TALKIN' RADIO : CALL-IN SHOWS GET INTO THE DRIVER'S SEATDLIM.

Byline: Fred Shuster

What's the hot topic with Los Angeles drivers?

Road rage, say Kenny Morse and Reed Berry, co-hosts of ``Traffic Jam,'' the KRLA-AM (1110) show that looks behind the wheel.

``People are testy,'' Morse said. ``They're honking and flipping each other off. Drivers don't use turn signals because it's considered signaling the enemy.''

The call-in show, which airs at 1 p.m. Saturdays, features interviews with well-known local residents such as Jay Leno, Dennis Franz and Bob Barker.

Radio and driving have been partners for ages. Along with programs about driving, auto repair and car buying, local residents are blessed with KKTR-AM (1650), an entire station devoted to traffic reports.

Remember KMET?

The radio history of Los Angeles is well documented, but one now-defunct station rarely gets mentioned - KMET-FM.

The free-form rock station went on the air in 1971 and featured a roster of DJs including Dr. Demento, Jim Ladd, Steven Clean, Mary Turner, Jeff Gonzer, Shadoe Stevens and Jimmy Rabbit.

KMET - which was at 5828 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles - closed in 1987 but had begun to change fundamentally as early as 1977.

Ladd, whose current show is broadcast at 6 p.m. weekdays on KLOS-FM (95.5), wrote a book about life at KMET. Ladd's ``Radio Waves: Life and Revolution on the FM Dial'' was published in 1991.

``KPCC-FM came first, then KMET,'' Ladd said Wednesday. ``It's best described as the tribal drum - it was free-form radio. What I'm doing now at KLOS is free-form radio. They've given me the opportunity to carry on that tradition.''