China has massive traffic jam

[TruthSeeker]

China traffic jam stretches 'nine days, 100km'


BBC, 23 August 2010 Last updated at 12:46 ET

A massive traffic jam in China has slowed vehicles to a crawl for a ninth day near Beijing, local media say.

Vehicles, mostly lorries bound for Beijing, are backed up for about 100km (62 miles) because of heavy traffic, road works and break-downs.

The drivers have complained that locals are over-charging them for food and drink while they are stuck.

There has been a boom in road building in China in recent years but vehicle use has soared at the same time.

The stalled traffic stretches between Jining in Inner Mongolia and Huai'an in Hebei province, north-west of Beijing, said the Global Times.

The road works which are obstructing traffic are necessary to repair damage caused by an increase in cargo lorries using the highway, the state-run newspaper said.

They are not expected to be finished until mid-September.

The motorway, part of the Beijing-Tibet expressway, is heavily used by lorries carrying coal from Inner Mongolia.

BBC News - China traffic jam stretches 'nine days, 100km'

 

[mjnaushad]

100 KM

 

[Speaker]

9 days? Given how enterprising the Chinese are, I wouldn't be surprised if they setup mobile eateries/shops along the road.

 

[karan.1970]

Wow.. Longest I was ever stuck in was about 12 miles just outside of Chicago and took 2 hours to clear. 9 days?? Where are they getting the fuel to keep the vehicles running?

 

[desiman]

9 days ? 100km ? lol wow, makes Toronto 30 mins 401 jam look like a coffee break. You have to give it to the Chinese, whatever they do, they do big lol

 

[Patriot]

9 days is way too much.People must have been sleeping their cars.I hope they have toilets nearby!

 

[CardSharp]

9 days? Given how enterprising the Chinese are, I wouldn't be surprised if they setup mobile eateries/shops along the road.

They did and they gypped them good on prices. Market capitalism at work

"The drivers have complained that locals are over-charging them for food and drink while they are stuck."

 

[siegecrossbow]

The problem in China right now is that cars, along with houses, are becoming a sort of status symbol. Many women won't marry people who don't own a car or a house and it is really embarrassing for people to not own a car when everyone he knows has one.

 

[cybertron]

9 days!!! huh
i realy do agree
watevr chineese do dey do it big

 

[DurPhitteMunh]

Has anybody got any pics?

 

[CardSharp]

Has anybody got any pics?

Can't find any good ones, but it looks like mainly lorries trailing out of the city.

Here is the video from the picture.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiap...(RSS:+World)&utm_content=Google+International

Motorists have taken to card games or chess to pass the time, Sky News reported. Others joked that "concerts should be held at each congested area every weekend, to alleviate drivers' homesickness," the report said.

Residents from communities alongside the expressway have seen opportunity in the traffic slowdown, setting up food and drink kiosks for the drivers.

Some drivers have complained of price gouging. One truck driver, identified by his last name Huang, told the Global Times that "instant noodles are sold at four times the original price while I wait in the congestion.

"Not only the congestion annoys me, but also those vendors," he added.

 

[Brotherhood]

Thousands of drivers on the Beijing-Tibet Expressway just outside the Chinese capital have been snared by roadworks ever since 14 August

Welcome to the world's worst traffic jam | Technology | The Guardian

 

[sunny001]

Thousands of drivers on the Beijing-Tibet Expressway just outside the Chinese capital have been snared by roadworks ever since 14 August

Welcome to the world's worst traffic jam | Technology | The Guardian

Well at least they are maintaining an order not like Indian traffic. I sometimes wonder why can't we enforce strict traffic rules in India? Also I see no motorcycles on those roads, may be that's what it takes to achieve that.

 

[CardSharp]

Well at least they are maintaining an order not like Indian traffic. I sometimes wonder why can't we enforce strict traffic rules in India? Also I see no motorcycles on those roads, may be that's what it takes to achieve that.

Not enough highways and urban roads, so people drive like they're all rural road 24/7.

 

[no_name]

Is there a particular reason for causing this kind of traffic jams?