The World’s Biggest Traffic Jam

The World’s Biggest Traffic Jam

Traffic on the China National Highway 110 had grown 40 percent every year in the previous several years, making the highway chronically congested. The traffic volume at the time of the incident was 60% more than the designated capacity.

The cause of the traffic jam was reported to be a spike in traffic by heavy trucks heading to Beijing, along with National Highway 110's maintenance work that began five days later. The road construction which reduced the road capacity by 50% contributed heavily to the traffic jam and was not due to be completed until mid-September. Police reported that minor breakdowns and accidents were compounding the problem.

Greatly increased coal production in Inner Mongolia shipped to Beijing along this route because of the lack of railway capacity also overloaded the highway. 602 million tons of coal were mined and shipped in 2009; production was expected to rise to 730 million tons in 2010.^[11] An additional factor is efforts by overloaded trucks which lack proper paperwork for their cargo to avoid a coal quality supervision and inspection station on China National Highway 208

The China traffic jam that clogged over 60 miles along Beijing-Tibet highway for almost two weeks between Beijing and Hebe i province has “vanished,” according to reports from MSNBC and the French news agency AFP

“Virtually overnight, local authorities had managed to disperse the congestion,” writes Adrienne Mong of MSNBC. “By the time we reached the area, all we encountered were the garden-variety traffic jams here and there.”

IN PICTURES: China's huge traffic jam

AFP reporters also ventured the 260 kilometers to inspect the congested zone and “did not encounter anything but intermittent traffic jams at toll booths.”

If the reports are accurate, does this mean smooth sailing for travelers along China’s G110 National Expressway from now on?

Not likely.

Not with coal production in Inner Mongolia steadily on the rise and a growing appetite for it in Beijing, not with construction on the G110 highway set to continue until at least mid-September, and not with this being thesecond of such bizarre incidents in the same region in two months.

In fact, though a bit on the extreme side, the 11-day traffic jam mirrors similar incidents that occur frequently and regularly across the country, most of which last anywhere between a few hours to a few days.

Trucks and construction are regarded as the main culprits in this most recent case, but state media reported that smaller accidents and broken-down cars aggravated the situation, for you can always count on China’s impatient and inexperienced drivers to make matters worse.

The Daily Telegraph’s Tim Collard paints an accurate picture of the reality of driving in China when he writes that in Beijing, “the lanes of the motorway [disintegrate] into anarchy as everyone struggle[s] to get his nose in front of everyone else and steal a couple of feet of ground.”

Other commonplace driving tendencies include sleeping during a traffic jam, stopping in the middle of a road or expressway to look at a map or call for directions, driving on opposite sides of the street or on sidewalks as desired, and honking vigorously at other cars, bikes, and pedestrians – or simply at the world in general.

Meanwhile, buckling seatbelts, checking rearview mirrors, giving ambulances priority and respecting a pedestrian’s right of way are practically nonexistent behaviors – all of which factor into why China averages 3.5 times more traffic-related deaths than the US, according to Global Times.

Last year, China overtook the US as the world’s largest car market, with an estimated 75 million vehicle owners by the end of this year. “Unfortunately,” notes The Economist, “many of the people driving all these shiny new cars are themselves new to the practice, and not yet very good at it.”

China may have just stepped into its automobile age, but Beijing has already made it to the top ofIBM’s 2010 Commuter Pain Survey as having the world’s most painful, unreliable, and anger-inducing commutes.

Creation of mini-economy 

Locals near the highway sold various goods like water, instant noodles, and cigarettes at inflated prices to the stranded drivers. A bottle of water normally cost 1 yuan, but on the highway it was sold for 10 yuan. Drivers also complained that the price of instant noodles had more than tripled. Some vendors created mobile stores on bicycles.

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Response 

Authorities tried to speed up traffic by allowing more trucks to enter Beijing, especially at night. They also asked trucking companies to suspend operations or take alternate routes.

End 

By late August 2010, the traffic jam largely dissipated, reportedly due to the efforts of authorities. Between Beijing and Inner Mongolia, only minor traffic slowdowns were reported near toll booths.