Traffic Jams

There seems to be allot of traffic out there, as more and more people own cars and drive them everywhere they go. In China last year, a 120 kl. (75 miles) traffic jam lasted 11 days. As many as 10,000 vehicles, mostly trucks, were crammed fender to fender along the north-south Beijing-Tibet expressway. No joke And that is not unusual in the world's most highway congested nation. Yes, it was 11 "days" at that one in China , not 11 hours. During that time, drivers stuck in the mess played roadside card games, entrepreneurs sold everything from water (a bottle of water was selling for 10 yuan, 10 times the normal price), to instant noodles to cigarettes, and some of those always present bad guys and girls robbed drivers and tried to siphon gas from others.

Someone once said that, "Freeway congestion is getting so bad, you can change a tire without losing your place in line." I believe it. Everywhere there are masses of people there are major traffic jams. In Beijing traffic levels have increased by 130 percent from 2009 to 2010. More affluence equals more cars on fewer roads, that are often partly closed due to needed construction. Drivers attentive to their cell phones and not the road are just one of the distractions that make highway driving torture in many places. Maybe we should leave the cars in our garages and bring the horse and carriage back?

In Germany (they drive like maniacs there!) the latest research shows that people caught in a traffic jam for an hour have a three times greater increased risk of heart attack than non traffic jam drivers. I wonder if the next big technological stress will be from too much traffic on the roads. Our high tech autos are useless if they can't move and if violence breaks a out among the stranded and stressed drivers it could get messy. No matter if we use buses, drive our own cars or depend on public transportation the back-ups will be inevitable. Maybe we should start walking or pedaling a bike more..or maybe the solution to handling traffic jams is what this guy did
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qn9YEDpEHRI

Be careful out there on the roads when driving.