There are lots of studies about human perception because it keeps surprising us by not working the way we think. "Eye witnesses", the gorilla in the room study, etc. Attaching a public safety issue to a perception study gets funding.
Part of the problem with this kind of study is that not that many cyclists are actually getting hit, and we don't know how many times accidents have been averted by unknown factors. It is all a lot like studying people that get hit by lightning.