Some are calling it a 2008 Olympic Games traffic rehearsal, and so far, so good.

For days, those of us living in Beijing have been hearing warnings that traffic would be a nightmare about now. Some 48 heads of state and delegations from Africa are visiting Nov. 3-6 for a summit meeting. That means the airport thoroughfare is sealed off.

Other roads are also restricted to official caravans or diplomatic vehicles.

Given the usual gridlock around here, I’d been imagining the worst. We packed off a friend to the airport on a shuttle bus this morning, fearing a drive on back roads to the airport might take two or three hours each way.

But it seems all the warnings have scared drivers off the roads. Traffic is lighter than usual. Normally, Beijing has two million private cars on the roads, and a total of three million motor vehicles. But the government has issued a six-day ban on the 490,000 cars from government agencies. So right there, it’s 15 percent less traffic. Moreover, another 250,000 drivers are heeding calls to stay off the roads and ease congestion.

Now, if only the African leaders would stick around for longer…