Others have been broken bones, massive quantities of stitches (>50), head & chest trauma. Stephen Covey ultimately died from injuries sustained in such an accident.

The stories of cyclists that I've read where cyclists were killed or badly injured were most likely caused by failures on the cyclists part, e.g. poor lighting like you mentioned, too aggressive on a left-hand turn in traffic, losing control and entering into traffic. Obviously, distracted & impaired driving are risks just like they are for those driving a car.

I think the US is catching up to the rest of the world in becoming more cycling-friendly. I see more & more cyclists and rarely see violations (running red lights, riding other than single-file, etc). I could see if you lived on a mountainside close to popular trail or canyon that cyclists could be violating speed limits. That obviously irritates the responsible cycling community just like it annoys responsible motorists to see reckless driving.

Distracted or poor driving is a problem regardless of your mode of travel. My primary cycling-specific (unpopular) concern is around sharing our canyons. Not all canyon roads are as wide as all of us would like. That does not mean canyons are reserved for motor vehicles. I want to enjoy our mountains too and ride as far to the right as physically possible. Most people are great. A few are horribly offended if they need to occasionally slow down to safely pass with their truckload of ATVs & RVs. The scariest experiences (driving or cycling) are descending at the posted speed and some impatient driver crosses solid lines into my line of traffic to pass a truck they feel isn't climbing fast enough.