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World's Worst Traffic Jams
By far the most frustrating driving experience is being gridlocked in a traffic jam. But once you read about the worst jams in the world you’ll be much more composed- if not thankful, when you get delayed by a few minutes in your next traffic hold up.
The worst traffic jam in Australia is probably seven hours. This occurred in April 2010 on the F3 Freeway (Pacific Highway) heading north out of Sydney, when two trucks collided and stranded commuters from 4pm until 11pm when it was finally cleared.
Whilst this one incident created enormous controversy, it pales into insignificance when compared to poor Zang Wei’s experience when travelling from Inner Mongolia into Beijing a couple of months later, where he, and a few thousand others, were held up for an unbelievable TEN DAYS!
So, here’s the ranking for the FIVE world’s worst traffic jams.
1. Beijing-Zhangjiakou Highway August 2010
Whimsically, a set of roadworks intended to alleviate congestion was blamed for the world’s worst traffic jam that lasted a staggering ten days. At its worst, with the jam stretching back 100kms., trucks joining the end of the queue were travelling at 3kp/d (that’s kilometers per day!!) attempting to reach their Beijing destination. Communist China also spawned the entrepreneurial spirit with roadside sellers sprouting up, selling food and drink at exorbitant prices. Local newspapers also reported many incidents of highway robbery, violence and even divorces (“don’t you believe that I am ten days late getting home- been stuck in traffic, dear?”)
2. Paris-Lyon Autoroute 1980
In 1980, at the height of the winter skiing season, everyone wanted to return to Paris at the same time. According to the Guinness Book of Records this jam tailed back on the Lyon-Paris autoroute some 110 kms. and consisted of around 18 million cars. It was reported that a normally 4 hour journey took up to 20 hours, with many, many cars abandoned by the roadside, bereft of fuel, still awaiting collection several days later. It was not reported as to how the owners got home, though they could have skied home more quickly. By distance it stretches further back than any other recorded jam.
3.Sao Paulo – June 2009
According to Time Magazine Sao Paulo in Brazil has the worst day-to-day traffic jams in the world, but June 10th 2009 surpassed anything they had suffered before with 300kms. of accumulated queues amassed around the gridlocked city. It was very quiet indeed in all the city offices as more than half the commuters never made it to work, going home in disgust. Yet you have to wonder what it would have been like if they hadn’t already instituted a last digit numbering system for peak hour weekday traffic! Whilst it was sorted out within 12 hours it still ranks as an all time high for the number of kms. gridlocked.
4. Houston, Texas- September 2005
The early warning system for Hurricane Rita prompted 2.5 million people to flee Houston, but they didn’t get very far very quickly, all travelling down- or not travelling down Interstate 45. Two days later many were still stranded in the melee. Some made a social occasion out of it-well, there was nothing else to do, chatting, having community BBQ’s, helping stalled cars and trucks out of the way and generally making the best out of it.It seems the impending hurricane took pity on these poor stranded motorists and avoided plonking the eye of the storm in the middle of the congested highway.
5. Patna, India- December 2009
India is not renowned for its traffic interface, and jams are just part of the experience. But the worst one noted was in Patna, a city of nearly six million people, nestled on the southern banks of the Ganges. It is a political centre and a whole number of political activists decided to protest on the same day- the first day of the month in December 2009. Not a good idea….it resulted in what was certainly the world’s most varied traffic jam, embracing gridlocked cars, trucks, tuk tuks, bicycles, scooters, horses and carts and even prams into the equation. The outcome was that hundreds of thousands of mobile Patna residents went nowhere whatsoever throughout the day- and their protests weren’t heard above the hooting horns!
Traffic Jams in Australia
We noted above the longest jam that we know about in Australia was on the Pacific Highway north of Sydney. It’s interesting to note that when the NRMA was established in 1920 its purpose was to lobby the NSW government for road improvements in the state, and its main target was “the Pacific Highway heading north of Sydney”. Over 90 years later the NRMA is lobbying the Government to make good its target of meeting the 2015 Pacific Highway Upgrade! (note: last year the NRMA’s Red Flag survey voted the Coffs Harbour to Macksville section of the Pacific Highway the worst stretch of road in the state).
