I definitely think that giving advice about "safety" of "claiming the lane" should be qualified to indicate that it is applicable only to each individual's specific cycling skill, age, and experience in traffic situations as well as being dependent on the specific traffic scenario involved.

I assume that the OP is quite young and I would be hesitant of giving advice to minors and inexperienced youth about the relative safety of "claiming the lane" that is based on nothing but personal opinion and stuff said by somebody on the Internet.