Originally Posted by onetwentyeight
I dont think one is safer than the other. I ride clips and straps because I like wearing regular shoes... and I think double toe straps are comfortable as hell. Ride with what you like... admitedly, ive never tried clipless. I'm curious, but I don't really want to put out the money to change.
Once you try it, you'll probably fall in love with it. The biggest advantages for me are being able to pull straight backwards on the pedals without sliding out of the clips, and having a solid but comfortable connection to the pedal.
As for shoes, I've been wearing my cheap Shimano shoes pretty much everywhere since they're pretty comfortable as long as you don't need to walk miles at a time.
See if someone with a similarly sized foot will let you try their pedals out on your bike or just let you lace up the shoes and take their bike around the block. SPD type pedals and shoes aren't that expensive. I'm using
pedals from Nashbar ($35) and entry level
Shimano MO21 shoes ($50) I bought locally. I'm very happy with both.