Maybe you did it a long time ago and it’s been improved since then?

The buses were more modern than an American school bus where I grew up and less narrow/dangerous than California route 1. I’m honestly very confident that most people would not find it sketchy.

I did this recently, there’s really no need to be that concerned. The road is actually well maintained and wide, it was totally fine imo. It’s the biggest tourist attraction in all of Peru and has proper funding.

You can actually hike it if you want though. It’s not a particularly interesting hike though since it’s right next to the road. There are much better hikes to take in Peru. I did the Salcantay pass while I was there and loved it.