[Grant-53]

The issue of mass and safety is not as straight forward as we have been lead to believe. Design geometry and material selection are crucial to building a crashworthy design. Our state has a minimum seat height law. Passenger car seats are typically 20" from the ground. The rider's back angle has a big effect on frontal area so you can lean forward or lean back and get similar results. For those of us concerned about crash safety I plan a body made of honeycomb aluminum. I have a supply of .355" panels. A bright paint job, lots of lights, dual mirrors,and an inertial reel lap belt round out the package.
With a low drag body and gearing to match, keeping up on traffic should be possible. A low nose and high tail seem to be most stable but more could be done. Don't skimp on brakes or tires.