I think ( spinnaker ) said it best.
That is rubbish about falling in the tub......sure you can slip in the tub.....more likely in a hotel tub or as a guest in somebody's home than at your home BUT YOU MAY BE INJURED, a broken wrist, arm, rib, concussion or maybe a clavicle BUT YOU AREN'T LIKELY TO HAVE FATAL INJURIES FROM Slipin in the tub.
The potential for a fatal injury for a bicyclist rises exponentially with the quantity of vehicle traffic and the increased average speed of that vehicle traffic.
Yes, as those television ads for various Lawyers often state, "if you're in an accident with one of these big rigs (LAWYER is on top of the tractor trailer 18 wheeler talking to the camera) you're gonna get hurt..." Call us today if you've been injured or to bring a wrongful death suit.......we will make them pay for your suffering or for the untimely death of your loved one".................
Hey, sometimes you just have to ask yourself, is there perhaps a better route to be riding on than this one.
Is there a better time of day to be riding this road.
Yes, you should be able to go on whatever roadway permits bicycles but you know the potential risk increases because you have idiot, impatient, distracted, speeding motorists that may not have the "Share The Road" mentality.......................they may be of the mindset of hey you dumb--- bicycle rider why don't you get a decent job and buy a car, or get off this roadway....
I'm just saying that competing with morons that are running late for work, speeding, distracted, chemically impaired, drowsy, old & see like Mr Magoo, or else 16 years old with a month's experience of driving behind the wheel, ---THE PROBABILITY OF A BAD OUTCOME SUBSTANTIALLY INCREASES.
Yes there are laws and a cyclist is within those laws to exercise his/her right to navigate those roads/streets but just as there TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS between cars, there certainly could be a collision with a bicycle rider. Just as the Municipality and Dept of Transportation has yearly and monthly UPDATED data on those locations/intersections with the most accidents etc, and those areas with the most fatal accidents,..............................YOU CANNOT JUST BLINDLY SAY Well Ollie, Oh Golly Gee, I'm Gonna Be Fine Riding Down MONTGOMERY BOULEVARD (or whatever notorious street in your area..).
You should be scared and you should in such cases, possibly consider an alternate route. This is just my opinion. In a perfect world, you'd have nothing to worry about but as we all know.....