I also used to try to ride my bike to work. I gave up about the fiftieth time some driver literally almost ran me off the road or into a parked car.
You may be the safest biker/driver in the world – it’s that other idiot/maniac you have to worry about. It only takes one to make an accident.
Do I wear my helmet? You bet!
All the stories about permanently injured kids r”l make us stop and think. And yes, kids did get hurt back in the day, but it just didn’t get publicized. The internet posts every tidbit it can find, so of course it looks like more, but there have always been injuries.