As someone who is not a late 40s guy riding since he was a teenager, but rather someone who currently makes his license:

This is something I've though a lot about. Our driving instructor drives since nearly 50 years and told us the following: every day he is avoiding accidents. Not hyperbolic, he said every day there are situations where he has to deal with the fuck ups of people not behaving correctly because he's on a bike. And yet the freedom of his bike is invaluable for him.

I mean, the statistics are rather obvious. You're way more likely to die on a bike compared to driving a car. But if you take that into perspective, you're also way more likely to die in a car than in a train and yet people prefer it, because a car means freedom and is also quite fun. A bike is simply the next level of exactly that.

It's quite funny that one of the points in the FAQ of this sub is "how do I become an orgon donor", but I think it's important to remember that you take that risk intentionally. It's not a "huge" risk, but just riskier than other options. However, you take riskier options all the time, so I don't see why this here should be different considering what it can mean for people to ride a bike.