Next time you are stuck in traffic, don’t feel too sorry for yourself. You could be stuck in a Chinese traffic jam–which can last for an entire day. Or ten. That’s how many days drivers got stuck on China Highway 110 outside of Beijing in August 2010. Traffic on China’s roads grows 40% per year, with road expansion happening constantly. In fact, that’s what caused the jam: too many large trucks carrying construction supplies for traffic-easing projects. Instead, the mother of all traffic jams was born, with bumper to bumper cars stretching for 62 miles or 100 KM.
The longest traffic jam in the world was in the China National Highway 110, between Hebei and Inner Mongolia. The traffic jam slowed down thousands of vehicles. As hungry and thirsty drivers sat in their cars for days, vendors came by to sell instant noodles at four times their usual price and water at ten times. Not caused by closure or natural disaster, this all-time tie-up cause was simply the result of too many vehicles clogging the road, particularly a bevy of heavy trucks carrying construction supplies into Beijing, ironically for road work that was intended to help ease congestion. Drivers were able to move their vehicles only 1 km (0.6 mi) per day.
Authorities have tried to stop residents from buying so many cars, mostly in an attempt to reduce pollution and ease traffic, but their efforts are almost useless. Beijing drivers for example must leave their cars at home one day per week, based on a scheme that involves the last digit of the number plate, again in an effort supposed to ease traffic on Chinese roads. Still, local reports claim that the daily Chinese driver spends two or three hours per day in traffic, just because of the huge number of cars.
