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1970 tenBack in the day" when all the kids had 10-speed road bikes was what, 1970? But that is entirely true. Back around -speed skinny-tire racing-style drop-bar road bikes caught on, and everyone had one ... and as you can see from how many people are in the world today, most of them survived at least long enough to breed.
People who think road bikes are fast and dangerous are simply projecting their imaginations in place of facts. A bicycle is a bicycle. You can be a maniac or a moron on a trike if you choose, ... the bike is not the rider. (Shoot, the things kids do on BMX bikes ... now Those are some dangerous stunts!
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As I mentioned above I have many thousands of miles of tough urban commuting on both flat-bar and drop-bar bikes. The notion that one kind is safer is just a made-up idea, sorry. With both types, you need to turn your head and look around ... and if you don't stay aware of your environment, bad things can happen. But physics doesn't care what kind of handlebars you have. If you pull in front of a car you will get hit.
As for bad pavement ... if the imperfections are big enough that you cannot ride over them without suspension, you are not on a road. Off-road you might want a hybrid ... but if I was going to spend the money on a hybrid, I would get a full-on MTB rather than compromise.
What hybrids are really "for" (not that any bike cannot be used for most types of riding but ... ) is for riding slowly around neighborhoods, across paths, trails, lawns, pavement ... but pretty much riding slowly and in great comfort. That's where hybrids excel, and if that is your thing, enjoy it. It is a type of cycling, you are a cyclist, cycling is fun ... have a ball.
Not the best for fitness, for covering distance quickly, for commuting (mostly when I commuted I wanted to Not spend all day getting to work, to class, to the store and then home, because i also wanted to be at work, be at class, cook and eat, and sleep---so I didn't dawdle.) If your goals include fitness, you would probably want a bike designed to be ridden a little more rapidly either on or off road, because you do not get fit without pushing existing limits ...
No type of bike or type of riding is "Better" than any other type. However ... Tool For The Job. Decide what you want to do and get the tool best suited to doing that.
Telling people "I ride bike type X so everyone should" is just silly. That's like telling everyone your shoe size is the best, so everyone should wear the same sized shoes.