Think about the (untimely) death of cyclist per years, we get upset and devastated by that, but even so, the number still remain very small (15 death per years), that's a lots smaller than the rumoured NYC rate of one per weeks* if that to be believe.
*I'm trying to find that out, friends from NYC kept saying that line, but I can't seemed to find a source, doesn't sound likely though.
http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/downloads/pdf/episrv/episrv-bike-report.pdf <- Page 8