Express lane rules will be in place on Independence Day

QWill the express lanes on Interstate 680 through Walnut Creek be charging tolls on July 4? We’re heading to Santa Cruz and hoping to beat traffic. — Evan Hayes, Oakland

AYes, express and carpool lane hours are in effect on all midweek holidays. That’s 5 a.m. until 8 p.m. on 680 and 580 toll lanes. Tolls may not be as high as on regular commute days, which can reach $9.50 for the entire trip.

QI recently returned from a National WWII Museum tour of seven European countries. We stayed at Bayeux, France, and traveled by bus to Utah and Omaha beaches, and Sainte-Mère-…glise in Normandy. — Bob Hughes, San Jose

AOh, man, am I envious. I’m a World War II history buff and would love to make this journey. Bob reports that at Sainte-Mère-…glise, Pvt. John Steele from the 82nd Airborne (played by Red Buttons in the WWII epic “The Longest Day)” has been remembered by the local population with a dummy hanging from a parachute from the church tower on which he accidentally landed. Steele was caught there but survived. Our Roadshow foreign correspondent added that one of his favorite memories in France was “seeing the American flag all over the place. They have not forgotten.”

Anything else?

QRiding in the bus, I could not help but notice that the highways in France were completely pothole free and there was absolutely zero roadside litter. What do they do that we don’t? By the way, the price of petrol was approximately 5 to 6 dollars a gallon. — Bob Hughes A There’s part of your answer.

Q

I just returned from a trip to the North Coast on Highway 1. While many drivers use pullouts to let others pass, some don’t. I drive faster than many on these routes, but I do pull over when someone is behind me. Such behavior can cause half-hour or more delays for motorists who don’t need to drive that slow.

As I sat in a dozen-vehicle parade behind an RV, I composed some questions that I’m hoping you might provide some insight on.

Do these drivers think it is normal to have no one in front of them and several vehicles behind them? When they ignore signs telling slow drivers to use pullouts, what are they thinking? I recall an article a couple of years ago about a young driver who rented an Airstream and drove it up Highway 1 in Big Sur. She said it was just too much bother to pull her rig in to the pullout. — Tom Farrell, Santa Clara

AIf five vehicles or more are being blocked, the slow-driving “road boulder” is to pull over when safe to do so. Especially on Highway 1.

Follow Gary Richards at Twitter.com/ mrroadshow, look for him at Facebook.com/ mr.roadshow, or contact him at mrroadshow@ bayareanewsgroup.com or 408-920-5037.