From: bretcahill@aol.com   
      
   > >> To just know there was a bicycle in proximity to an automobile would   
   > >> be useless.   
      
   > >Try cycling or driving on CA-1 north of Westport where it side steps the   
   King Range.   
      
   > Frankly, cars scare me when I'm bicycling.   
      
   There's an exponential decline in the odds of collision as you move away from   
   traffic outside of the white line.  One meter of smooth pavement outside the   
   rumble strip would save a lot of lives.   
      
   The problem is many road beds don't have that 1 meter.   
      
   Since CalTrans is willing to try _anything_ to keep NorCal roads open they   
   ought to start passive tunnel building:   
      
   Anchor pre fabricated Quonset like tunnel segments to the hill side on   
   sections prone to mud slides.  Shove enough dirt down on top of the structure   
   to distribute and soften the impact of any large rocks rolling down next   
   mudslide.   
      
   The tunnel segments could then be wide enough to accommodate a bike lane.    
   Trying to bulldoze the entire side of the mountain for an extra m of road bed   
   may require a gazillion tons of fill, i.e., Hwy 299 2 years ago.   
      
   > I've found plenty of   
   > places to explore where there are very few autos.   
      
   Less traffic doesn't necessarily extrapolate linearly to less accidents   
   because everyone is off guard.   
      
   In the city everyone is always aware there are other cyclists, pedestrians as   
   well as motorists nearby.   
      
      
   Bret Cahill   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)