We've all come upon a situation where high-speed traffic on a freeway suddenly slows to a crawl, usually due to an accident up ahead. In such situations there are usually some drivers with an equally sudden "need" to exit the freeway at the first available exit; such drivers often make a mad dash from the left lanes to the right lane, in their desperate attempt to exit as soon as possible.
On my regular commute from Sherman Oaks, CA to the vicinity of LAX, I travel I-405. When the freeway was built in the 1960's, most segments had 4 lanes in each direction; the lone original exception was the Sepulveda Pbutt (elevation ~ 1100 feet). The freeway was built with a climbing lane; that segment had 5 lanes going up the hill. Since at least the mid-1970's, there has been major congestion going up that hill every weekday non-holiday morning. For regular commuters, it's no surprise; morning traffic always crawls up that hill.
I don't want to address the causes of the congestion; it's just a fact of life in the L.A. area. It's so commonplace that the traffic reports don't even mention it -- because it's not news.
Gaywood Road Signage ProblemEnough already, say the residents of Gaywood Road who are darned tired of getting their street signs nabbed by pranksters humored by the name. The fourth custom-made green wooden sign with...
Amazingly, there are always a few drivers who react as though it's a surprise. They make that mad dash to cross 5 lanes of traffic to reach the last exit before the hill.
My question is: WHY?
I would expect that those who don't know the area don't get off in search of alternate routes; and those who do know the area should not be surprised.
