Originally Posted by Jaco
The flip side of that is 90-92% of cycling fatalities occur due to collisions with motor vehicles.
The two studies I'm aware of are Toronto, where about 75% of fatalities are due to collisions with motor vehicles, and Chicago, where more than half of the fatalities were on paths. Of course, paths intersect roads, so it is still possible to be killed by a car on a path.
The other factor to consider is that there are over a million accidents a year on bikes requiring medical treatment, and about 700 deaths in a typical year. Serious accidents are far more common than fatalities.
Originally Posted by Jaco
I read the page twice, to make sure I wasn't missing anything. It's pretty fact-free, but they do have some numbers on the relative safety of bike paths vs. different types of roads. According to their numbers, a bike path is:
1.5 times as dangerous as a minor street with no bike facility.
2.1 times as dangerous as a major street with no bike facility.
2.7 times as dangerous as a signed bike route (no lane).
3.4 times as dangerous as an on-street bike lane.
The only thing a bike path is safer than is a sidewalk.