Reader questions plentiful, and some familiar, over the years

Q: Reading your colleague Larry Magid’s column in which he reflects on the stories he’s covered over the past 40 years makes me wonder what Roadshow was like when you started writing for the Mercury News. When did you publish your first column and what were people writing to you about then?

It would be interesting to see some of your earliest letters. I’ll bet readers were grumbling about crummy road conditions, litter, traffic jams, high gas prices, and clueless drivers, just like we do today. Has anything changed?

Alan Feinberg, Los Gatos

A: Thanks, and you’ll see a series of some of the most memorable Roadshow stories a little later this year. The first Roadshow column was published in 1992 and readers then were asking about when Highways 85 and 87 would open, among other issues. And as you note, many people have the same concerns that drivers have now.

Q: Claire Lomax said her friend in Germany described how the “zipper effect” helps traffic flow. I want to mention another great idea. New drivers in Europe are evidently trained to reach for the door handle with the right hand, so they will turn to watch for oncoming bikers. We need to do that here.

Robert Wahler

A: It’s a simple idea that could make a big difference and might even someday save a life.