Originally Posted by
ItsJustMe
Again, I think it depends on where you ride. Rural riders have to be a lot more worried about overtaking collisions - we're a lot more likely to have people who are zoning out, who have been driving the same speed (often 60+ MPH) and direction with no stop for miles, they're sleepy and have had no distraction (turning, stopping, things to look at), and we have almost no cross street traffic.
In the city I can well believe that oncoming traffic is a much bigger issue than it is for me - but in my situation, I run a lot of taillight and I think it's justified, for me.
So I think as with all things on BF, we need to be careful when giving out advice that we find out the particular person's situation and make sure we're addressing them and giving them the proper caveats.
True, and your point is in agreement with my observation that the exposure to overtaking, especially at high speed, is not necessarily equal among all cycling populations. Those numerous city riders who choose to ride on sidewalks, bike lanes and even door zones rather than "take lanes" on busy, speedy, or narrow streets, presumably reduces their exposure to overtaking accidents. That numerous cyclists refuse to cycle at all on high speed roads, unless on a shoulder or some other alternative, thus almost eliminating their exposure to overtaking accidents also needs to be considered when discussing how "few" cyclists are hurt or killed by overtaking type accidents.