Originally Posted by
01 CAt Man Do
One of the things that was pointed out on the last test I took was that 80% of all road accidents involve rear-end collisions. From a cycling perspective that's not encouraging but most people who ride bikes most of the time aren't riding directly in the road-way. However, if one were to ride in the road because they had no choice that would raise the risk of being hit...statically speaking.
Personally I seek roads that have wide shoulders or have little traffic. If I'm on a road with little shoulder ( or none ) with heavy traffic I am extremely antsy. In those conditions I feel a little better if I have some good rear lights going.
I doubt that 80% figure. Do you have a citation? Furthermore, riding in the roadway is safer than off to the side, which may go against your intuition, but there it is.