10 Of The Longest Traffic Jams Ever Recorded In History

In life, there are just some things that are unavoidable. Owning pets means dealing with furry clothes (and litter boxes or bags). Others hate the daily routine of going to work or washing dishes. All in all, we’re forced to accept certain experiences in order to get through the day. Out of all the daily annoyances that come up, dealing with rush hour traffic is probably everyone’s least favorite.

Being stuck in traffic is not only aggravating, but it’s also stressful. Studies even have shown that it can cause stress-related disorders. In some severe cases, being stuck in traffic can also make people more prone to reckless driving. Next time we’re stuck on a highway somewhere, we’d better make sure to bring a water bottle and have our therapist on speed-dial, because these 10 epic jams will make anyone rethink driving altogether.

10 10. August 2010, China, Beijing-Tibet Expressway

Probably one of the most memorable traffic jams in history is the 2010 hold-up that happened in Beijing, China on the Beijing-Tibet Expressway. Honestly, we aren’t surprised. When it comes to big car manufacturers and vehicle production, China owns the auto business. Despite the multitude of successful car sales per year, the country’s roadwork can’t keep up with the growing number of vehicles on the road.

The hold-up in August of 2010 was one of many indicators of the lack of road access. The traffic jam lasted for 12 days straight and stretched as far as 62 miles. What was the cause for the hold-up? It was trucks carrying construction supplies to help ease traffic jams who were blocked at the exit way to Beijing. To make matters worse, people attempted to make a profit off the situation by selling water and cigarettes. Some drivers were even robbed during the night, and one man suffered a stab wound. Sure we’ve experienced bad traffic, but it doesn’t even compare to China’s congested streets.

9 9. August 1969, Bethel, New York

New York may be nothing like China, but those of us who’ve driven the city streets know that we’re better off taking the subway. Navigating the city streets of New York is a battle that no one will ever win, even if we are good drivers. Some might argue that traffic is just traffic and it’s bad everywhere, but that’s probably because they haven’t heard of this city’s hold-up that happened on August 15 in 1969 and lasted for three days straight. It was caused by an unusual influx of travelers - specifically 500,000 - who were arriving at the Woodstock Music & Arts Festival that year. The traffic jam extended for more than 20 miles. Some people eventually did away with their cars to enjoy “three days of peace and music”, as was much of the '70s central theme. Traffic was so bad that the musicians had to be flown to and from the festival in helicopters. While we sure the city is full of epic congestion tales, that day had to be the worst jam-up New York has ever experienced.

8 8. February 2011, Chicago, Illinois

While August 15, 1969, wasn’t New York’s finest moment, Chicago suffered a far worse fate with their traffic jam in February 2011. On the first of the month, 20 inches of snow fell in Illinois, Chicago, which eventually turned into a mid-winter blizzard by nightfall. While rush-hour traffic was pretty much bad for everyone, some commuters had a terrible experience. Drivers who headed north of Lake Shore Drive merged with traffic that at first slowed, then stopped. They were stranded on the roads for more than 12 hours, getting buried in snow that reached almost as high as the cars’ windshield. While the facts make it clear that it was a bad day in Chicago, the photo above suggests otherwise. There were two men taking photos beside the snow pile-up of cars, capturing the memorable moment. That’ll be a day they’ll never forget.

7 7. April 1990, East/West Germany

While weather is unpredictable, manmade objects are not. In the spring of April 1990, the Berlin Wall had recently fallen, which was a joyous moment for German citizens, but ended up turning into a traffic disaster. The real problem was that officials were unprepared for the tearing down of the wall and the chain of events that followed. That Easter holiday saw a massive influx of Germans eager to reconnect with their loved ones.

Unfortunately, the large number of people estimated at an unexpected 18 million cars, which is equivalent to half a million vehicles a day! Not only was the Berlin Wall torn down, but it happened during a holiday, which is the worse time to do anything dramatic. They should’ve seen that one coming.

