So we can completely eliminate risk to cyclists on the roadway by either (1) getting rid of automobiles, or (2) getting rid of bicycles. Which one would generate less disruption to the economy and world as a whole? By any reasonable measure....passenger miles, revenue miles, value added miles, etc....bicycles are a needle in the economic haystack.

Cycling on the roadway is riskIER because bicycles lack the numerous safety features which autos and trucks have, from simple things like four wheels instead of two, to more complex things like turn signals, to obvious things like lack of the fact the rider is not contained within the vehicle. You either accept these risks and ride, or verse vica. You cannot do both.