Just thinking about vehicle safety some more - I really think this is a personal choice that people will have to choose what level of safety they would like. People will never universally agree on what is 'safe' and 'unsafe'.
When I was driving around in the metro - at the time - the lack of safety did not concern me at all. The car was cheap to buy and had excellent fuel economy, so it seemed like a good trade off at the time. I never once actually felt unsafe driving it. Eventually the car died on its own.
If you look at the Mitsubishi Mirage - this is probably as close to a metro as one can kind find in the modern age. It is still heavier, and has more safety features, than a metro. But these days I would not drive a mirage because it doesn't seem like a good trade off of economy vs risk for me anymore. I already have money, and it's not a risk I'm willing to take.
Similarly I would not ride a motorcycle, because I consider them unsafe. But other people seem to think riding a motorcycle is safe enough, or that the benefits outweigh the risks at least.
This is just one of those personal choices everyone will have to make for themselves. Sort of like what their favorite color is, or favorite flavor of ice cream. There is no universally correct answer.
If we wind up getting into a vehicle safety argument on the forums it will turn into one of those never ending arguments, kind of like if the 4% rule will always be valid in the future. It ultimately just comes down to personal risk tolerance levels.
