Thursday, August 26, 2010

THE GREAT CRAWL OF CHINA

Vendors cash in on 60-mile traffic jam that's lasted 11 days - with no end in sight

Next time you are stuck in a traffic jam, just think of the traumas inflicted on China's drivers.



Thousands of motorists have been caught up in a 60-mile tailback since August 14 - an incredible 11 days ago. And it could last a further three weeks.

While many motorists took detours, some ended up trapped for up to five days, sleeping in their cars and taking shifts behind the wheel.

Others played cards to pass the time and chatted by the roadside as 400 police were drafted in to ensure the communal road rage was kept in check.

And local traders made the most of the situation by setting up stalls and roaming from lorry to lorry selling their wares at exorbitant prices.



On Sunday, day eight of the gridlock, trucks moved less than a mile on the worst-hit section, said Zhang Minghai, a traffic director in Zhangjiakou, a city 90 miles north-west of Beijing.

At some points, the tailback reached 60 miles, roughly the same distance between London and Brighton.

Officials admitted that the jam could continue until mid-September, with accidents and broken-down cars hampering efforts to keep things moving on the National Expressway 110 between the capital Beijing and Inner Mongolia.

Traffic has become a serious problem in China but the 11-day jam is among the most chronic examples of a transport network which has been over capacity for years.

No comments: