The biggest traffic jams in the world: a chronology of events and a ranking of cities. Biggest traffic jam in the world Big traffic jam

The longest traffic jam occurred in China in 2010

The biggest traffic jams in the world: a chronology of events and a rating of cities

Traffic jams are probably one of the most unpleasant moments in driving practice, Rating-avto reports. Every year, traffic jams become more widespread, forcing vehicle owners to stand idle for hours in endless traffic "queues". Moreover, traffic jams are always relevant for all countries of the globe. Some of them even annually compete for the title of "the biggest traffic jam in the world." And all because the number of car owners is constantly growing. And the pace of this growth is almost equal to the pace of production of new products in the automotive industry. The number of road junctions simply cannot cope with such an increase in technology. Plus, they also contribute. As a result, we have regular multi-kilometer traffic jams in megacities. Especially during rush hour. But it was not always so. So, to your attention the most memorable cases of forced "downtime" in world practice.

Top 5 congestion by length

1. For the first time a large traffic jam formed in the state of Washington in 1969. The reason for this was the rock festival called "Woodstock", very popular at that time among young people, as well as middle-aged people. More than five hundred thousand car owners lined up in a 32-kilometer line on the way to the concert. So far, no such cases of "stagnation" have been recorded.

2. Next, 2005 distinguished itself. At that time, a severe storm warning was announced in the state of Texas. A powerful hurricane was approaching, and the inhabitants rushed to escape in a huge stream. And almost every one of them chose the forty-fifth highway for emergency evacuation. As a result, the road was marked not only by mass traffic accidents, but also made drivers hostage to a 160-kilometer traffic jam.

3. A traffic jam, 175 kilometers long, was recorded in the same twentieth century, but already in France. Its appearance was facilitated by bad weather conditions and a huge flow of cars returning to the city after the weekend.

4. And in 2008, Sao Paulo had the longest traffic jam in the history of driving. To this day, its length (which is as much as 292 kilometers!) Is officially considered an absolute world record.

5. 2010 was marked by the longest traffic jam. Started on August 14, it lasted for eleven whole days, which brought many drivers to despair. After all, I had to sleep and eat right in the car. Smart street vendors immediately took advantage of this by offering overpriced meals to car owners.

Three of the most traffic-rich cities

But in addition to chronology, congestion can be classified by a host of other distinctive features. Consider the rating of traffic jams in different cities of the world. Maybe this information will prepare some car owners for trips and tell you what to really expect in one place or another.

1. The first place in auto queues is occupied by the city of Beijing. The Chinese capital, surrounded by six ring roads, has not surprised its drivers with constant traffic jams for a long time. Traffic jams here can not abolish either government restrictions on the operation of cars, or a large number of highways.

2. The second place is firmly entrenched in the capital of Russia -. The daily stagnation of thousands of cars has long been familiar to everyone, and is even considered a local feature. Drivers, on the other hand, usually leave for their destination a few hours earlier in order to get there on time. And the reasons for the constant problems with travel are called weather conditions, the human factor and a huge car flow.

3. Third place is deservedly occupied by Mexico City. In addition to the constant difficulties of movement due to old, narrow and uneven streets, various political protests significantly exacerbate the process of driving. After all, the biggest traffic jams are formed during such actions.

Are you afraid of traffic jams before the upcoming city day? Well, if you don't live in one of these cities, don't worry. Traffic jams here are terribly long and long - you won’t get enough nerves!

Los Angeles, USA

According to the Texas Transportation Institute, Los Angeles residents waste 367 million gallons of fuel at a total cost of approximately $10.3 billion stuck in traffic every year. The unfortunate drivers and passengers in the City of Angels spend an average of 59 hours a year on pointless waiting! Very impressive, considering that some people do not have much time for rest.

New York, USA

You can get stuck in a traffic jam in New York even at 4 am - you can imagine what is happening in the city center on the roads during rush hour! However, the situation is not much better outside of Manhattan. Another reason to love the local metro.

Beijing, China

Every day, more and more Chinese people give up bicycles and change to cars - 1900 new cars appear on the roads a day! In 1997, the one millionth car rolled onto the streets of the city - who would have thought that today there are four million cars per decade. City planners certainly didn't think so. The roads in Beijing are quite narrow, so in order to somehow improve the situation, the local authorities decided to limit the number of license plates issued annually to 240,000.

Brussels, Belgium

Brussels is one of the most congested European cities. The reason is simple: too many cars. Approximately two million passengers pass through the city center every day.

New Delhi, India

Delhi's sprawl is exacerbating traffic congestion. During the last half century, the population has increased by 50 percent, and the number of inhabitants is only growing - and therefore the number of motorists is increasing! Sure, Delhi's street life is colorful and interesting, but the exhaust fumes are quite dizzying. To combat this, the authorities announced in 1993 that all government vehicles must run on natural gas.

Shenzhen, China

The traffic situation in this city is about the same as in Los Angeles. Shenzhen is one of China's fastest growing cities, with a population of over 10 million, yet the 1990 census showed just over one million people.

