I commuted in toe clips for a while, adjusted loose enough to slip my foot in and out. I never developed the courage and skill to tighten them by hand while riding in traffic. I often scuffed the upside-down toe clips on things when I started from a stop. I switched to clipless when I started using them on my new MTB, where I had the concern that an upside-down toe clip could catch a stick or other object.

Clipless pedals felt like I had a lot more control and ability to pedal in circles than the loose toe clips.