What you say is true, and another factor is that "there's safety in numbers" -- it's more dangerous when cyclists are rare, and drivers aren't expecting them.

What you say is true, and another factor is that "there's safety in numbers" -- it's more dangerous when cyclists are rare, and drivers aren't expecting them. If there are crowds of cyclists everywhere, drivers will expect them, and are more likely to know how to deal with them and adapt their behavior accordingly...