Let me just say that I too had an accident with clipless - my tire got stuck in a storm drain as I was taking off. I was fine and the bike was fine, just a little banged up. I would have been more banged up if I were strapped in and all tangled up in the bike. Instead, my clipless pedals disengaged, I was thrown free of the bike, and I walked away. Comments, Nightshade?

IMO the benefit of clipless is not so much "pulling up" - it's to keep your feet locked to the pedal. This allows you to spin - think of it as pedaling in circles, instead of pedaling in squares like you do without any retention. Spinning will make you faster, and is necessary for longer/faster rides - if you mash with clipless, all the force in your pedal stroke goes into your metatarsals (the ball of your foot), leading to a phenomenon known as "hot foot" (you'll know it when you get it).