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

The situation in Rio has improved slightly thanks to investment and preparations for the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Olympics, but traffic jams in the beautiful Brazilian city are still some of the worst in the world.

Bangkok, Thailand

A rapidly developing city is good. But the increasing number of traffic jams is bad. As a rule, congestion begins at 3:30 in the afternoon, when schoolchildren finish their studies, and continue until dinner. Monsoon rains exacerbate the situation: the streets are often flooded, and these days Bangkok is returning to the name by which it was once often called - the Venice of the East.

Bucharest, Romania

The Romanian capital endlessly gets into the lists of cities with the worst traffic. This city has the largest transport network in Romania and one of the largest in Southeast Europe. The city's motorists lose an average of 94 hours a year in traffic jams.

Recife, Brazil

Once again, a Brazilian city is on our list. Roads Recife, a city of one and a half million people, is considered the most congested in all of South America, and the situation is aggravated by the fact that three federal highways pass through Recife.

Chongqing, China

Another rapidly expanding Chinese city with over 28 million people! Moreover, its population has tripled since 1990. The city is located in the beds of several rivers, and 25 bridges (by the way, among them is the world's longest arched bridge Chaotianmen). And in this city there are very bizarre traffic lights, probably the most confusing in the world.

Mexico City, Mexico

The huge city of Mexico City, with a population of almost 9 million people, is a regular half-hour-hour traffic jams in the middle of the day. Due to the high level of air pollution, a thick cloud of smog hangs over the city. Of course, they are trying to solve the problem - new roads and road junctions are being actively built, and since the recent pestilence, a restriction on the operation of private cars has been introduced: cars older than 8 years cannot be used once a week and one Saturday a month.

Saint-Petersburg, Russia

Unfortunately, in St. Petersburg, everything is not very smooth on the roads - citizens who regularly travel by car spend 110 hours in traffic jams every year! Nevertheless, the fact that St. Petersburg residents use vehicles is half as much as metro and trams.

Moscow, Russia

The capital of Russia takes the second place in our list. Underdeveloped transport infrastructure leads to huge traffic jams and congestion of public transport. Measures to create dedicated lanes, as well as a ban on the entry of heavy vehicles into the city and the construction of new interchanges, have not yet given a special result. Urban planning errors also contribute to the growth of traffic jams. And the second problem of the capital's motorists is the insufficient number of parking lots.

Istanbul, Türkiye

There are probably no worse traffic jams than in this city anywhere in the world. Drivers and passengers spend an average of 125 hours a year stuck in traffic. A particularly serious situation is unfolding on the highways crossing the Bosphorus. And the numerous taxis of the city add to the problems.

So, record traffic jams ..

A traffic jam on the Beijing-Tibet highway at the entrance to the Chinese capital was formed on August 14, 2010, due to road repairs in the city. On Monday, August 23, its length was 100 kilometers. At the same time, it was reported that the cars practically did not move. To keep the situation from getting worse, the government sent about 400 policemen to patrol the traffic jam. Thanks to their actions, this traffic jam has decreased to almost 65 km. However, soon the length of the traffic jam on the Beijing-Tibet highway towards the capital of China increased sharply and increased by more than 2.5 times in three days. Its length reached 260 kilometers.

Tens of thousands of drivers stuck in traffic waited out the "natural disaster", while away the time playing cards or chess. Moreover, they were most annoyed by local residents who decided to earn extra money on someone else's misfortune: they sold water and instant noodles to motorists at repeatedly inflated prices.

The problem of traffic jams is very relevant today, almost all major cities and capitals face it. A lot of research is being carried out and measures are being introduced to prevent the formation of congestion on the roads.

IBM (IBM Commuter Pain Survey) decided to conduct its own study of transport problems on the roads. As a result, 8192 motorists from 20 cities located on 5 continents were interviewed.

As a result of the calculations, it was determined that 87% of the motorists surveyed got stuck in traffic jams, while the average waiting time was one hour.

When compiling it, 10 indicators were taken into account, the main of which were travel time, waiting time in traffic jams, and the price of fuel. Thus, the top five "leaders" included such cities: Beijing, Mexico City, Johannesburg, Moscow, New Delhi. According to the rating from 1 to 100 negative impact, they have such ratings - 99,99,97,84,81 respectively.

That. Moscow was ranked fourth among the world's largest metropolitan areas in terms of traffic congestion. It is worth noting that Moscow excelled in many respects - here the longest traffic jams, and the capital's drivers are among the most aggressive. Muscovites are more likely than others in the world to skip work due to traffic congestion.

Brussels was recognized as the busiest in Europe, while the Polish cities of Warsaw and Wroclaw took the second and third places. In them, more than 30% of all cars daily get into congestion.

The full top ten European cities with the busiest roads are as follows:

1. Brussels.
2. Warsaw.
3. Wroclaw.
4. London.
5. Edinburgh.
6. Dublin.
7. Belfast.
8. Marseille.
9. Paris.
10. Luxembourg.

The Spanish city of Zaragoza was named the most congestion-free city in Europe, where only 1.5% of all roads experience traffic difficulties. Also, Valencia and Zagreb were recognized as the least loaded cities.