On the other hand, according to the IBM Commuter Pain Study, Melbourne is the second best city for avoidance of traffic jams in the world, second only to Stockholm- huh, do you believe that?
So what’s changed? Are governments listening? They are certainly not keeping up with the pace of modern traffic.
Where are the worst roads for congestion in Australia? How do they compare with your experiences here and overseas?
We want to know so let’s hear you on our Facebook page now!
Out-Flanked By The Kiwis? No, not again!
If you were asked “Which country has the highest car ownership in the world (per capita)?”, what would your answer be?
Most would say the USA, but, guess what? They’d be wrong. In fact it doesn’t even figure in the top ten! Worse still, if you were asked who ranks higher, Australia or New Zealand, you’d probably say Australia, but you’d be wrong again, drat it!
The actual top ten car owning nations (according to World Bank data) is as follows:- Click Here To Read More
Zero Percent Interest? Sounds Too Good To Be True.
There are some great interest rates around for new car buyers right now- even as low as zero percent. Are they the real deal or is there a catch?
Too often you hear the consumer watchdogs say ‘If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is”
So does that apply to these fabulous interest rate offers?
Well, yes and no.
When a manufacturer offers a great rate it will be honoured (unlike some sharks), but it will be on their terms-not yours. Often that means the deal isn’t so good for you after all.
Let’s explain.
Suppose you see a great 2.9 percent interest rate on the car of your dreams.
Should you rush in and buy?
Mmm, maybe, but there are a few questions to ask first before you sign up
Q1- Is the offer on the exact car I want?
You may find the dealer has a special offer only on a special spec car that they want to move quickly. Maybe the manual (but you want the auto- or vice versa), maybe it’s a run out model that could cost you thousands in depreciation when the new model is announced a few weeks later.
If it is the right car, right colour and right spec go on to Q2.
Q2- Do I get a discount?
Almost certainly the answer is ‘NO’.
The interest rate is usually only available if you pay the full manufacturer’s recommended price.
So you have to weigh the interest rate saving against the discount you don’t get- we’ll show you how later.
Q3- Can I delay delivery?
You may want your car right now, and that will be fine. But what if you aren’t quite ready and want to wait a few weeks before taking delivery? That could be a problem, the salesman wants his commission now and will almost certainly insist you sign up today- tomorrow may be too late and next month is a definite no-no.
Q4- Can I change the interest terms?
These ‘specials’ usually have restrictive and narrow terms. For example, they may be for a no deposit, no residual fixed term of three years. If you want a four year term with a residual payment, then – no deal. Similarly the deal may be for a high residual, but you want to pay the lot off with no residual. So-again, no deal.
Q5- Can I do a trade in?
Yes, they will usually accept trade ins, but you may not get the best trade in price.
Q6- I was going to pay cash but I can’t resist such a good interest rate.
Many feel like you- but think again. This ain’t a free lunch, so if you have cash, then use it to negotiate a discount that you otherwise wouldn’t get.
The Golden Rule is to check ALL the figures first!
Be careful, do the figures then check again to see if it’s still worthwhile.
Here’s what we mean.
You want to buy a new car that is $40,000. You have no trade in and you are happy with the 2.9 per cent interest over five years that’s on offer, and you’re ready to sign up.
Hold on! Wait! Check it out first!
Let’s suppose Private Fleet can negotiate a discount on the car of $3000, and you can get an interest rate from your own sources of 5.6 percent.
Now let’s look at the actual cost to you.
Example 1. Pay $40,000 and get 2.9% interest over 5 years. Your total cost will be $43,018.20.
Example 2. Private Fleet has negotiated a buy price of $37,000 and you are paying 5.6%. Now your total cost is $42,507.12. That, then, is a saving of a cool $501.08-straight into your pocket.
Not such a good deal after all, is it?
So to conclude, what really matters is your total cost not the enticement special.
Sometimes it can work for you, but so often you can do better-with our help of course!
The World's Priciest Car Wash!
The Death of the Car Dealer article last month evoked much comment, including that of ‘Jerry’ who bitterly complained about the ‘farcical dealer delivery charges’, in Australia. This is the item on the invoice usually labeled “Pre-Delivery Charges”.
Cynics call this just an ‘expensive car wash’, so let’s look at what it means and how much we are asked to pay.
