Bay Area folks who drive to Los Angeles (and vice versa) and normally go down I-5 might want to consider driving 101 instead. People who do both advised me that 101 takes about an hour or 90 minutes more, but Chuq noted that people don't tailgate as much. I certainly discovered that in both directions yesterday. I was driving 75-80 MPH on the wide-open spaces, and the folks who wanted to pass me were pretty polite about it. It's also a much prettier drive than I-5, particularly if you like the rolling golden hills of California.