diff --git a/src/emitterutils.cpp b/src/emitterutils.cpp
index 74e58abdd..644897307 100644
--- a/src/emitterutils.cpp
+++ b/src/emitterutils.cpp
@@ -174,14 +174,14 @@ bool IsValidPlainScalar(const char* str, std::size_t size, FlowType::value flowT
   }
 
   // then check until something is disallowed
-  static const RegEx disallowed_flow =
+  static const never_destroyed<RegEx> disallowed_flow{
       Exp::EndScalarInFlow() | (Exp::BlankOrBreak() + Exp::Comment()) |
       Exp::NotPrintable() | Exp::Utf8_ByteOrderMark() | Exp::Break() |
-      Exp::Tab() | Exp::Ampersand();
-  static const RegEx disallowed_block =
+      Exp::Tab() | Exp::Ampersand()};
+  static const never_destroyed<RegEx> disallowed_block{
       Exp::EndScalar() | (Exp::BlankOrBreak() + Exp::Comment()) |
       Exp::NotPrintable() | Exp::Utf8_ByteOrderMark() | Exp::Break() |
-      Exp::Tab() | Exp::Ampersand();
+      Exp::Tab() | Exp::Ampersand()};
   const RegEx& disallowed =
       flowType == FlowType::Flow ? disallowed_flow : disallowed_block;
 
diff --git a/src/exp.h b/src/exp.h
index c8837f0f8..98dba6b28 100644
--- a/src/exp.h
+++ b/src/exp.h
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@
 #include <ios>
 #include <string>
 
+#include "never_destroyed.h"
 #include "regex_yaml.h"
 #include "stream.h"
 
@@ -21,126 +22,137 @@ namespace YAML {
 namespace Exp {
 // misc
 inline const RegEx& Empty() {
-  static const RegEx e;
+  static const never_destroyed<RegEx> e;
   return e;
 }
 inline const RegEx& Space() {
-  static const RegEx e = RegEx(' ');
+  static const never_destroyed<RegEx> e{RegEx(' ')};
   return e;
 }
 inline const RegEx& Tab() {
-  static const RegEx e = RegEx('\t');
+  static const never_destroyed<RegEx> e{RegEx('\t')};
   return e;
 }
 inline const RegEx& Blank() {
-  static const RegEx e = Space() | Tab();
+  static const never_destroyed<RegEx> e{Space() | Tab()};
   return e;
 }
 inline const RegEx& Break() {
-  static const RegEx e = RegEx('\n') | RegEx("\r\n") | RegEx('\r');
+  static const never_destroyed<RegEx> e{RegEx('\n') | RegEx("\r\n") |
+                                        RegEx('\r')};
   return e;
 }
 inline const RegEx& BlankOrBreak() {
-  static const RegEx e = Blank() | Break();
+  static const never_destroyed<RegEx> e{Blank() | Break()};
   return e;
 }
 inline const RegEx& Digit() {
-  static const RegEx e = RegEx('0', '9');
+  static const never_destroyed<RegEx> e{RegEx('0', '9')};
   return e;
 }
 inline const RegEx& Alpha() {
-  static const RegEx e = RegEx('a', 'z') | RegEx('A', 'Z');
+  static const never_destroyed<RegEx> e{RegEx('a', 'z') | RegEx('A', 'Z')};
   return e;
 }
 inline const RegEx& AlphaNumeric() {
-  static const RegEx e = Alpha() | Digit();
+  static const never_destroyed<RegEx> e{Alpha() | Digit()};
   return e;
 }
 inline const RegEx& Word() {
-  static const RegEx e = AlphaNumeric() | RegEx('-');
+  static const never_destroyed<RegEx> e{AlphaNumeric() | RegEx('-')};
   return e;
 }
 inline const RegEx& Hex() {
-  static const RegEx e = Digit() | RegEx('A', 'F') | RegEx('a', 'f');
+  static const never_destroyed<RegEx> e{Digit() | RegEx('A', 'F') |
+                                        RegEx('a', 'f')};
   return e;
 }
 // Valid Unicode code points that are not part of c-printable (YAML 1.2, sec.
 // 5.1)
 inline const RegEx& NotPrintable() {
-  static const RegEx e =
+  static const never_destroyed<RegEx> e{
       RegEx(0) |
       RegEx("\x01\x02\x03\x04\x05\x06\x07\x08\x0B\x0C\x7F", REGEX_OR) |
       RegEx(0x0E, 0x1F) |
-      (RegEx('\xC2') + (RegEx('\x80', '\x84') | RegEx('\x86', '\x9F')));
+      (RegEx('\xC2') + (RegEx('\x80', '\x84') | RegEx('\x86', '\x9F')))};
   return e;
 }
 inline const RegEx& Utf8_ByteOrderMark() {
-  static const RegEx e = RegEx("\xEF\xBB\xBF");
+  static const never_destroyed<RegEx> e{RegEx("\xEF\xBB\xBF")};
   return e;
 }
 
