Originally Posted by
topflightpro
As far as road safety goes, about 75 percent of all car-bike crashes occur in urban and suburban areas, with most happening when the motor vehicle is turning.
However, about half of all fatal crashes occur on rural roads, where speed is greater.
(This is all based on North Carolina data, as NC is one of the few states to study this regularly, but it is likely a fair representation of what is going on throughout the rest of the country.)
That sounds right. I have usually felt like drivers on rural roads are more likely to give you space and with less drama than in the city or suburb, but they're going much faster.
edit:
Re the mirrors, there was a story about a guy in the Central Valley taking out a whole group ride with his mirror.