I'm sure most of us have ridden Sand Hill/280 lots of times and I don't see it ever becoming a less popular route any time soon unless people start getting picked off in a hurry (which I don't see happening despite a marked increase in auto and bike traffic over the past couple decades). The only iffy part of the 280 overpass is westbound, IMO, and only because you're in a bike lane w/ dual merging traffic for a hundred yards to so.
It could be argued the part of Stevens Canyon where Matt and Kristi were killed is a relatively safe part of the road as there is a wide enough shoulder and clear enough sight lines that the only issues should have been someone cutting the corner behind them, or a gravel truck squeezing them to the curb, and even that would have been pretty iffy.
The point is, any time you go on a public road, you will always have some chance that something bad is going to happen to you; you can reduce the risk all you want, but there's always that chance. We all either get used to it and accept it, or we go pick up some other activity that's either safer, or kills us in more acceptable ways. Take your pick.