China's nine day traffic jam...

And you think your daily commute on the 401 is bad. Imagine being stuck on that road for over a week. That, sadly, is what is has come to on one of China's major expressways.

Two days ago, the CBC reported that a traffic jam had entered its ninth day of existence and is well over 100 km long. It could very well still be jammed up. According to the Chinese government, the jam occurred due to insufficient traffic capacity and maintenance issues. So basically, there are too many cars and too few roads.

One might think you could simply jump off the expressway and take another route home, but the jam is so solidly backed up that even that won't work. And really, you can't do much else except wait it out. So what exactly might you do for several days on the road?

Food and drink is very much available as vendors have set up shop to appease the stuck drivers. But a quick review of supply & demand theories will lead you to understand why the food is far from affordable. I'm sure gas is being sold to the poor souls who run out, but again, probably far from the normal price. And we can only hope that most cars aren't idling the whole time.

Emergency vehicles must be screwed, too.

Urban planning institutes and consultants frequently release reports citing the added costs of traffic congestion to the economy, usually in the billions. But North American traffic congestion is nothing compared to what China is experiencing. And apparently, this isn't the first time it has happened.

It won't be the last, either. China is growing outrageously fast in almost every dimension of its existence. People there are getting richer and wanting more cars. Building the infrastructure to house the cars doesn't happen quite as quickly.

So, here are the typical solutions: more public transit, congestion zone charges, toll highways, carbon taxes and voluntary drops in vehicle usage. Forgive me for being so blunt, but I don't think China really cares that much. Of course, they are implementing all sorts of programs like this. But will they trump the sheer desire to own and drive a car, especially as the economy grows at 9% per year? Doubtful. One can only hope that some lessons are learned from this jam and the future ones that take place.