Dealer delivery is a real cost and imposition on the new car dealer, as there is work to be done and money to pay out after the car arrives at the dealers, but before you collect your shiny new car.
Work and costs involved include:-
1. Freight charges from the manufacturer or importer to the dealer.
2. Time taken to register the vehicle
3. Affixing the number plates
4. Completing the paperwork.
5. Inspecting the vehicle for faults and imperfections,and doing a full mechanical check.
6. Downloading software and programming electronic equipment.
7. Car wash and detail.
8. Filling it with fuel..
So how much do you think this would cost the dealer?
Let’s see if we can make a fair estimate.
Delivery to the dealer is possibly as much as $500, an hour or two getting the car registered and doing the paperwork, a couple of hours in the workshop, then the body shop and car wash bay for another couple of hours, and that’s about it.
Dealers like to talk about holding costs, showroom expenses, fitting extras, costs of arranging finance and the like, but then we reckon these are covered by the profit margin and commission given to the dealer from the suppliers.
So let’s be generous and say that a reasonable cost recovery (with a bit of profit) could be up to $2000.
However, most new car dealers around the world will incur similar costs, but their charges to the purchaser amount to far less. In the USA the customer is imposed a pre delivery charge of about $750 to $950. It’s slightly less in the UK, and stays around this mark throughout Europe. But it’s a very different matter in Australia…
We made a few phone calls asking the delivery charges from separate dealers in different states for exactly the same car, with exactly the same specifications.
You don’t need to second guess us, as you can expect a wide variation, but even we were surprised to get quotes varying from a very acceptable $1995 to a serious request to pay and extra $5000! And this dealer was not alone in asking for more than 150 percent more than some of his counterparts, as one also quoted $4995.
Is this a disgraceful rip off from the unsuspecting purchaser, especially when some salesmen claim that this is ‘non negotiable’. So is this just another case of buyer beware?
Well, yes and no.
Clearly the car dealer has to make a profit to stay in business, but an exorbitant profit is certainly not justified. Yet it’s a free market, so virtually anything goes, huh? Yes, and that goes back to negotiating the final deal. It really doesn’t matter where the dealer makes his profit. It’s the bottom line that really counts.
Let us explain:
Suppose you want to trade your trusty family car for a brand new four wheel drive.
The recommended retail price (excluding dealer delivery and statutory costs, as they say) of the new vehicle is $40,000, but, by the time you’ve paid the dealer delivery fee and on-road costs, dealer A quotes $47000, including pre-delivery charges of $3450. But dealer B only charges $2250 for pre-delivery (so the total cost is only $45,800).
So you’d go to Dealer B, wouldn’t you?
Of course you would – unless…..suppose dealer A wants to pay you $10,000 for your trade in, but dealer B reckons the best he can give you is $6,000.
Now what? Well, to hand in your old car for the new one from dealer B will cost you $39,800 (dealer quote of $45,800 less $6,000 trade in).
Dealer A, however, quoted you $47,000 for your new car, but will give you $10,000 for your trade in. That means you’ll pay less, $37,000 versus $39,800, so dealer A should get your business.
The moral of the story is that it is the changeover price that matters. Clearly Private Fleet is well aware of all these dealer tricks, so it’s second nature to us. But it’s a minefield for the private buyer that is unnecessary and unwarranted, and makes what should be a pleasurable and exciting task, frustrating confusing and, all too often, unrewarding.
In fact, it is clearly such an issue to the buyer that regulatory authorities have tried to impose drive-away pricing throughout Australia. But that has its own problems as there are substantial variations in state taxes throughout Australia that make a uniform ‘National Price’ impossible.
‘Drive away- no more to pay’ is another example which can erase the pre-delivery rort, and this is where the manufacturer imposes a final drive away price for a particular car in each state. But, sadly, this only applies to selected cars on the dealer lot. As we said, at Private Fleet we are very aware of these cost impositions, but that really doesn’t matter to us, as it’s always the final cost that matters, no matter how it’s arrived at. But for the unwary it can be an extra under-the-table revenue maker that just shouldn’t happen.
Do you think that these charges should be controlled, contained and specified by the maker, or should it be a free market?
Have you paid the pre delivery as a ‘non-negotiable charge’? Have your say below.
Level 2, 9 Help Street