# 60-Mile Traffic Jam in China **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 23, 2010, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/60-mile-traffic-jam-in-china/551181 "2010-08-23T17:23:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/60-mile-traffic-jam-in-china/551181/1 "2010-08-23T17:23:13Z")
Story [here](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38812252/ns/world_news-asiapacific/). It’s just entered it’s 9th day and looks set to last until September 13. On National Expressway 110, also known as the G110, the major route from Beijing to Zhangjiakou in northern China. This makes Bangkok’s legendary gridlocks look paltry by comparison, even in pre-Skytrain says. Excerpt: **“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’.”** What good little capitalists! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/60-mile-traffic-jam-in-china/551181/2 "2010-08-23T18:09:16Z")
Is anyone else flashing on that Doctor Who episode where all the human survivors were spending their lives on the freeway? ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/60-mile-traffic-jam-in-china/551181/3 "2010-08-23T18:26:45Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > It’s just entered it’s 9th day and looks set to last until September 13. It’s not going to be the same people stuck for that whole length of time, right? Some people will make it out of the jam while new people are coming in, I hope. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/60-mile-traffic-jam-in-china/551181/4 "2010-08-23T18:33:50Z")
Why would new people come in if they know about it? ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/60-mile-traffic-jam-in-china/551181/5 "2010-08-23T18:35:33Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > > [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > > > It’s just entered it’s 9th day and looks set to last until September 13. > > It’s not going to be the same people stuck for that whole length of time, right? Some people will make it out of the jam while new people are coming in, I hope. That was my second thought - I thought the same people would still be there until September 13th. ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/60-mile-traffic-jam-in-china/551181/6 "2010-08-23T18:36:50Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Why would new people come in if they know about it? You know, China is a very conformist society. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/60-mile-traffic-jam-in-china/551181/7 "2010-08-23T19:04:05Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Why would new people come in if they know about it? Because they have to get from Zhangjiakou to Beijing. I mean, suppose it’s usually a three-hour drive, but with this huge traffic jam, it’s five hours. People who need to make that trip will still make it. Every traffic jam I’ve ever been in has had some relief at the end; even if it’s four lanes merging down to one, or if there are flaggers letting groups of cars go through at a time. I just can’t believe anybody would be stupid enough to completely close a highway and expect people to just sit in their cars for a month. There’s got to be some way out. One of my proudest driving feats was avoiding a fifteen-mile backup between Olympia and Centralia, Washington, but that’s a story for another time. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/60-mile-traffic-jam-in-china/551181/8 "2010-08-23T19:06:03Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > One of my proudest driving feats was avoiding a fifteen-mile backup between Olympia and Centralia, Washington, but that’s a story for another time. Why not just tell it now? It’s not like we’re going anywhere with this traffic… ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/60-mile-traffic-jam-in-china/551181/9 "2010-08-23T19:27:32Z")
Only 60 miles of traffic jam? That’s about what Los Angeles has in off-peak hours. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/60-mile-traffic-jam-in-china/551181/10 "2010-08-23T19:30:17Z")
Wasn’t there an old SF story about a humongous traffic jam in Texas or somewhere that the government eventually walled off, abandoning the survivors to their fates? ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/60-mile-traffic-jam-in-china/551181/11 "2010-08-23T19:38:58Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > Why not just tell it now? It’s not like we’re going anywhere with this traffic… I was driving from Seattle to Portland. It was in my old MG, so I only had an AM radio. Just past Olympia, I was still getting a Seattle radio station, and a traffic report came on. I was barely paying attention to it; I’m 50 miles to the south, and it’s pretty rural the rest of the way and I’ve never seen any problems. But I do hear her say that there’s an accident and a backup, southbound at mile post 81 in Centralia. I’m at a place where the freeway drops down into a little valley and up the other side, and at the crest of the hill, I see brake lights. There’s an exit between me and them; I take it. I fish out my state highway map (one of the benefits of clutter is having things like that when you need them unexpectedly) and find a way on the back roads. I get back on the freeway just before the scene, but the accident has been cleared and we’re up to speed within a minute or two. ---
