Originally Posted by DCCommuter
Statistically, riding on the road is something like three times safer than riding on a path. Something like 80% of bicycle accidents requiring hospitalization do not involve a person other than the cyclist. Roads are safer because you're much less likely to crash due to a poor surface or poor visibility, which is a much greater hazard than getting hit by a car.
The flip side of that is 90-92% of cycling fatalities occur due to collisions with motor vehicles.
I'd also urge you to read the following article in regards to the often cited "2.6 times more dangerous" statistic as far as bike paths go.
http://www.bicyclinginfo.org/insight...facilities.htm