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TCinLA's avatar

Literally - it exploded when hit in the rear.

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EZTejas123's avatar

Yes, a fact that came out only after I’d been driving LA freeways for 3+ years, back in the early 70’s when everyone drove 70+ and you weren’t tailgating if you could still see someone’s brake lights…….The miracle of survival is not lost on me.

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TCinLA's avatar

Back when the freeways really were. Free. Rush hour is now 24/7/365, And all my secret back ways have been outed on Waze. :-(

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EZTejas123's avatar

I left in ‘74, and used to go back occasionally for business. You have my complete sympathy! I just can’t imagine living there and having to commute.

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TCinLA's avatar

If I had ever had to commute when I got here in 1980, I would have left. Fortunately screenplays and books are best written in the back room of wherever it is the writer lives.

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EZTejas123's avatar

I left in 74, moved to Fairbanks, AK for a few years. No traffic there.

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David Levine's avatar

in my neighborhood, the real main drag is Northern Boulevard (celebrated in "The Great Gatsby"). a few years back, they added bike lanes. inconvenient when there's traffic, but workable. a few months ago, they added a bus lane (there are two very minor bus routes on it and the buses didn't create traffic issues). so now, this main artery is one lane going in either direction. it's one long traffic jam ALL THE TIME.

...and don't even get me started on 34th Avenue (the former "alternate route" when Northern Boulevard was too crowded). it's a pedestrian mall with these pylon-type things so that no emergency vehicles can turn on to it in actual emergencies.

lots of shit-for-brains types around, I'm thinking.

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TCinLA's avatar

And I'll bet there aren't that many bicycles on it. We have the same thing here in the SFV - all the main routes have bike lanes and you NEVER see a bicycle on it other than the riding gangs on Sunday mornings.

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David Levine's avatar

actually, there really IS quite a bit more bike traffic than ever before, especially in Manhattan, where the cyclists (many of whom tend to ignore things like lights and signs) are widely despised.

but remember, NYC is a much more bicycle-friendly (or do I mean "bicycle-appropriate) city than LA.

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