An Examination Of China’s Epic Traffic Jam
On Tuesday August 24, 2010 a massive traffic jam in northern China reached its ten-day mark.
The epic jam is reported to have started on August 14 on a stretch of the highway that is frequently congested.
Frequent congestion soon turned into a bumper-to-bumper gridlock spanning for 62 miles, with vehicles moving only slightly more than half a mile each day at one point.
What is Causing the Jam?
A destructive combination of forces has proved the culprit behind the colossal jam.
Firstly, China’s notoriously increasing population has produced a skyrocketing number or drivers on the highway on any given day.
Secondly, the highway on which the jam occurred is the main artery for large trucks transporting produce, coal, and other basic supplies to Beijing.
The trucks not only add to traffic, but they also damage the road, necessitating repair crews.
Repair crews proved a third major force in precipitating the jam. Road construction and construction zone rerouting were in abundance as the jam ensued.
Has This Type of Jam Happened Before?
Although no documented traffic jam of this proportion has ever previously occurred in China, the Chinese populace has been made quite familiar with road mishaps.
Traffic backups on this particular road are actually quite commonplace due to the road’s starting point from inner Mongolia, which is now the coal capital of China.
In addition, several news reports have noted that day-to-day driving in China is far from orderly.
Some drivers are so unbothered by the sluggishly-moving traffic that they have opted to wait in the jam rather than pay the tolls associated with swifter and better roads located just a few dozen miles in either direction of the jammed highway.
What is Being Done to Alleviate the Jam?
Chinese police forces are working to keep the traffic moving whenever possible by knocking on car windows and waking up drivers alerting them to continue in traffic.
Many Chinese drivers have become so used to the traffic jams that they immediately enter “traffic jam mode” and fall asleep during the standstill.
Authorities are also trying to speed up traffic by allowing more trucks to enter Beijing, especially at night. They also asked trucking companies to suspend operations and advised drivers to take alternate routes.
Reports generated on August 26, 2010 stated that congestion had eased on the main route into Beijing. However, the factors initially suspected of causing the jam still remain, and similar problems could occur at any time.
Preventing Another Epic Jam
Commentators from around the world have offered opinions and strategies for ensuring that another traffic jam of epic proportions does not resurface in China.
Most of the strategies focus on population control, regulating the number of cars in the country at any given time, and restructuring roadways to exclude the bottleneck shape.
Brittany Johnson is a guest blogger for My Dog Ate My Blog and a writer on online degrees for Guide to Online Schools.
Topics: 2010, agriculture, Asia, Beijing, bottleneck, Brittany Johnson, business, cars, China, coal, commute, congestion, construction zone, drivers, economic development, economic growth, Economy, environment, Governance, government, gridlock, Guide to Online Schools, Mongolia, moniter, monitor, My Dog Ate My Blog, news, Pacific, pollution, produce, society, traffic, traffic jam, transport, trucks, vehicles
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