March 6, 2021:
One San Diego tradition I have not missed is: tailgating.
It seems to be a cultural attribute, unmistakable on all of the freeways in the region.
I noticed immediately when I moved to the Bay Area. Drivers there seemed to be on the whole more respectful of leaving safe distance between vehicles, even when traffic is very heavy. My hometown habit by contrast had been to find tailgaters — "buttwiffs" my friend called them — directly on my bumper pretty much any time I checked my rear-view mirror. Even on nearly empty roads, irrespective of empty lanes, with plenty of room for the impatient to pass: the car behind is right up on your tail.
A memory brought home vividly now on both 163 South and 8 West as I re-encounter old haunts.