San Jose Mercury News, Calif., Mr. Roadshow column [San Jose Mercury News, Calif.]

Nov. 15--Q Are you aware of anything that has been affecting the afternoon commute from San Francisco to Walnut Creek since Halloween? Traffic for the last two weeks has backed up onto the Bay Bridge when trying to leave San Francisco at 6 p.m. Some nights it's taken two hours; most nights it's an hour and 40 minutes, as opposed to an hour.

Barbara Noel

Walnut Creek

A Joe-the-Radio-Traffic-Man says his afternoon crew chalks it up to the time change. "With the sun now going down about 5 p.m., they've noticed a dramatic increase in slow traffic in the evenings, not just on 24, but every place," he says. "I know she says it started on Halloween, which was a week before the time change, but maybe she's not exact about when she started noticing it. The afternoon crew knows of no other explanation."

Q I was driving from Fish Ranch Road in Orinda and merging onto Highway 24 east as I've done for the past 9 1/2 years to get to work. I'm aware that as cars come out of the Caldecott Tunnel they tend to pick up speed and am extremely careful about merging. On this day, I began to merge onto the freeway with a large clearing when a Coca-Cola big rig sped up and cut me off, leaving me to squeeze between the truck and the wall, which I hit against to avoid being plowed into by the truck. My feeling is that the driver realized what he had done,

as he then slowed to about 40 mph.

Once I gained my composure, I went into another lane, as the truck was moving very slowly. Eventually he sped up and by this time, more composed, I was able to get in back of him and write down his information on a Kleenex box in my car. I scribbled lots of numbers from the decal, license plate, and the "How Am I Driving?" number. I have since called the "How Am I Driving?" number twice and have been told that someone would contact me, but have not heard from anyone.

I know I will not get any payment for the damage to my car, which luckily was limited to a few scratches on the lower side. This is not my greatest concern. But I feel that the powers-that-be need to know how unsafe their driver is.

I often wake up in the middle of the night replaying this scary incident and how the outcome could have been.

I am very clear that the driver was in the wrong. Why won't anyone respond? What is the point of calling "1-888-818-8335 How Am I Driving?" if it is not taken seriously?

Melissa Roman

Albany

A I agree. When these "How am I driving?" signs are displayed on commercial vehicles, the phone number is usually associated with that company's insurance carrier or a third party that handles its safety reporting. Bob-the-Trucking-Company-Owner says to call the Coca-Cola distribution center and ask for the fleet safety manager or risk manager. "I would think Coca-Cola would take this very seriously," he said. "She did right by getting the unit number on the trailer (the cab unit number makes it easier for the company to trace, as one cab may pull many different trailers)."

He also says you should have called the Highway Patrol immediately to report this incident and may still do well to file a report with your local CHP office, stating all the pertinent information, such as date, time, direction

of travel and the Coca-Cola information.

Q Gary, did anyone ever guess what the plate THEMUSS meant? ... I think it's "Thanks He Made US SENATOR." ... My kids think that it might be "the muses." Too many Percy Jackson books! ... Does THEMUSS refer to the Internet blog that discusses politics?

Bill Baxter, Madeleine Roe, Luann Schwab, Tom Murray and more

A Nope. But one reader has the correct answer:

Q (Quoting www.alumni.utah.edu/muss/membership:) THEMUSS is the University of Utah's student fan club for football, men's basketball and women's soccer, volleyball and gymnastics. Established in 2002, The MUSS became the most popular student section in the Mountain West Conference and is looking to do the same in the Pac-12. In 2004, it was named one of the Top Five Student Sections in the country by ESPN.

Sean Ferguson

A And ...

Q "THEMUSS" is my vanity plate with a surrounding plate of the University of Utah, "Go Utes." Unfortunately most people think it means "Them vs. Us" and I sound like a pathetic racist or an anarchist with the tea party. THEMUSS is the name of the cheering section at a Utah game. It's a line out of our strange fight song.

Helen Eschenbacher

Carrollton, Ga.

A Mystery solved. Next riddle coming soon!

Have a gripe, minor annoyance or major problem with transportation Look for Gary at www.facebook.com/mr.roadshow or contact him at [email protected] or 408-920-5335. The fax number is 408-288-8060.

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