If I may add to the discussion on whether cycling is safe. Amongst all that has been written regarding who is behind the handlebars, the cause of the accident, the interpretation of the laws and statistics and plain opinion what has not been mentioned is the health benefits that are accrued to the community as a whole. Sedentary lifestyles of which the car is partly to blame is killing the populations of the so called developed countries at ever increasing rates. This is being challenged by amongst others the British Medical Assoc. who have come out against the compulsory wearing of helmets but with the proviso that urban speed limits are reduced. The net health gain to the community by encouraging cycling far out ways the odd cyclist that is killed or injured through not wearing a helmet. The BMA in a report called "Cycling Towards Health and Safety" also calculated that the benefits of cycling out weighed the costs in life years by 20:1 i.e. for every one year of life lost through cycle fatalities twenty years are gained by increased health through exercise.
To quote Sam Tracey "Ride with Fury, Grace and Precision.
Ride On Tim