Those ‘Free’ Freeway Days

The slogan “the freeway is forever” rings so true (“Free to Move About at Speed in the ‘Instant City,’” Rearview Mirror, Dec. 24). As a UCLA graduate student in the mid-1970s, I’d sometimes get in the car at about 1 a.m. and cruise the freeways to clear my head after hours of research and reading. I’d gun up the 405 to the 101, east to downtown and back west on the 10, all at easy speeds of 70 to 75 in the empty lanes. Alas, today, even in the wee hours, you’d first need to check the Internet for congestion hot spots and consider the hit in the wallet from burning up a few gallons of gas.

David Smollar

San Diego