Pine Nut route most dangerous

No stretch of road in Douglas County is as unforgiving as Highway 395 between the top of Jake's Hill and the south end of Double Spring Flat.

A simple search reveals 17 deaths on that stretch of road in the last two decades. A more detailed examination would reveal far more.

Nevada Department of Transportation figures reveal the 19 miles between the California state and Pine Nut Road have the highest fatal crash rate in the county.

The state lists seven fatal accidents between 2001 and 2005 with a rate of 3.08, higher than the state average of 2.96 and nearly twice the fatal rate for 395 between Muller Lane and Clearview Drive.

While the Valley's highways have their share of fatalities, they are clearly more traveled. According to the Nevada Department of Transportation, 4,600 vehicles a day enter Douglas County from 395 at the California border. Roughly twice that number are on the highway every day at Ruhenstroth. That's about a third of the daily trips on Highway 395 between Minden and Carson.

It is the one place where the likelihood of a head-on accident is significantly increased and those are likely to result in multiple deaths.

Unlike Highway 395 through Carson Valley and into Carson City, no significant safety improvements are proposed for the highway through the Pine Nuts in the Southern Sierra Corridor Study released by the state last year.

The corridor study shows traffic along the route will nearly triple over the next two decades, increasing the danger without providing any means to lower drivers' risk.