Traffic jams
The mother of all traffic jams was created in China. It lasted 12 days with a huge car panorama that stretched for more than 62 miles. As hungry and thirsty drivers sat in their cars for days, vendors came by to sell instant noodles at four times their usual price and water at ten times. Not caused by closure or natural disaster, this all-time tie-up cause was simply the result of too many vehicles clogging the road. Drivers were able to move their vehicles only about 1 mile per day. Cars are considered a status symbol. In China, buying a car often isn’t as much about convenience as it is about showing that you can buy a car because you’re enjoying a successful career. Lots of white-collar workers in Chinese cities who might otherwise be satisfied with public transportation feel obliged to drive. Sometimes, lack of experience leads to questionable driving decisions, and that can cause gridlock when those decisions lead to blocked roads for one reason or another. China has a lot of accidents: its traffic fatality rate per 100,000 cars is 36, which is more than double the United States, and several times more than European countries which all have rates under 10. There are just too many people.
Here is a video showing two cars passing each other on a narrow bridge.
The video shows two SUVs approaching a narrow passage from opposite directions. Given the width of the passage and the sizes of the vehicles, it seems impossible for both to cross it at once. This is when one of the drivers decides to solve the problem. The driver simply drives his car onto the raised edge in order to create more space for the other vehicle. He crosses onto the other side and at the end of the video, he even smoothly slides down his car onto the ground, while the other car passes the narrow passage.
Meanwhile, speaking of insane driving skills, here is a video of a Chinese driver’s test. While this guy is good, many people pay a bribe and skip the test and help clog the highways.
Car jamming
What do British people do when there is a traffic jam at a roundabout?
They form a Q.
Did you hear about the depressed traffic jam?
It was really bummer-to-bummer.
I had a phobia of speed bumps but I’m slowly getting over it.
I could tell the traffic was bad when my GPS asked, “Are we nearly there yet?”
What was the name of Russia’s first female traffic cop?
Ivana Pulyova.
January 23rd Birthdays
1965 – Mariska Hargirtay, 1957 – Princess Caroline, 1974 -Tiffany Theisen, 1993 – Sinead DeVries
1995 – J. T. Barrett, 1952 – Chesley Sullenberger, 1963 – Hakeem Olajuwon, 1737- John Hancock