I AM WILLING to bet that your mother told you not to pick up strangers while driving. With gas closing in on $3.50 a gallon, one company would like you to rethink that philosophy.

GoLoco.org goes beyond the realm of a commuter ride-sharing site. The service is meant to be used if you need a ride to the movies, or the supermarket, or your friend's house across town. The person with the vehicle can make a buck, and the person in need of a ride gets where he wants to go. Everybody is happy, right?

Ah, if only it could be that simple.

While the goals of GoLoco.org - to save people money and lower greenhouse emissions - are truly noble, there is one major hurdle before the project can be called a success: trust.

How do you know that this stranger whom you are committing yourself to being alone in a vehicle with can be trusted?

GoLoco.org has made some attempts to ease the minds of potential victims - I mean car-poolers. They have put a ranking system in place that allows you to rate your experience with a particular car pool buddy online.

Unfortunately, I believe that surviving the ride is a requirement to be able to post your comments.

The site has also put security measures in place like having the details of your trip e-mailed to a "security buddy," like a partner, best friend or relative. That way, if you choose to share a ride with a serial killer, the people closest to you will be the first to know if you don't quite make it to your intended destination.

As another method to increase the safety of the program, potential ride sharers are also able to view a picture of their car pool buddy and listen to a recording of their voice as they extol the merits of their favorite breakfast food.

Again, I'm not so sure that I would have seen the red flags flying if I had seen a picture of Ted Bundy and listened to him talking about his undying love of Lucky Charms.

All paranoia aside, GoLoco.org does have its heart in the right place. With an estimated 75 percent of all drivers traveling solo, every single person who makes the choice not to drive alone can make a tangible difference.

Once they get the safety issues worked out, GoLoco.org just may have tapped into a brilliant new way to help all of us breathe a little easier in the future.

For now though, I would need to see some security measures that were a little more solid before I hopped into that canary yellow V-dub with the man with the nice smile and the green marshmallow clover between his teeth.

Michelle Groh-Gordy is the owner of InterActive! Traffic School Online at www.trafficinteractive.com , and writes a syndicated weekly column on driving for the publications of the Los Angeles Newspaper Group.