Originally Posted by
scplus5
No, and that's not a fair comparison. If things that were 20x the weight of my truck routinely zipped past me, within 3-4 ft of me, going 40 mph faster than I am, then we could use that example.
What's relevant is the relative degree of risk. If you look at the numbers on a per mile traveled basis, cycling is more dangerous than riding in a car. However, on a per hour of participation basis, the numbers flip around in favor of the bike.
So riding a bike in traffic (particularly if you obey the rules of the road, don't ride drunk, and aren't a ninja salmon) the risk is just not that high compared to driving.
And factor in the health benefits, and the mortality risk swings way in favor of cycling.