from..http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2010/08/23/129376194/traffic-jam-beijing-tibet

Nightmarish Nine-Day Traffic Jam: In China, Cars Crawl Along 60-Mile Stretch

Categories: Foreign News

11:29 am

August 23, 2010

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by David Gura
Vehicles drive on the road through the c
Liu Jin/AFP/Getty Images

Vehicles drive on the road through the central business district in Beijing on August 4, 2010. A traffic jam on the Beijing-Tibet Expressway, stretching more than 62 miles, has lasted more than nine days.

On a road trip once, two friends and I spent several hours in a traffic jam, baking under the summer sun. It was miserable.

We inched along the interstate, craning our necks out the windows, trying to figure out what caused the back-up. We watched the car's fuel gauge tick perilously close to "empty."

That was a bad bottleneck, but it's nothing compared to logjam in China.

According to China's state-run Global Times, "traffic authorities were still trying to cope with days-long congestion on a major national expressway, nine days after traffic slowed to a snail's pace."

That's right, the tie-up — which is 60 miles long! — has gone on for nine days.


Such circumstances call for creativity. To curb boredom, drivers and passengers are playing cards. Locals are hawking food — at a premium, Reuters reports.

Jamil Anderlini, deputy Beijing bureau chief for the Financial Times, says the traffic jam on the Beijing-Tibet Expressway is "a sign of things to come."

"The other side-effects of China's scorching economic growth, from poisonous air to worsening income inequality, are already well-known to all who visit the country," he writes. "But traffic jams like this could become much more common as consumers — in what is now the world's largest car market — snap up more than 10 million vehicles a year."

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Toby Saunders (TobyNSaunders)

Toby Saunders (TobyNSaunders) wrote:

In Atlanta the problem is that people are too afraid to change lanes during traffic jams; they stay in place, lanes go unused & they don't safely hasten to fill gaps... they're like 'zombies'.
The goal is to safely go as close to speed limit as possible while simutaneously safely going as far to the right as possible... that applies to all US roads & especially traffic jams.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010 9:53:06 PM

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William Rowe (Bilro)

William Rowe (Bilro) wrote:

Yep. This is the same country that built those high tech missiles that can destroy our aircraft carriers. I reckon this traffic situation is a demonstration of their rapid deployment capabilities.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010 3:26:14 PM

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Hotblack Desiato (doerofthings)

Hotblack Desiato (doerofthings) wrote:

See? This is waaaay better than everyone riding bicycles.

Three hours on a bike and you'd be there, having gotten some exercise, and reduced traffic congestion. But it's far more luxurious to sit on your butt and complain about infrastructure not carrying your chariot faster, isn't it? Way to go, China, don't learn from our mistakes...

Tuesday, August 24, 2010 11:54:04 AM

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Clayton Balabanov (cl8on)

Clayton Balabanov (cl8on) wrote:

There is another way, seriously, there is a way to get better transportation, get you from A to B faster than using a car, as convenient as a car, and using a fraction of the energy that a car uses. We have the technology, but government will not accept it. You can either complain and accept the traffic jams, or you can join me at clayton@synapticconnections.com and make that change happen.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010 11:52:59 AM

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William Yu (mossysf)

William Yu (mossysf) wrote:

It takes major crisis's to make changes ... and sometimes even that's not enough (see financial problems 2008). The sooner we use up all oil and make it too expensive to drive, the sooner alternatives will be developed.

So my opinion is get as many Chinese people in cars and suck up as much oil as possible. If that contributes pain to those in the developed world, tough luck.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010 8:53:05 AM

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Mike Moore (ekim_eroom)

Mike Moore (ekim_eroom) wrote:

Now imagine all of those cars are fuel efficient electric hybrids as far as the eye can see. And all going NOWHERE.

Today, China. Tomorrow, the US.

That's progress.

Widen the roads, buy up property to make room.

Drill baby drill, here there everywhere.

It's not whether or not anything can go wrong. It's not not having a plan in case it does. "The 'oil' must flow."

Cars must roll.

Or ... not.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010 7:20:17 AM

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Mark Wells (Markosaurus)

Mark Wells (Markosaurus) wrote:

Scienceguy, excellent explanation of the reasons for what is likely to become more common and ultimately unsustainable in China. To PPM's comments....the US going to war with China is a very real future possibility.

The explosive growth of cars in China (10 million added per year to Chinese roads; 10,000 per day in Beijing alone) means the country's demand for fuel is rising proportionally. Imagine this scenario - to meet it's growing demand, China offers a premium price to Venezuela for their oil. Now, 15% of US imported oil comes from Venezuela. Pres. Hugo Chavez, no great fan of the US, decides to accept China's offer. The US has previously declared that we will not be denied access to oil to run our economy. Since our military is nearly fully allocated to the middle east now, that doesn't leave many options to force Venezuela's (or China's) hand. I could imagine this situation escalating to a war....we've gotten involved in previous wars over less. And remember, China is a nuclear-armed country; war with China will likely not be a conventional war.

Sobering idea. Such explosive growth and its effects in China are of concern to all, not just Chinese citizens and their quality of life.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010 2:47:05 AM

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Bob H (scienceguy)

Bob H (scienceguy) wrote:

@Soccerdad wrote "Ah - the efficiency of central planning!"

Huh? Have you even been there? You seem to be stuck in a cold war time warp. Your ideologically based misconception of China has caused you to get this quite backwards. This is unbridled free market capitalism pure and simple, and the FAILURE of the government to implement adequate central planning.

In 4 of the last 5 years I've been in Beijing and have seen this problem building. First, they have too many people. Second, too many of them are leaving their scooters and bikes for cars.

Why is that happening? Because of:
1) their economic growth and individual freedom, which has led so many people to buy cars
2) the personal status and freedom which come with car ownership
3) less effective public transportation than in China's other mega-city, Shanghai
4) the low price of gas, which is closer to the US than to Europe and Japan.
5) the government's inability to stem this tide by any kind of central planning, such as discouraging car purchases and use, jacking up gas prices, etc.

Add the fact that Beijing has over 20 million people and viola- nightmare traffic jams. This one just got past critical mass before they could react (more of that LACK of planning).

Monday, August 23, 2010 11:55:46 PM

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Kevin F (TioKebin)

Kevin F (TioKebin) wrote:

I was in China in 1994 and many people rode bicycles. It looks like they succumbed to the myth in our increasingly populated world that cars offer personal freedom and mobility.

It seems that we internationally are having a bottleneck when it comes to new ideas about infrastructure and ways to design living spaces that free us from the need for cars. With 6+ billion people in the world and a 9 billion total expected soon, do we really think that this prevailing lifestyle is sustainable?

Monday, August 23, 2010 10:50:41 PM

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Jay Ashworth (Baylink)

Jay Ashworth (Baylink) wrote:

Alt-0151 is an em-dash, yes.

And I'd like to see, not to put too fine a point on it, some *actual* reportage on this jam-up. Are people eating? Running out of gas? Dying? Are cars abandoned, and *that's* why it's been 9 days?

So far, all we're getting -- even here, alas -- is the Drudge Report Headline...

Monday, August 23, 2010 10:50:24 PM

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