Steel Tubes Philippines: Worst Traffic Jams in History
October 9, 2017
What are the worst traffic jams in history?
- Brebes, Indonesia (July 2016)
- Beijing, China (August 2010)
- Bethel New York (August 1969)
- Lyon-Paris, France (February 1980)
- East and West Germany (April 1990)
If there is one thing that will rattle you and your car’s steel tubes from the Philippines, it would be a long and tight traffic jam. Traffic jams happen (and quite too often nowadays…) when there are too many vehicles on the road at the same time, which results in congestion that causes slow movement. The worst thing is these can last for hours on end; the stress really adds up when it ruins your schedule and you get extremely uncomfortable in the car due to hunger and tiredness. It really pays to know take into account safety precautions before going on a long drive!
While the Philippines is a country known for having frequent traffic jams each week, there are countries around the world that have experienced even worse traffic jams! Here are some of the worst traffic jams in history.
Brebes, Indonesia (July 2016)
Travelling back to the city after the holidays is one of the most common reasons why extreme traffic jams happen. While this can usually cause hours of traffic, the amount of time it took for the traffic jam in Indonesia to clear up was days.
This particular traffic jam in July 2016 lasted for three days in total. It was 20km long and was caused by thousands of people returning home after the Islamic Eid holiday. Over the course of three days, 12 people also died due to heat exhaustion and heart attacks, making it one of the deadliest traffic jam as well.
Beijing, China (August 2010)
As China is rapidly becoming more and more urbanized in the past few years, this also meant that the number of people owning cars also went up, leading to some large-scale congestions on the road. This traffic jam in particular was so bad that it took almost two weeks to clear up. The 12-day struggle was 100km long and happened in the Beijing-Tibet expressway, one of the busiest highways in the country.
Bethel, New York (August 1969)
1969 was a pivotal year in history, with the first humans landing on the moon, and the opening of the Woodstock Music Festival. The latter became one of the most important events in music history. The festival was situated in a large farm, and with artists like Jimi Hendrix performing, a lot of people were expected to arrive. This caused a massive 16km traffic jam that led to a standstill. This caused the artists to travel to the venue by helicopter.
However, instead of seeing frustrated motorists and music fans, everyone was in a state of calm, and most of them opted to walk to the venue. In the end, over 500,000 people attended the monumental festival that is now etched in music history.
Lyon and Paris, France (February 1980)
The world record holder for the longest traffic jam in history, thousands of people got stuck between Lyon and Paris. The rush to get back to the city, combined with the bad driving conditions due to the weather, stretched the traffic for 176km.
East and West Germany (April 1990)
After the fall of the Berlin Wall, Germans from the east side were now able to travel to the west and meet their friends and loved ones. This resulted to a massive traffic jam with over 18 million cars stuck in the road at the same time. This is still considered to be the largest traffic jam in history when it comes to the volume of vehicles.
Key Takeaway
Traffic jams are always a struggle to get through, and can really take up a lot of your time and patience. Should you be in extreme situations like these, it is best to remain calm and find something to do until things begin to move.
