Martin Li
A TEMPORARY failure of cross-border vehicle inspection facilities at Huangang Checkpoint in Futian District led to a seven-hour traffic jam on roads leading to the checkpoint Wednesday.
The traffic backup started at 3 p.m. when a larger number of Hong Kong people were heading home for the traditional Chinese dongzhi (winter solstice) festival, checkpoint police said.
In addition, impatient drivers changing lanes trying to get ahead or take another road made congestion worse and led to minor accidents.
A car and a coach collided around 8:30 p.m. on the Binhe section of Huanggang Road several kilometers from the checkpoint, exacerbating the situation.
Police said that although traffic congestion was common near the checkpoint during holidays, a seven-hour traffic jam was rare.
Traffic police were sent to maintain order but the situation did not improve until 9 p.m.
A Hong Kong man working in Futian, surnamed Pan, walked to the checkpoint after sitting in a taxi for more than 40 minutes.
Pan said it took him only 10 minutes to take a taxi to the checkpoint on normal days.
