‘Carmageddon’ coming to City of Angels

LOS ANGELES – If you have a choice, stay away from L.A. this upcoming weekend.

Remember this time last year, we were reading about Beijing’s 62-mile, nine-day-long traffic jam? 

Well, the Americans are all about keeping up with the Chongs, so this weekend, L.A. will be hosting “the mother of all traffic jams.”

Between Friday July 15 and Sunday July 17, L.A. is shutting down the city’s main artery, I-405, so construction crews can install a 16-km carpool lane. This stretch of road is reputed to be the busiest in America.

L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, the mayor of Los Angeles, has asked citizens to steer clear of the route. And the Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky issued the following official proclamation: “Stay the heck out of there.”

So insistent are local authorities that people stay away they’ve even recruited “celebrities” to spread the word.

Eric Estrada, who came to prominence in the popular ‘80s cop show CHiPS, was among the glitterati who recorded “Carmageddon” public service ads.

"Plan ahead, avoid the area or just stay home," a smiling Estrada says in the one advertisement.

And Canadian William Shatner; a.k.a., Captain Kirk, tweeted that he thinks commuters should stay home and watch his new documentary “The Captains.”

In it, Shatner tours the world and interviews all the actors who have played captains in Star Trek movies.

Suddenly the thought of sitting in traffic seems rather appealing.