Q:At the new flyover area going from Interstate 295 to Interstate 64 just after the Nuckols Road on-ramp, there are signs that the two left lanes close. This causes everyone—whether they are going to Richmond or Charlottesville—to move into the single right lane. Another right lane appears (which a few will use) and both right lanes go off to Charlottesville, with the original lane also continuing on as the sole lane to Richmond. It would avoid confusion and help the flow of traffic if the right lanes were dedicated to going west and the left lanes east. This way, people can get in the appropriate lanes earlier.

Hanover County authorities say they had to end a DUI checkpoint early today because four of the five deputies made arrests, leaving too few resources to continue.

Residents of a Chesterfield County home were startled awake early this morning when a car crashed into the living room of their home, police said. No one was injured in the 4:15 a.m. wreck in the 6100 block of Gates Green Drive. The home is in the Courthouse Green subdivision near the Chesterfield Government Complex. Capt. David Stone was the driver of the errant car, a woman, apparently was fatigued and veered off the road into the house about one to two feet. The woman, who lives in the same subdivision, was charged with reckless driving, he said.

Q:I am looking for potholes in the West Broad Street area. Why? Because I have a car that has a major problem with the transmission. The “slipping indicator” comes on whenever I hit bumps in the road. I need to find a good bump or pothole so that I can get the service technicians to do a ride-along and experience the slipping. I have been unable to locate such a spot. Where’s a good pothole when you really need one?—Betty D.

Richmond is tapping the brakes on a proposal to build roundabouts at four intersections in South Richmond and the East End. At the same time, a City Council committee moved a step closer to blocking a proposed roundabout at a busy intersection in North Richmond. The Land Use, Housing and Transportation Standing Committee voted 2-1 yesterday in support of a proposal to prevent a roundabout from being created at Laburnum Avenue and Hermitage Road. The long-pending proposal by 3rd District Councilman Chris A. Hilbert now moves to the full council at its meeting on Monday.

The City of Richmond is considering whether to create an additional four roundabouts at various traffic choke points in the city. Such traffic circles make good sense as a general rule. They are not appropriate everywhere. Roundabouts tend to be much safer than four-way perpendicular intersections and old-fashioned traffic circles. Roundabouts involve one-fourth as many vehicle-to-vehicle conflict points, and one-third as many vehicle-to-pedestrian conflict points, as four-way intersections. Because they require slowing down and yielding to enter the flow of traffic, they are safer than the old-fashioned traffic circles such as the Lee Circle on Monument Avenue. Roundabouts tend to reduce congestion as well.

Richmond is tapping the brakes on a proposal to build roundabouts at four intersections in South Richmond and the East End.

Q:In the Oct. 4 Street Beat, a reader had a question about enforcement of the “move right” law. This is the law that requires slower-moving drivers to move right when traffic behind them wishes to pass. I asked Tom Lambert of the state police. He said that if the obstructing drivers are going less than the speed limit and won’t get over, they can be ticketed. Fines range from $30 to $81.

Q:One of my pet peeves was in Street Beat on Sept. 27. The driver who stays in the left lane instead of moving to the right causes serious road rage for me. There was a bill introduced several years ago that would have put some teeth into that law. However, it was deemed unenforceable and was killed in subcommittee. Are there any legal solutions regarding those drivers who endanger others as they blithely roll along in the middle or left lane forcing other drivers to try to figure out how to get around them?—Nancy F.

Q:I am having a discussion with a friend who says there is no law about driving in the left lane of a two-lane highway. I thought it was illegal unless you were passing another car. Is there a law regarding this? Thanks.—June D. Answer: Yes, indeed there is a law. The left lane should be thought of as the passing lane. If you’re not passing and you’re not preparing to turn left, the law says you have to move to the right.

Q:We have a situation at Forest Hill Avenue and Melbourne Drive. Waiting to enter Forest Hill is not for the faint of heart. The main problem is the visibility to the west. On your left is a Masonic lodge. Next to this is a McDonald’s restaurant and a shopping-center entrance. There are a lot of shrubs blocking the view. No one seems to see it as a traffic hazard. My neighbors and I feel like it is just an accident waiting to happen.—Henry H.

Q:We came across the Pocahontas Parkway this morning, and clearly there wasn’t any work being done. Are we still obligated to obey the 55 mph work zone speed limit? Or, put another way, is a work zone still a work zone when no one is working in it?—Sue A. Answer: I’m still trying to figure out if a parkway is still a parkway when no one parks on it. And what happens if you watch “The Twilight Zone” during the day?

Q:I note that all the streets running north to south between Broad Street and Monument Avenue and also all the streets running east to west between Malvern Avenue and Staples Mill Road have been resurfaced. But nothing has been done about Patterson Avenue from Malvern (at least) to Willow Lawn Drive. This street gets more traffic than the other streets. Driving on that stretch of Patterson is boneand teeth-jarring, to say the least.

Officials have reopened a section of eastbound Iron Bridge Road (state Route 10) that had been closed from Rock Spring Drive to Cogbill Road today following a collision between a fire truck and pickup truck that injured two Chesterfield County firefighters.

All three interstate wreck scenes that were jamming Richmond-area traffic have now been cleared, the Virginia Department of Transportation said this afternoon.