I live by a main road and have had cats die on it and cats live happily beside it. I have also tried not having cats but the mouse problem makes that very unpleasant and I like the company but don't have the fitness/health at present to commit to dogwalking needs.
Two I had when I moved here from an offroad farm cottage lasted 2 and 3 years after the move but both were eventually hit, both overnight when the busy traffic dropped to less frequent odd vehicles. I remember my mum saying she stopped having cats in a rural village on a minor junction of B or C roads where traffic had to come to a complete halt right outside the house, because not having enough vehicles passing meant the cats got complacent and thought it their right to sunbathe across the tarmac or saunter about without looking, so it makes sense to me that if there is a road, then almost better a heavily used one than an occasional car passing.
I tried not having cats til the mouse population in my living room was too high, then tried kittens brought up indoors - that lasted 6 months and was cruelty to both them and me. I still have 2 of those at nearly 6 years and one of their kittens that I kept who is now between 2-3. I had kept another which died after establishing a regular hunting pattern over the road when there were silage bales stacked one year, by autumn she knew she'd find a meal there and I couldn't stop her tho I did try and keep them all in at night when the traffic was low. She was eventually hit while I was away running a workshop down south last year and the sitter couldn't persuade her to come in
It's horrible when one is hit, but I would still have another kitten if I lost all 3 of what I have now. There are pros and cons but if more than half get by and they all have a good and healthy happy life, if not a long one, then I reckon that's better than being pts as an unwanted kitten or mauled by kids, dogs and folk that want a cuddly accessory rather than a cat. I don't know what the cat would choose but if only folk in ideal situations and with good common sense on care had cats then there would be far more in the shelters or dead - and I live with a less than perfect situation and currently 3 happy healthy cats whose only complaint is probably my lack of appreciation for the gifts they bring in, some of which are dismantled, others ignored and not worthy of their eating, and a few which escape to flap around the house or run about the bathroom til I can get a hold of them and put them out again