That's a good point. The commuting forum ends up being therapy for many people just because for most of us, this is the only place where we can find fellow bike commuters. So it does tend to over-accumulate horror stories, to the point that an outsider would think that bike commuting is a total disaster. People don't post much about the good stuff, which is a shame.

Just to try to even out the stats, during my last commute all the drivers were courteous, everybody yielded to me at the stopsigns, no squirrels attempted to kill me, the air was clear, I got to do some off-road on the way home from work, and I had a lovely time.

To the OP - good luck with your decision. +1 on the life insurance - good idea whether you're riding or not. You'd hate to quit riding just to get flattened by a falling piano.