The longest and worst traffic jams in history

According to the Wikipedia definition, traffic congestion occurs when the volume of vehicles in traffic or in lanes requires a wider distance from the road. You get home from work at 5:30 and 6 pm, it is no wonder that the feeling of a long line of cars moving every centimeter of the road at peak time, when the traffic volume is too high, the roads can not load. But it can be affirmed that the times when brothers are stuck in traffic in Vietnam are still nothing compared to the 10 traffic congestion considered the worst in history.

Beijing, China, August 2010

Imagine sitting in a car, stuck in traffic for hundreds of kilometers, taking 12 days to stop. That's what happens when the Chinese try to move on the highway connecting Beijing - Tibet in August 2010. This road normally takes only 3 days to travel at the speed allowed. This traffic jam does not occur for objective reasons such as natural disasters or road closures, but simply because there are too many cars coming into this highway at the same time, especially trucks carrying materials. The construction of Beijing, ironically trucks carrying materials to expand roads, helping to improve traffic congestion is the cause of 12-day traffic congestion in China.

Bethel, New York, USA, August 1969

In fact, it should be fair, because the days of August 15 to 18, 1969 were not only recorded because the congestion of the traffic to Bethel was too long, but it also went into history because of the congestion. Traffic: The legendary Woodstock Music Festival. The New York Thruway section becomes jammed all the way over 32km. Many people leave their motorbikes to walk to the legendary concert venue more than 50 years ago. Artists must be transported by helicopter to meet the venue. But now if you recall Woodstock, many of you will remember a brief moment a few days but completely changed the era of human creativity and music.

Chicago, Illinois, USA, February 2011

When the level of snow hit a record of more than 50cm on February 1, 2011 during a blizzard that hit Chicago at the peak of the evening, traffic stopped for 12 hours on the road, when the snow touched. to the windshields of cars, causing some traffic accidents. The worst part of this traffic jam is Lake Shore Drive, which goes from central Chicago to the north.

East / West Germany, April 1990

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The wall separating the Berlin banks, and also the wall separating the East and West during the cold war collapsed, at which time people on the two sides of the city flocked to the main streets to visit and find. to find relatives for Thanksgiving. April 12, 1990 recorded 18 million vehicles on the streets of Berlin, which were designed to serve only half a million vehicles daily.

Interstate 45, Texas, September 2005

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When Hurricane Rita struck Houston, Texas residents were notified of the evacuation on September 21, 2005, resulting in 2.5 million people packed up and spilled onto a federal highway. Interstate 45, creating vehicles longer than 160 km. However, although it is longer than the traffic congestion in China, this traffic only takes 48 hours to get out of the congestion, but still leaves many people stuck 24 hours on the road connecting Galveston to Dallas. Despite the worst traffic congestion, the decision to evacuate is still correct as the severe destructive storm could cost hundreds of thousands of lives if people did not get on their cars to a safer place.

Lyon - Paris, France, February 1980

Record the longest line of traffic congestion may belong to the French, when the winter vacation back home preparation work, plus the bad weather has created more than 175 km long line of vehicles on the road connecting the two major cities of France.

Moscow, Russia, November 2012

Another traffic-related traffic jam, as snowstorms rained down the M10 highway connecting St. Petersburg with the Russian capital Moscow on November 30, 2012, caused traffic to flow for a period of 3 days. The Russian government had to set up tents to provide food and rest for tired drivers.

New York City, New York, USA, September 2001

The days after 9/11, New York City was almost completely blocked. Bridges and underpasses are only for vehicles servicing rescue or government vehicles. Public transport was shut down and the street did not let anyone drive to the road. Worse, air transport across the United States was cordoned off, leaving thousands of thousands of people stuck at the places they went on business trips or outings.

Sao Paolo, Brazil, June 2009

Many people say that traffic congestion in other countries is nothing compared to Brazil. Nice days it will clogged, and bad days are considered stuck. On June 10, 2009, reports showed that Sao Paolo had set a record with nearly 300 km of traffic jams on more than 840 km of Sao Paolo urban roads. Time magazine estimated that a person must sit still in the car for up to 4 hours a day because of traffic jams.

Tokyo, Japan, August 1990

More than 15,000 cars were trapped in Japan, forming a line of more than 135 km on the highway linking Hyogo and Shiga prefectures on August 12, 1990. The reason is that vacationers return home after the summer vacation to continue their work, while many others move to avoid the storm that is about to enter their residence. The 'vacation' here is an Obon ceremony, almost like Thanh Minh's time coming back to his hometown in Vietnam, when people visit ancestral graves.

Worst traffic jam: Suez Canal, 8 years, 3 months, 5 days

Although not stuck in traffic, the incident of the Suez Canal of Egypt is considered the worst traffic jam in human history. Fifteen German, American, British, Swedish, French, Polish, Bulgarian and Czech transport ships were trapped in the Suez Canal when Israel decided to attack Egypt in June 1967. Egypt defended by spreading mines at both ends of the canal, using wrecks as fences to prevent the Israeli side from taking advantage of the canal to further attack its territory.

As a result, the 15 ships were trapped between 1967 and 1973, when Egypt and Israel signed a truce. It took another two years for the Egyptians to clear the mines at both ends of the Suez Canal, and clear the stranded wrecks. Crews of 15 ships were brought home by plane, and every 6 months, 10 new people are brought to these ships for maintenance. In the end, after 8 years, only two German freighters, Münsterland and Nordwind could move back to their home countries. The 15 ships were named Yellow Fleet, after the sand breeze in Africa created a yellow coating on the hull.

The military dispute itself between Egypt and Israel also made the world economy at that time difficult, because to move from Europe to India or elsewhere in Asia, instead of going through the Suez Canal, the The ship had to pass through the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, with a longer journey of 8,900 km both way and back. The Suez Canal itself also enables Europe and Asia to trade at unprecedented distances and travel times.