Ortega Highway Turn-Out Lanes
An effective, inexpensive method of reducing accidents on the Ortega Highway--one of the most dangerous in the state--should be implemented. Turn-out and passing zones, well marked in advance, should be built, with asphalt surfaces at the same level as the highway and long enough to permit a car to turn out to let faster cars pass and not have to stop.
On my last trip on Ortega Highway, several cars wanted to pass me and hugged in so close behind that I did not dare risk turning out onto one of the short, rough, narrow gravel spaces wide enough for my car.
Even these were unmarked, so I had almost passed them before I could judge whether it was safe to pull over at the speed I was having to go to keep ahead of the cars hugging close behind me.
Many mountain highways throughout the West have well-marked, asphalt-paved, safe turn-out zones, which make it unnecessary for people in a hurry to risk passing on unsafe curves.
FRANCIS RAYMOND LINE
Capistrano Beach
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