9 Day 100-Km Chinese Traffic Jam?

[Jesse834]

According to Agence France-Presse (AFP), thousands of vehicles have been clogging the Beijing-Tibet expressway since August 14. The problem began when semi-truck traffic and road construction spiked at virtually the same time.

State-run newspapers are reporting that the jam has seen a "mini-economy" spring up, where merchants are venturing onto the roadway to sell stuck drivers' water and food at sky-high prices.

Reportedly, this is not the first jam-up along the thoroughfare, with prolonged traffic snarls in June and July lasting nearly a month. Traffic along the stretch has been growing increasingly worse as China's auto sales and consumption of shipped goods continues to sky-rocket.

http://autos.sympatico.ca/automotive...nters-day-nine

[DOK]

I've been hearing about this. I guess lots of people are going this route to avoid tolls on other roads. I couldn't imagine, it just nutso.

[Hemi-Cuda]

i think i would pay good money just to see 4x4's face if he were stuck in such a traffic jam

[HotHotHeat]

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you China. The world's next superpower.


Right.

[Bob]

Heh, you should see the way they drive in Beijing. About the only rule followed is which side of the road to drive on, and that's only some of the time

Also, it's no surprise they're out there selling stuff. There must be, literally, several million vendors hawking goods throughout the country. It's very much snooze-you-lose.

[SeeBass]

"Hello honey I'm gonna be running a little late."

[Mike Oxlong]

Wow, and I get pissed about sitting on Deerfoot for an hour on the way to work.

Decent excuse for being late though.
"Hey boss I'm stuck in traffic, I should likely be there next Thursday."

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by SeeBass

"Hello honey I'm gonna be running a little late."

I would be setting up a cot in the office!

[VladtheImpaler]

In Soviet China... it's faster to walk...

[Nufy]

MOD EDIT: Inappropriate

[Hesla]

I was there in June... it was absolutely insane there for driving. Everyone for themselves and you better not be a pedestrian. Lights are meaningless and honking is used constantly to signal that you are beside someone as they will just move into the lanes without looking if you do not honk.

[chemgear]

Originally Posted by HotHotHeat

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you China. The world's next superpower.


Right.

Sheer weight of numbers . . . ala Warsaw Pact armed forces versus NATO back in the day.

[Starfishy]

This is not a jam that is taking drivers 9 days to get through. It is just a jam that has not been "unjammed" for 9 days.

[Ducay]

Originally Posted by Starfishy

This is not a jam that is taking drivers 9 days to get through. It is just a jam that has not been "unjammed" for 9 days.

Isn't a jam, by definition, something that is not 'unjammed'?

[Ace]

How many vehicles have run out of fuel, or been abondoned at this point?

[Russic]

Originally Posted by Ace

How many vehicles have run out of fuel, or been abondoned at this point?

That's just the thing ... there's no way everybody is still with their vehicle. Even if things opened up there must be abandoned cars everywhere.

[flylock shox]

I've heard reports that the jam started with a head-on collision between a small car and a semi-truck.

The guy in the car was apparently going the wong way...

[Teh_Bandwagoner]

Originally Posted by DOK

I've been hearing about this. I guess lots of people are going this route to avoid tolls on other roads. I couldn't imagine, it just nutso.

MOD EDIT: Not what we want.

[bizaro86]

there's no way everybody is still with their vehicle

Is that the sort of thing that might never get solved? As you tow the ones that still have people in them, more and more run out of gas/get abandoned. I wonder how much the toll these people are avoiding is. It seems like 9 days of your life should be worth a few $$.

Michael