I wonder why bike companies started mounting brake calipers behind the fork, instead of in front? That also seems sloppy. As in, the engineers designing the bikes should have realized the problems. Do you think they recognized the reaction forces would try to eject the axle from the dropout, but they chose to do it anyway for aerodynamic, cable routing, or other reasons? Or do you think they didn't recognize the problem?

Perhaps the problem is that bike companies don't actually design bikes, they design frames that components are hung on. And component companies don't design bikes either, they design components that bike companies hang on their frames. Maybe the mis-location of front calipers fell in the crack between frame and component.

If I ever get a disc brake road bike, I think I will choose one with through axles.

I wonder how quickly a pro team mechanic can change a wheel with disc brakes and through axles? There is some talk that the pro teams will simply change bikes instead of changing wheels. But with nine riders on a team, and a pro team car's roof rack only carrying about 7 or 8 bikes, and riders being of all different sizes and fits, that might not wok so well.