From my experiences on rural roads as a cyclist is that drivers in America seem to believe that neither tractors and farm equipment nor bicycles belong on their roads. Farm animals are rarely on the roads at all and deer are roadkill.
Safety of Cycleways | Cycles of all sorts
Direct rear impacts with cyclists are a more prominent collision type in arterial/rural road type situations. When they occur in such circumstances they are also associated with significantly increased risk of fatality. Data collated by the OECD indicates that rural locations account for 35% or more of cycling fatalities in Denmark, Finland, France, Great Britain, Japan, the Netherlands and Spain. [7] UK police-recorded cycling collision data indicates that at non-junction locations, where a cyclist was struck directly from behind, there was an overall fatality rate of 17%. The risk of fatality increases with speed limit of the road. Where such collisions occurred on 30mph roads a 5% fatality rate was recorded, climbing to 13% at 40mph, 21% at 60mph and a fatality rate of 31% on 70mph roads.
Cycle paths arent safe either.
In Helsinki, research has shown that cyclists are safer cycling on the roads mixed in with the traffic than they are using that city's 800 km of cycle paths See Finnish Research. The Berlin police reputedly came to a similar conclusion in the 1980s. In Berlin 10% of the roads have cycle paths but these produce 75% of the cycling casualties Overview of Berlin situation (in German). In the UK town of Milton Keynes it has been shown that cyclists using the "off-road" cycleway network have, on a per journey basis, a significantly higher rate of fatal car-bicycle collisions than cyclists who simply cycle on the ordinary unsegregated roads Milton Keynes Redway study.
How is that possible, where do the collisions happen?
Anyway, this is another data point for the theory that making roads "safer" actually makes them more dangerous. When the capital development of a country becomes a by-product of the activities of a casino, the job is likely to be ill-done. — John M. Keynes
I did a run to Milton Keynes a few weeks ago, I can understand how it might not be cycle-helmet paradise. Traffic management is just plain weird compared to most of the UK. It would be useful to get some replication for that research in London and - say - Bristol.
