Now That’s a Traffic Jam

Add a new nightmare to history’s most infamous traffic tie-ups. China reportedly suffered one of the worst backups on record this October on the Beijing-Hong Kong-Macau Expressway, one of the nation’s busiest thoroughfares. You might think holiday traffic over here is bad enough, but imagine sitting amidst a sea of congestion spread across 50 lanes of traffic that became stalled for hours on end as hundreds of millions of revelers headed home at the end of the nation’s Golden Week celebration. While some reports noted foggy weather could have been a factor, a checkpoint officials added along the way reduced the 50-lane expressway to only 20 lanes of traffic. One doesn’t have to be a genius to figure that’s a formula for trouble. Traffic was reportedly backed up for hours, though to the credit of the Chinese people, there were no associated reports of road rage-induced violence among gridlocked motorists. We can only assume whoever was responsible for the artery-clogging checkpoint was sent looking for a new job.