tempt fate and test their driving abilities by approaching the turn without slowing down) can easily find themselves yanking the steering wheel too hard to the left and spinning off the road or into oncoming traffic.”
* It’s funny, the first time I rolled around dead mans curve, I thought, “this is a curve designed to kill people,” having no idea it was the famed curve. It would be worth shutting down Sunset to get that curve graded correctly. Whomever allowed it should have been shot.
* In the clip below, after the line, “let’s see if you still have balls, terry,” you’ll see a shot of “dead man’s curve” on Sunset.
Note the angle of the road, and how it can effect high-speed drivers like those depicted in the movie. Most of Sunset is graded very well for high speed driving, except “dead man’s curve.” Many asses have been kicked there. Scared the hell out of me the first time I rounded it.
