Wow, I got to CA in '73 and worked extensively in LA '73 to '76. I remember living in Westwood near Pasadena and taking a girl out in Laguna Beach, about 60 miles away. I was headed home one Saturday night and traffic was crawling about 15 mph at 2 AM!
I find it hard to believe that he could "ride the speed limit at any time of the day." LA freeways were always clogged from the 50s.
My wife and I went 90 miles from the San Fran Peninsula to near Modesto last Saturday. Horrible traffic everywhere!
Ive never been to LA but, I remember jokes about the terrible traffic and smog were standard fare of comics in the 60s.