 // actual tags
 
 inline const RegEx& DocStart() {
-  static const RegEx e = RegEx("---") + (BlankOrBreak() | RegEx());
+  static const never_destroyed<RegEx> e{RegEx("---") +
+                                        (BlankOrBreak() | RegEx())};
   return e;
 }
 inline const RegEx& DocEnd() {
-  static const RegEx e = RegEx("...") + (BlankOrBreak() | RegEx());
+  static const never_destroyed<RegEx> e{RegEx("...") +
+                                        (BlankOrBreak() | RegEx())};
   return e;
 }
 inline const RegEx& DocIndicator() {
-  static const RegEx e = DocStart() | DocEnd();
+  static const never_destroyed<RegEx> e{DocStart() | DocEnd()};
   return e;
 }
 inline const RegEx& BlockEntry() {
-  static const RegEx e = RegEx('-') + (BlankOrBreak() | RegEx());
+  static const never_destroyed<RegEx> e{RegEx('-') +
+                                        (BlankOrBreak() | RegEx())};
   return e;
 }
 inline const RegEx& Key() {
-  static const RegEx e = RegEx('?') + BlankOrBreak();
+  static const never_destroyed<RegEx> e{RegEx('?') + BlankOrBreak()};
   return e;
 }
 inline const RegEx& KeyInFlow() {
-  static const RegEx e = RegEx('?') + BlankOrBreak();
+  static const never_destroyed<RegEx> e{RegEx('?') + BlankOrBreak()};
   return e;
 }
 inline const RegEx& Value() {
-  static const RegEx e = RegEx(':') + (BlankOrBreak() | RegEx());
+  static const never_destroyed<RegEx> e{RegEx(':') +
+                                        (BlankOrBreak() | RegEx())};
   return e;
 }
 inline const RegEx& ValueInFlow() {
-  static const RegEx e = RegEx(':') + (BlankOrBreak() | RegEx(",]}", REGEX_OR));
+  static const never_destroyed<RegEx> e{
+      RegEx(':') + (BlankOrBreak() | RegEx(",]}", REGEX_OR))};
   return e;
 }
 inline const RegEx& ValueInJSONFlow() {
-  static const RegEx e = RegEx(':');
+  static const never_destroyed<RegEx> e{RegEx(':')};
   return e;
 }
 inline const RegEx& Ampersand() {
-  static const RegEx e = RegEx('&');
+  static const never_destroyed<RegEx> e{RegEx('&')};
   return e;
 }
 inline const RegEx Comment() {
-  static const RegEx e = RegEx('#');
+  static const never_destroyed<RegEx> e{RegEx('#')};
   return e;
 }
 inline const RegEx& Anchor() {
-  static const RegEx e = !(RegEx("[]{},", REGEX_OR) | BlankOrBreak());
+  static const never_destroyed<RegEx> e{
+      !(RegEx("[]{},", REGEX_OR) | BlankOrBreak())};
   return e;
 }
 inline const RegEx& AnchorEnd() {
-  static const RegEx e = RegEx("?:,]}%@`", REGEX_OR) | BlankOrBreak();
+  static const never_destroyed<RegEx> e{RegEx("?:,]}%@`", REGEX_OR) |
+                                        BlankOrBreak()};
   return e;
 }
 inline const RegEx& URI() {
-  static const RegEx e = Word() | RegEx("#;/?:@&=+$,_.!~*'()[]", REGEX_OR) |
-                         (RegEx('%') + Hex() + Hex());
+  static const never_destroyed<RegEx> e{
+      Word() | RegEx("#;/?:@&=+$,_.!~*'()[]", REGEX_OR) |
+      (RegEx('%') + Hex() + Hex())};
   return e;
 }
 inline const RegEx& Tag() {
-  static const RegEx e = Word() | RegEx("#;/?:@&=+$_.~*'()", REGEX_OR) |
-                         (RegEx('%') + Hex() + Hex());
+  static const never_destroyed<RegEx> e{Word() |
+                                        RegEx("#;/?:@&=+$_.~*'()", REGEX_OR) |
+                                        (RegEx('%') + Hex() + Hex())};
   return e;
 }
 
@@ -151,54 +163,57 @@ inline const RegEx& Tag() {
 // . In the flow context ? is illegal and : and - must not be followed with a
 // space.
 inline const RegEx& PlainScalar() {
-  static const RegEx e =
+  static const never_destroyed<RegEx> e{
       !(BlankOrBreak() | RegEx(",[]{}#&*!|>\'\"%@`", REGEX_OR) |
-        (RegEx("-?:", REGEX_OR) + (BlankOrBreak() | RegEx())));
+        (RegEx("-?:", REGEX_OR) + (BlankOrBreak() | RegEx())))};
   return e;
 }
 inline const RegEx& PlainScalarInFlow() {
-  static const RegEx e =
+  static const never_destroyed<RegEx> e{
       !(BlankOrBreak() | RegEx("?,[]{}#&*!|>\'\"%@`", REGEX_OR) |
-        (RegEx("-:", REGEX_OR) + (Blank() | RegEx())));
+        (RegEx("-:", REGEX_OR) + (Blank() | RegEx())))};
   return e;
 }
 inline const RegEx& EndScalar() {
-  static const RegEx e = RegEx(':') + (BlankOrBreak() | RegEx());
+  static const never_destroyed<RegEx> e{RegEx(':') +
+                                        (BlankOrBreak() | RegEx())};
   return e;
 }
 inline const RegEx& EndScalarInFlow() {
-  static const RegEx e =
+  static const never_destroyed<RegEx> e{
       (RegEx(':') + (BlankOrBreak() | RegEx() | RegEx(",]}", REGEX_OR))) |
-      RegEx(",?[]{}", REGEX_OR);
+      RegEx(",?[]{}", REGEX_OR)};
   return e;
 }
 
