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In PHOTOS: The city with 180 km traffic jams

Friday evenings are a commuter's worst nightmare in Brazil's biggest city Sao Paulo, which has some of the worst congestion problems in the world.

That's when all the tailbacks in and out of the city extend for a total of 180 km, on average, according to local traffic engineers, and as long as 295 km on a really bad day, the BBC reported.

Red brake lights stretch as far back as the eye can see, blinking repeatedly as drivers endure an exasperating stop-and-go journey, which can continue for hours.

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The city with 180 km traffic jams

"It's like a sea. A sea of cars," Fabiana Crespo said, as she slowly navigated the congested streets with her 10-month-old baby Rodrigo.

"For a long time I lived with my family in the south of Sao Paulo and worked on the other side of town.

"So when I got married, I decided to move to the north of the city to be close to the office, because commuting can make your life hell. But after my first son was born I decided to go back to running the family business which is in my old neighbourhood. So I am back to the ordeal crossing the whole city to go to work," she said.

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The city with 180 km traffic jams

For Crespo it's a journey that can take more than two hours of her day -- each way.

Traffic jams cause problems all over the world, and not just for drivers, but in Sao Paulo they have become more than a nuisance.

Heavy traffic is an integral part of life and culture in this vast city of more than 11 million people.

"We have become slaves of traffic and we have to plan our lives around it," Crespo added.

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