Jam
No, not nice strawberry version, the no end to the line of cars version!
As a driver I get my fair share of traffic jams. Fortunately I live in a fairly quiet area of the country without too many of them, but occasionally I get stuck. Sometimes only for five minutes, other times for hours on end.
I once got stuck in three jams in one day. At the end of that day I wondered why I had chosen to become a professional driver! I was tired, I was fed-up and I was sick of all the not-driving I had done that day! But that only lasted until the next morning!
In the Netherlands most traffic jams during rush hour are between two and ten kilometers. I've heard of jams in France and Germany, especially during the start of the holidays, that are over forty kilometers! The horror...
The first official traffic jam in the Netherlands took place on May 29th, 1955 (Whitsunday). Masses of people decided to take advantage of the lovely weather and take their car somewhere. The traffic jam was a novelty and according to some people a sign of 'civilisation'. Well, did we learn fast!!!
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Great shots, but I can surely do without traffic jams!! We have more than our share here in Seattle!!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy!
Sylvia
During the summer on Cape Cod, the traffic jams were unbelievable!
ReplyDeleteTraffic would be backedup for miles trying to cross the bridges for the mainland.
I do not miss that at all!
Sunny :)
Mara, just think... If you'd had JAM (strawberry sweet kind) during the JAM, you'd be double-jammed!
ReplyDeleteGood photos too!!!
What a great J! There are not too many traffic jams here, as I live in farming country...but we might get stuck on a single lane road behind a slow moving tractor....
ReplyDeleteI don't like traffice jams. I'm in LA so traffic is always bad. I am lucky enough not to have to leave too often.
ReplyDeletethe con of 'development'!
ReplyDeletebeautiful post!
I wonder why the traffic jam was named after something sweet! Maybe because jam is sticky.
ReplyDeleteTraffic JAMS aren't very pleasant yet this one doesn't look too bad!
ReplyDeleteThree jams in one day?! Whew! All those cars! The JAM that I'd rather would definitely be the kind riding shotgun with my scone! LOL!
ReplyDeleteI don't like jams either - so frustrating if you've to be somewhere in a hurry. Usually I listen to the radio or a cd and hope the traffic will soon get going.
ReplyDeleteWe've been in some horrible traffic jams here in England. I remember sitting in the car for hours sometimes as a child, creeping forward by inches on hot summer days, supposedly 'going somewhere'.
ReplyDeleteYou're lucky not to get too many of them!
I always wonder where everyone is going to bring them altogether in a jam. Sometimes there is an explanation such as music festivals or an event but sometimes they just happen. One of the best feelings is seeing a jam, but you are not in it, because you are going the other way and thanking your lucky stars.
ReplyDelete"Civilization", indeed. There's a movie being made in Albany right now, and I expect a traffic jam downtown for the next couple weeks. Traffic Jam by James Taylor.
ReplyDeleteI do not like this sort of jam at all!
ReplyDeleteThe jacks in my post are bookends...there is a children's game called, "jacks". It is played with 10 small metal jacks and a small rubber ball. I played many games of jacks when I was a child.
Happy ABC Wednesday!
Sherry
I like your post very much - spoken like a professional driver.
ReplyDeleteGreat J word. We have way too many traffic jams here, as there is always construction work going on.
ReplyDeleteI liked your bit of history about the first traffic jam. That's really interesting.
I did a post of our experience at last Chinese New Year about how we were jam in the traffic form 6PM till 2 AM in an otherwise wildness mountain highway.
ReplyDeleteNot my favorite jam, either, and it seems to be found almost everywhere and at all times... Nice post!
ReplyDelete