Worst Traffic Jams in History! Where R U Going???

I don't think traveling by car, is your best way of escape, during a time of major crisis and panic. Here are some examples of what could happen, if you "bug out" during a catastrophe. Where are you going???

Beijing, China: August 2010. Imagine being trapped in a 62-mile long traffic jam that lasted for an incredible 12 days. That just what happened to the poor folks attempting to traverse the Beijing-Tibet expressways in August of 2010, for which the trip took as long as three days. Not caused by closure or natural disaster, this all-time tie-up cause was simply the result of too many vehicles clogging the road, particularly a bevy of heavy trucks carrying construction supplies into Beijing, ironically for road work that was intended to help ease congestion.

Bethel, New York: August 1969. This three-day tie-up over August 15-18, 1969 is historic for more than just traffic. With more than 500,000 attendees descending on Max Yasgur’s famous farm for the Woodstock Music & Arts Festival, the New York Thruway became a stranglehold for more than 20 miles, with many motorists eventually abandoning their cars and hoofing it to enjoy “three days of peace and music” (and rain and mud and more than 10 times the anticipated crowd). Performers had to be flown to and from the site in helicopters to avoid the crippling congestion.

Chicago, Illinois: February 2011. A near-record 20.2 inches of snow fell on the Windy City on February 1, 2011 in a late-winter blizzard that hit the hardest during the evening rush hour. The most unfortunate commuters were those on the otherwise idyllic Lake Shore Drive headed northbound from downtown Chicago. A series of weather-related accidents slowed, and then halted traffic and buried motorists for more than 12 hours in drifting snow that reached almost as high as the cars’ windshields.

East/West Germany: April 1990. With the Berlin Wall between the East and West having finally fallen, the Easter holiday saw a massive influx of Germans eager to reconnect with friends and family members. The ensuing record-holding backup on April 12, 1990 was estimated at a whopping 18 million cars on a roadway that otherwise average a half million vehicles a day. Apparently freedom from oppression doesn’t necessarily mean freedom from traffic.

Interstate 45, Texas: September 2005. With Hurricane Rita approaching Houston residents were told to evacuate on September 21, 2005, with as many as 2.5 million of them packing evacuation routes, creating a massive 100-mile queue on Interstate 45. The congestion reportedly lasted for as much as 48 hours, leaving motorists stranded for as long as 24 hours along the 300-mile route from Galveston to Dallas. Though crippling, the mass evacuation is said to have probably saved many lives.

Lyon-Paris, France: February 1980. Noted as the longest traffic jam in the annals of congestion, a combination of hoards of winter vacationers returning to Paris and inclement weather caused a massive tie-up that stretched 109 miles long. Perhaps it would have been quicker had they simply skied back into the city.

Moscow, Russia: November 2012. Another weather-related tale of vehicular woe, a snowstorm buried Highway M-10 that links St, Petersburg to Moscow on November 30, 2012 and stopped traffic in its tracks for up to three days. The government reportedly set up tents along the route to offer provisions and psychological counseling (what no vodka?) to mired motorists.

New York City, New York: September 2001. In the days following the horrific attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, New York City was virtually locked down, with bridges and tunnels closed to all but emergency vehicles, public transportation shut down and traffic at a halt across the city. What’s more, the nation’s air traffic was grounded, leaving thousands of travelers stranded across the U.S.

Sao Paulo, Brazil: June 2009. We heard from several readers regarding our “worst traffic cities” post that tie-ups in Brussels or San Francisco pale in comparison to those in Sao Paulo. It’s said to be crippling on a good day, but the city set what must be some kind of record with more than 182 miles of traffic jams over 522 miles of road reported on June 10, 2009. Time magazine says the average motorist spends up to four hours sitting in traffic each day in this booming South American metropolis.

Tokyo, Japan: August 1990. More than 15,000 cars reportedly crawled along for over 84 miles on a highway between Hyogo and Shiga prefectures in western Japan on August 12, 1990, in an artery clogging combination of holiday revelers heading home and residents evacuating the city subsequent to a typhoon warning. The holiday in question was “O-bon,” the so-called Festival of the Dead when families gather to pay respects to their ancestors. Festival of the dead end is more like it.

Article
Be Wise!!!

Hopefully it will be good day for a walk! Am I right?

reply to post by WonderBoi


Sadly, or angrily, I've been in one of your top 10 traffic jams... The one in Chicago from 2011 I remember all too well, and that snow storm was no joke, it even had a name, Snowmaggedon and the Snowtorious BIG.... 90/94 is already HORRIBLE here in Chicago, combine 20 inches of snow and you have the perfect storm of traffic jams...

Trying to go anywhere with a car in a bug-out scenario is pure insanity. Highways will go into gridlock rapidly and nothing will move save for those that had the foresight to use a vehicle that is agile and does not require a road. A good dirt bike is your best bet and only carry what you really need in an expedition backpack.