The problem of traffic jams exists, probably, in big cities of every country. And, even, there are records in this direction.

A traffic jam on the Beijing-Tibet highway at the entrance to the Chinese capital was formed on August 14, 2010, due to road repairs in the city. On Monday, August 23, its length was 100 kilometers. At the same time, it was reported that the cars practically did not move. To keep the situation from getting worse, the government sent about 400 policemen to patrol the traffic jam. Thanks to their actions, this traffic jam has decreased to almost 65 km. However, soon the length of the traffic jam on the Beijing-Tibet highway towards the capital of China increased sharply and increased by more than 2.5 times in three days. Its length reached 260 kilometers.

Tens of thousands of drivers stuck in traffic waited out the "natural disaster", while away the time playing cards or chess. Moreover, they were most annoyed by local residents who decided to earn extra money on someone else's misfortune: they sold water and instant noodles to motorists at repeatedly inflated prices.

The problem of traffic jams is very relevant today, almost all major cities and capitals face it. A lot of research is being carried out and measures are being introduced to prevent the formation of congestion on the roads.

IBM (IBM Commuter Pain Survey) decided to conduct its own study of transport problems on the roads. As a result, 8192 motorists from 20 cities located on 5 continents were interviewed.

As a result of the calculations, it was determined that 87% of the motorists surveyed got stuck in traffic jams, while the average waiting time was one hour.

When compiling it, 10 indicators were taken into account, the main of which were travel time, waiting time in traffic jams, and the price of fuel. Thus, the top five "leaders" included such cities: Beijing, Mexico City, Johannesburg, Moscow, New Delhi. According to the rating from 1 to 100 negative impact, they have such ratings - 99,99,97,84,81 respectively.

That. Moscow was ranked fourth among the world's largest metropolitan areas in terms of traffic congestion. It is worth noting that Moscow excelled in many respects - here the longest traffic jams, and the capital's drivers are among the most aggressive. Muscovites are more likely than others in the world to skip work due to traffic congestion.

Brussels was recognized as the busiest in Europe, while the Polish cities of Warsaw and Wroclaw took the second and third places. In them, more than 30% of all cars daily get into congestion.

The full top ten European cities with the busiest roads are as follows:

1. Brussels.
2. Warsaw.
3. Wroclaw.
4. London.
5. Edinburgh.
6. Dublin.
7. Belfast.
8. Marseille.
9. Paris.
10. Luxembourg.

The Spanish city of Zaragoza was named the most congestion-free city in Europe, where only 1.5% of all roads experience traffic difficulties. Also, Valencia and Zagreb were recognized as the least loaded cities.

USA: 160 km and two days

Panic can cause traffic jams. In September 2005, when Hurricane Rita was approaching the state of Texas, the residents of the state tried to urgently evacuate and chose the most popular highway for exit. In a matter of hours, a 160 km long traffic jam formed on the road. Drivers were forced to stand in a traffic jam for two days, people's lives were saved by a mass evacuation.

France: 170 km and one day

This collapse entered the Guinness Book of Records as the longest cork of the 20th century. A kind of "country" traffic jam formed in February 1980. Five million French people simultaneously decided to return to Paris after a weekend in the Alps, as a result, a 170 km long traffic jam formed on the Paris-Lyon highway. The situation on the road was complicated by thick fog.

Russia: 200 km and three days

The traffic jam on the M10 Moscow-St. Petersburg highway on November 30, 2012 stretched for 200 km and three days. The reason for the traffic jam is a large number of drivers who drove onto the highway during snowfall and rain, as well as inconsistency between road services and the traffic police. At the same time, the authorities of Tver decided to close the entrance to the city for trucks during bad weather. Snowplows were unable to break through to drifts, all bus trips between Moscow, St. Petersburg and Tver were canceled for three days. To support drivers, the Ministry of Emergency Situations set up tents with hot samovars and stations along the cork, where psychologists-consultants worked.

Photo: Dmitry Norov / Global Look Press

China: 260 km and two weeks

The longest traffic jam lasted two weeks in China. The traffic jam was formed on August 14, 2010 on the Beijing-Tibet highway due to road works. Millions of Chinese were stuck in a traffic jam 260 kilometers long, the speed of movement in the stream was less than 1 km per day. Local residents did not lose their heads and began to sell water and food to drivers at inflated prices, and after several cases of robbery, 400 police officers monitored the traffic jam to restore order.

Photo: Alexander F. Yuan / AP

Sao Paulo: 309 km and one day

São Paulo is the economic center of Brazil and the most populated city in the Southern Hemisphere with 20 million people. In November 2013, a record was set here: for the first time in history, the total length of traffic jams during rush hour was 309 km. In the evening, many residents left the city for the coast to celebrate Republic Day. The record for this traffic jam has not been broken so far, and Sao Paulo has now acquired the largest number of helicopter taxis per capita. The previous record is also held by the Brazilian metropolis: in June 2009, a traffic jam 293 km long was recorded in Sao Paulo. On this day, 3 million residents tried to leave the city to celebrate the feast of Corpus Christi.