Only you can decide if the stand over is too "dangerous" for you. You may pay for it someday with pain but that's a gamble. Most folks -do- have to jump straight forward sooner or later and have that issue but a nicely fitting bike is a great thing. In answer to your question...
Picture yourself on a tiny, tiny frame with a long seat tube so you can still sit with the proper leg length. You would have to reach down waayyyy low to get to the handlebars. Picture yourself on a huge frame....now you have to reach up way high and you're sitting up tall. A larger frame will sit you up just a bit more upright. In the old days with quill stems you could raise your stem easily to any height and make it very short or very long .Getting the correct reach wasn't as touchy as it is today but the basics remain the same in that a smaller frame with a longer stem may work just fine, or a larger frame with a shorter stem may work just fine. Or you might fit perfectly on just one frame size for a given manufacturer but all other things being equal a larger frame will sit you up a bit more (quite a bit) for a more "comfort" ride and a smaller frame will force you to be more aerodynamic. Almost everyone can fit two frame sizes but not always. When a person can fit two...it's a question of their flexibility and riding style/needs that makes the decision. Old geezers and casual riders will typically be best served by the larger frame with an appropriate stem. Young flexible people and racers for whom leaning over is a non-issue will be better served by a smaller frame. Tourers will typically be served by a bigger frame but a "real" touring bike will have this in mind and be designed to put the rider in a more upright position than you would find on a racing bike.
A quick fitting with a "knee over pedal spindle" may lead you to buy a larger frame with a short stem but later you may realize you need to be further back and then find out the frame is too large...which is one of the huge ways people get a wrong sized frame....shops do the KOPS thing and then people learn it's not the right place for their knee. But I digress.
The thing is many people can use a larger frame or one size smaller. If you look at Tour de France riders or any pro racing you'll notice their seat posts stick wayyy the heck out of the bike. They are on small frames with long stems. Every one of them. It causes them to be very bent over and aerodynamic. That's just the opposite of what a touring biker wants to do and it's why touring bikes are designed to put a person in a more upright position than a racing bike and even within that context you'll still often find yourself torn between this or that size bike and often two sizes can be made to fit just fine by the choice of a stem, even with stand-over height being considered. The key thing when choosing reach is for the bike fitter to -not- simply go by KOPS and to get your real balance point properly set so you retain some power (riding with saddle forward) while having some balance and not excessive pressure on your hands (saddle back). With your saddle in the right position (may or may not be KOPS) ...THEN you can figure whether this or that size frame will work properly.
What tires are you using? Can you get a pair with a little less tread...drop another little bit of breathing room that way? Best of luck.