debit

Okay, here's a woman's perspective: it's not just a matter of educating the wife. It does sound like the route has some danger zones, but then, so does any commute that involves contact with traffic. If I were the wife in this situation, what I would need to hear would be something like, "This is important to me and is something I need to do. I understand that you're worried about my safety and that means a lot to me. What can we do to alleviate your worries?" And from there it's a matter of figuring out how to make it happen.

Maybe (as someone else suggested) texting or calling when you arrive at work. Maybe a partial commute where you pick up a bus. Maybe you'll have to move to a more bike friendly area. Or you could go at it in a different direction: offer to stop commuting but start riding after work or on the weekends.

You could also keep in mind that sometimes the issue isn't really the issue. Often times one person in a couple becomes upset when the other starts some sort of life changing behavior: quitting smoking or drinking, dieting or exercising. It doesn't always make sense, but this can threaten someone who might feel insecure in the relationship. Talking and reaching a compromise would be my advice; browbeating her with facts or passive aggressive threats would really be the worst thing you could do. FWIW.

ETA: Just want to clarify, nothing that the OP has said makes me think he would browbeat his wife or make passive aggressive threats. That was more a reaction to some of the advice in this thread.