I too have a hard time justifying the risks of racing. Two weeks ago we are on the bell lap of a masters race (should be safe right?). A guy dive bombs the final turn and takes out the top three riders. Luckily, I didn't hit him as he skidded right in front of me at nearly 30 mph, but I did have to lock them up and my race was done.
I don't plan on doing many crits. I will do an occasional road race (we have no big hills in Illinois), but plan do hard group rides as falls there are quite rare.