**Author:** ![Arrendajo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Arrendajo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrendajo)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/60-mile-traffic-jam-in-china/551181/12 "2010-08-23T20:58:41Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > > [@Munch](#): > > > > Why not just tell it now? It’s not like we’re going anywhere with this traffic… > > I was driving from Seattle to Portland. It was in my old MG, so I only had an AM radio. Just past Olympia, I was still getting a Seattle radio station, and a traffic report came on. I was barely paying attention to it; I’m 50 miles to the south, and it’s pretty rural the rest of the way and I’ve never seen any problems. But I do hear her say that there’s an accident and a backup, southbound at mile post 81 in Centralia. I’m at a place where the freeway drops down into a little valley and up the other side, and at the crest of the hill, I see brake lights. There’s an exit between me and them; I take it. I fish out my state highway map (one of the benefits of clutter is having things like that when you need them unexpectedly) and find a way on the back roads. I get back on the freeway just before the scene, but the accident has been cleared and we’re up to speed within a minute or two. Having driven that stretch of I-5 a bajillion times I consider that an heroic story! I salute you! ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/60-mile-traffic-jam-in-china/551181/13 "2010-08-23T21:03:56Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > > [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > > > Why would new people come in if they know about it? > > Because they have to get from Zhangjiakou to Beijing. They don’t have alternate routes? ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/60-mile-traffic-jam-in-china/551181/14 "2010-08-23T21:58:06Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > > [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > > > Because they have to get from Zhangjiakou to Beijing. > > They don’t have alternate routes? Pfft, and waste their time driving through a bunch of small towns? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/60-mile-traffic-jam-in-china/551181/15 "2010-08-23T22:17:03Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I mean, suppose it’s usually a three-hour drive, but with this huge traffic jam, it’s five hours. People who need to make that trip will still make it. I’ve never been in a 60-mile traffic jam, but I have been in smaller ones where a stretch of road that you would normally take at 100 kph has to be taken at about 15 kph or even less. It’s suprising the difference that having one lane of two closed can make - you would think it would just cut your speed in half, but no. ---
**Author:** ![psychobunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@psychobunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychobunny)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/60-mile-traffic-jam-in-china/551181/16 "2010-08-23T22:18:36Z")
Oh wait-this traffic is moving?? If so then what’s the big deal. I thought it was more like what I dealt with two years ago when I sat without moving at all for over 5 hours, and it took over 7 hours to drive 25 miles. That’s when you start having to pee and worrying about running out of gas. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2010, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/60-mile-traffic-jam-in-china/551181/17 "2010-08-24T00:13:45Z")
> [@psychobunny](#): > > That’s when you start having to pee and worrying about running out of gas. This first problem is never an issue, as there are always at least 2 empty Gatorade bottles in my car, for just this horrific reason. The second…sucks. I was stuck on Christmas Eve on a 2 mile stretch of I-70 with a girlfriend and two dogs for 4 hours, due to icy hills. We ended up inching towards the overpass and going back home. We’d been on the road for a total of 6 hours - we were an hour from home when we got stuck in traffic. Luckily, traffic was so slow (we were all parked with engines off) that we didn’t have to worry about either of those. Engine was off, and we would take the dogs out ocassionally for pee breaks. It’s \*really \*weird to be standing in the median of an interstate while your dog takes a dump. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2010, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/60-mile-traffic-jam-in-china/551181/18 "2010-08-24T00:59:34Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Is anyone else flashing on that Doctor Who episode where all the human survivors were spending their lives on the freeway? Miiiiight have occurred to me. ---
**Author:** ![Waffle\_Decider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/77aa72/32.png) [@Waffle\_Decider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waffle_Decider)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2010, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/60-mile-traffic-jam-in-china/551181/19 "2010-08-24T01:12:50Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Is anyone else flashing on that Doctor Who episode where all the human survivors were spending their lives on the freeway? That was the first thing that came to my mind. ---
**Author:** ![Kiwi\_Fruit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kiwi_fruit/32/12_2.png) [@Kiwi\_Fruit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiwi_Fruit)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2010, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/60-mile-traffic-jam-in-china/551181/20 "2010-08-24T01:30:30Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Is anyone else flashing on that Doctor Who episode where all the human survivors were spending their lives on the freeway? On the way to New New York. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/60-mile-traffic-jam-in-china/551181.md?page=2)