I generally don't encourage people to ride motorcycles because so many of them need the extra safety margin of a car. Perhaps the narrow 4 or 3 wheelers for one or two occupants will be good for them. But as poorly as many people do driving in a car, they really really don't need to be on a bike.
I've been riding for 40+ years, but it has almost all been dirt or racing. I've probably got under 5K miles on a street bike though I've usually got a least one or two registered (but non-op'd project) street bikes. Here in the SF Bay Area I can't say that the way many people drive gives me much encouragement for doing more street miles. Even driving my car/van is something I tend to avoid; it is just too much of a zoo.
"abrasion is rarely life threatening"
Yeah, but it sure can put your life on hold/in agonizing pain for a year or more:
Rock The Gear
I'm a firm believer in dressing for the crash, not the ride. If it is too hot to wear all the protective gear, it is too hot to ride.
I can't make up my mind on being belted in. It makes a lot of sense to stay inside a protective structure and let it take the punishment, but then the structure really needs some competent engineering to ensure that it does the job to justify staying inside it. Yes, there are probably some cases where you'd be better off getting out and away (and hopefully not tumbling along shedding limbs as you go). But that makes me think of all the people who didn't want to wear seatbelts in their cars because they wanted to be able to jump out at 60mph to escape being in the accident looming on the horizon. I think there's a lot of evidence over the last few decades that staying in a properly (safety-)engineered vehicle can lead to a lot more "walk away" kinds of accidents for four-wheelers.
There's a lot of difference between when a MotoGP rider falls off at 120mph and s/he's on a "built to be safe" track where everyone is going the same direction/speed, there are gravel traps, and usually a lack of street furniture to impact (and if it is there they've hopefully got AirFence in front of it) vs falling on the street at 50mph and being run over by the Chevy in front of/beside/behind you and then hitting a guard rail/parked car.
NASCAR drivers seem to be able to survive amazing high speed multi-vehicle crashes without a scrape. But they got that way by mandating pro-active safety.
It may be that street bikes should be going towards a Carver-style narrow three wheeler. From what I've heard from an owner they are a hoot to drive so while they may give a different ride (as would an Ecomobile) they still give you a "tilt the horizon" thrill.
I'm looking forward to eventually getting my FF project on the road. It won't be enclosed, but they do offer some possibilities for passive safety features that may make it worth staying longer with the vehicle in a crash before bailing at a much lower speed.
cheers,
Michael