I think most people who ride brakeless have learned how to stop by jamming their shoe into their tire. If you don't know how to do that, go practice. You'll thank me some day. I've slipped out of my pedals going 20 down a really steep hill, ran 3 red lights and didn't go down. Part of that is luck, but part of it is just being ready for that sort of situation. I think riding brakeless makes you ride smarter because you know there is no bailing out. I wouldn't say its safer, but it's a different mentality and style of riding. If you can do it, do it. If you don't feel comfortable, don't. Simple as that. My worst crash was on a fixed conversion with brakes, and right after that I switched to brakeless and haven't looked back.