not sure how we can measure relative safety of riding in a group vs. alone.. ive probably crashed in groups as much or more than riding solo... but ive never been hit by a car in a group or solo.
one of the worst crashes ive ever been in was in a paceline... there was a slow solo rider ahead, he was alerted to riders coming up from behind and ducked into the lane to let us pass, but didnt realize it was a paceline and tried to remerge right into us. he hit me in the No. 3 spot and i went off the road and down an embankment while a couple of other riders splashed out all over and into the road... ill never forget the sound of that dump truck's antilock brakes ARF ARF ARF ARFing back up on the road, wondering how many of my homies were getting smeared along the pavement
nobody got hit, somehow
anyway, theres my story for the day <passes blunt to the left>