QuickCheck: Did the world's longest traffic jam last for 12 days?

TRAFFIC jams are common, especially in major cities – take Malaysia’s capital, Kuala Lumpur. At peak hours, a 20-minute drive can turn into an hour journey (or more).

But is it true that China has the record for the longest traffic congestion in the world?

VERDICT:

TRUE

Surprisingly, yes.

The event took place in its capital city Beijing, and lasted for 12 dreadful days! Thousands of cars were stranded on the 100km stretch of the Beijing-Tibet Expressway in August 2010.

Imagine travelling a kilometre a day; that was what the drivers stuck on the highway had to endure.

The incident was caused by several factors, including obstruction from road accidents and trucks transporting coal from Mongolia to Beijing.

According to several articles, over 730 million tonnes of coal were transported between the city and Mongolia in 2010.

The Chinese government eventually succeeded in easing the traffic by requiring all coal transportation to be done at night instead of during the day.

Another reason was maintenance work on the highway, which caused road closure.

Locals took advantage of the congestion as many of them started selling food and drinks at double the price!

References:

https://www.arabiaweather.com/en/content/the-longest-traffic-jam-in-history-occurred-in-china-and-lasted-12-days#:~:text=The%20longest%20traffic%20crisis%20in,undisputed%20queen%20of%20traffic%20jams.%E2%80%9D

https://www.dangerousroads.org/asia/china/4964-world-s-worst-traffic-jam-100km-and-12-days.html

https://www.autoevolution.com/news/the-longest-traffic-jam-in-history-12-days-62-mile-long-47237.html