Always know and use several different routes on how to get from point A to point B. Most people rely on one route which is the most popular one, use the lesser known routes and avoid the masses.

reply to post by pstrron


I have a long commute. If the SHTF while I'm at work, I have an hour drive normally to get home. So, I carry a map with alternate routes home (all ending well before my actual house, of course, but to familiar ground). I also carry a BOB in case I need to leave the vehicle (a tragedy, but may be necessary).

I always have been a fan of the Robert Frost poem "The Road Not Taken".
I take that road at every opportunity.

I know every back-road and many off-beaten paths that run between them, for about 300 miles from where I live,
plus about half again that many for another 150 miles past that.

I will be taking "the one less traveled".


I forgot to mention that I live out in the sticks all ready, but not far enough away from where the
multitudes will run-a-muck, if and when the shtf.

Lucikly I have both car and a off road motorcycle, so I'm pretty much covered ( hopefully).
But as for stupidity in driving I had a friend many years ago who asked me " Why is it when I race off from the lights everyone else still catches up with me?".
To which I replied " Because you get stopped at the next red light?"
Some people just dont have a clue about normal every day motoring and they will be the ones that block the roads for the rest of us when the poop hits the fan.

reply to post by WonderBoi


Where am I going?

I am already there.

If you don't move to a remote, secure and safe location before it happens, you at very least will have a hard time getting out after it happens and more likely won't be able to get out at all.

I live in a pretty remote location, but have to go to work each day to pay for it...
I work 5 days a week to enjoy the place for 2 days.

reply to post by mwood


This is pretty much the case for big cities, but smaller towns have multiple side and country roads to use. Should not be a problem, as long as you stay off the main roads for the small towns. I agree the main roads in and out of the towns will be lock fast. Back roads and highways are the way to go.

My only thought is, around where I live and the place I need to get to ,has several big bridges, now early on these might be clear or slow going. Later on for travel, I am sure they will be monitored by militias or raiders either way very dangerous. May have to trade or give something up a value to get past.

So, I'm in an urban area. Not much I can do about that yet. Plan is to hunker down if SHTF for a week or 2 and then hit the road.

Originally posted by amazing
So, I'm in an urban area. Not much I can do about that yet. Plan is to hunker down if SHTF for a week or 2 and then hit the road.

I always thought a push bike was a good idea if the SHTF beats walking anyway

Originally posted by ThePeaceMaker

Originally posted by amazing
So, I'm in an urban area. Not much I can do about that yet. Plan is to hunker down if SHTF for a week or 2 and then hit the road.

I always thought a push bike was a good idea if the SHTF beats walking anyway

Problem is that there's a family to consider.

reply to post by amazing


Fair point .. Erm loads of push bikes ? I do have another bug out vehicle .. A boat. As long as I can get to my marina .. France here i come! But then again would I want to go to France .. Spain or holland sounds better

If anyone was watching the tornado info in Oklahoma tonight, one of the freeways was backed up for over a mile. The other was backed up as well. In the night views, all you could see was a very long line of cars not going anywhere. I thought of this thread when I saw the backup.

Originally posted by ThePeaceMaker
reply to post by amazing

 

Fair point .. Erm loads of push bikes ?

I do have another bug out vehicle .. A boat. As long as I can get to my marina .. France here i come! But then again would I want to go to France .. Spain or holland sounds better

I'm liking Canada as a bug out destination. Just head north with supplies. I do believe that our climate is warming and will continue to do so over the next 100 or so years, but who knows, we could see a mini ice age too. Stay ready to move!

Maybe not totally on topic, but I have circumvented traffic jams on my bicycle and motorcycle on many occasions.

I was amazed at how angry some "cage-monkeys" would get at me, I had people screaming at me, opening passenger side doors in front of me and threatening to shoot me on several occasions.

I would go around traffic-jams with my bicycle in the bicycle lane, when on my Dual-Sport (On/Off Road) motorcycle, I would be farther from the roadway near the fence or trees....

I was amused by how angry these people would get, and even more amused at how unreasonable they could be because of the flawed choices they themselves made, aiming their angst at me because I was not trapped as they were.

Cars are a very inefficient and ineffective tool unless you need to transport more substantial amounts of cargo, never mind how much investment is required to drive anywhere for whatever reason, wasteful in a word.

I came across the country on my bicycle, with over 250 pounds of gear, and my dog in a trailer behind me from Florida to Wisconsin in the summer of 2011, and had so much fun that I can't wait to do it again.

Cars are for posers IMHO.

The only way to bug-out is slowly and quietly.

Don't worry so much about supplies, they only make you a target for people who failed to prepare.

You only need rain gear, sleeping gear, lotsa socks and a spare pair of shoes or two, a little food and tools to get more as you go.

You gotta rest, and you gotta stay warm, food and water are everywhere.

Don't bother with a car, you'll just run outta gas and have to do it the hard way anyway.

reply to post by WonderBoi


We all need to get one of these

reply to post by antiobama

Plan for the worst, hope for the best.

Worst case scenario for most people is to have to walk somewhere, even to the corner store to buy a Mountain Dew.

Re-learn how to do things the right way, the old-fashioned way.

Trade your car to someone who can deal with the problem of feeding it and save yourself the trouble.