 inline const RegEx& ScanScalarEndInFlow() {
-  static const RegEx e = (EndScalarInFlow() | (BlankOrBreak() + Comment()));
+  static const never_destroyed<RegEx> e{
+      (EndScalarInFlow() | (BlankOrBreak() + Comment()))};
   return e;
 }
 
 inline const RegEx& ScanScalarEnd() {
-  static const RegEx e = EndScalar() | (BlankOrBreak() + Comment());
+  static const never_destroyed<RegEx> e{EndScalar() |
+                                        (BlankOrBreak() + Comment())};
   return e;
 }
 inline const RegEx& EscSingleQuote() {
-  static const RegEx e = RegEx("\'\'");
+  static const never_destroyed<RegEx> e{RegEx("\'\'")};
   return e;
 }
 inline const RegEx& EscBreak() {
-  static const RegEx e = RegEx('\\') + Break();
+  static const never_destroyed<RegEx> e{RegEx('\\') + Break()};
   return e;
 }
 
 inline const RegEx& ChompIndicator() {
-  static const RegEx e = RegEx("+-", REGEX_OR);
+  static const never_destroyed<RegEx> e{RegEx("+-", REGEX_OR)};
   return e;
 }
 inline const RegEx& Chomp() {
-  static const RegEx e = (ChompIndicator() + Digit()) |
-                         (Digit() + ChompIndicator()) | ChompIndicator() |
-                         Digit();
+  static const never_destroyed<RegEx> e{(ChompIndicator() + Digit()) |
+                                        (Digit() + ChompIndicator()) |
+                                        ChompIndicator() | Digit()};
   return e;
 }
 
diff --git a/src/never_destroyed.h b/src/never_destroyed.h
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..928d6355e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/never_destroyed.h
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+#ifndef NEVER_DESROYED_H_62B23520_7C8E_11DE_8A39_0800200C9A66
+#define NEVER_DESROYED_H_62B23520_7C8E_11DE_8A39_0800200C9A66
+
+#include <cstdint>
+#include <utility>
+
+namespace YAML {
+
+// Wraps an underlying type T such that its storage is a direct member field of
+// this object (i.e., without any indirection into the heap), but *unlike* most
+// member fields T's destructor is never invoked. This is especially useful for
+// function-local static variables that are not trivially destructable, because
+// we shouldn't call their destructor at program exit because of the "static
+// initialization order fiasco" (https://en.cppreference.com/cpp/language/siof)
+// where the same logic applies to the indeterminate order of destruction.
+template <typename T>
+class never_destroyed {
+ public:
+  // Passes the constructor arguments along to T using perfect forwarding.
+  template <typename... Args>
+  explicit never_destroyed(Args&&... args) {
+    new (&storage_) T(std::forward<Args>(args)...);
+  }
+
+  // Non-copyable.
+  never_destroyed(const never_destroyed&) = delete;
+  void operator=(const never_destroyed&) = delete;
+  never_destroyed(never_destroyed&&) = delete;
+  void operator=(never_destroyed&&) = delete;
+
+  // No-op.
+  ~never_destroyed() = default;
+
+  // Returns the underlying T reference.
+  operator const T&() const { return *reinterpret_cast<const T*>(&storage_); }
+
+ private:
+  alignas(T) std::uint8_t storage_[sizeof(T)];
+};
+
+}  // namespace YAML
+
+#endif  // NEVER_DESROYED_H_62B23520_7C8E_11DE_8A39_0800200C9A66
diff --git a/src/node_data.cpp b/src/node_data.cpp
index dbfb94191..fde6ce59c 100644
--- a/src/node_data.cpp
+++ b/src/node_data.cpp
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 #include <iterator>
 #include <sstream>
 
+#include "never_destroyed.h"
 #include "yaml-cpp/exceptions.h"
 #include "yaml-cpp/node/detail/memory.h"
 #include "yaml-cpp/node/detail/node.h"  // IWYU pragma: keep
@@ -16,7 +17,7 @@ namespace detail {
 YAML_CPP_API std::atomic<size_t> node::m_amount{0};
 
 const std::string& node_data::empty_scalar() {
-  static const std::string svalue;
+  static const never_destroyed<std::string> svalue;
   return svalue;
 }