6 6. February 1980, Lyon-Paris, France

Unexpected city projects cause chaos and lead to many hold-ups. Some cities, however, don’t need road construction or a wall to have horrible traffic. Much speculation has been made about which town has the worst traffic and for a while, the 2010 Beijing-Tibet Expressway jam-up held the top spot, but a new story suggested otherwise. Recently it was confirmed that Lyon-Paris, France, in 1980 had the biggest congestion, with a whopping 109 miles of endless and chaotic traffic. Masses of people returned to the city of love after the completion of their winter vacation, unaware of the extreme weather conditions that were expected to happen that day. Like we said, the weather is unpredictable.

5 5. July 2016, Java, Indonesia

Just when we thought we’d seen the worst of people getting stranded in extreme weather conditions, it gets worse. Back in 2016, 12 people died from dehydration on Indonesia’s largely-populated island, Java. Reports stated that most of the victims were elderly persons, with the exception of a toddler, all of whom were trapped inside hot cars. Temperatures reached a scorching 86 degrees for that week.

Making matters worse, traffic was backed up for 13 miles without space to move around, essentially trapping drivers in their cars. The jam lasted from Sunday to Tuesday, as people returned to the mainland after the Eid al-Fitr festival which marked the end of the holy month of Ramadan. We’ve seen some pretty bad traffic jams, but the 2016 Indonesia jam takes the cake.

4 4. November 2012, Moscow, Russia

Some traffic congestion happens during unfavorable weather conditions and as we have seen, that can cause life-threatening problems on the road. While Chicago and Lyons-Paris experienced horrible weather, so did Russia. Back in 2012, another winter storm wreaked havoc in Moscow, Russia that caused a tie-up that lasted for three days straight! The storm buried a major highway that connects St. Petersburg to Moscow and completely stopped traffic. The incident was so bad that the government set up tents along the route to offer provisions and psychological counseling to drivers. Where was this hospitality when the snowstorm in Chicago hit and left thousands of people stranded?

3 3. June 2009, Sao Paulo, Brazil

For this next city, the government doesn’t make any effort to lend out a helping hand. Given Sao Paulo’s track record for having continuous bad traffic, we’d think city officials would try and relieve the congestion. Unfortunately, this is not the case. This city’s traffic is so terrible that reports have made it an ongoing joke, stating that “even on a good day, traffic is crippling”.

In June 2009, however, Sao Paulo, Brazil set the record straight for “the worst city traffic jams” when more than 182 miles of congestion took place, with drivers sitting for four hours at a time. We’d lose our minds being stuck in traffic for that long but for them, it’s just another day.

2 2. September 2005, Houston, Texas

Though Sao Paulo’s traffic is never-ending, the hold-up that happened September 2005 on Interstate 45 in Texas makes four hours seem like nothing. With the coming of Hurricane Rita, Houston residents were told to evacuate the city immediately. Reportedly, 2.5 million people were on the road heading for evacuation routes, which led to 100 miles of traffic on Interstate 45. Congestion lasted for 48 hours, leaving motorists stranded for as long as 24 hours along the 300-mile route from Galveston to Dallas. Luckily, this massive fiasco had a silver-lining in the end. The evacuation saved many lives that day, and in our book, that’s all that matters.

1 1. September 2001, New York City, NY

While a hurricane tops the list at one of the worst weather conditions to drive in, nothing compares to the nation-wide frenzy the 9/11 attacks caused. Since that terrible morning of September 11 of 2001, when the attacks took place on the World Trade Center, much of New York City underwent a major virtual lock-down that made for some serious transportation problems. For starters, the bridges and tunnels were closed to all but emergency vehicles. Secondly, public transportation was shut down and traffic came to an abrupt halt across the city. Even worse, all flights were cancelled, refusing all incoming or going flights. Thousands of travelers were stranded across the U.S. Things look pretty bleak when air traffic is on shutdown.