I grew up in Australia and my first 10 speed, a Malvern Star SL had 'safety levers' (we don't have Turkeys in Australia, at least not the feathered variety ;-)). I rode pretty much exclusively with hands on the bar next to the stem, and used the safety levers for braking. Part of the issue is I'm very long in the body with short arms so the reach is difficult.

After that I had a full custom Columbus SL frame built for me and I've ridden on the hoods of the levers ever since. After 30+ years of riding I can almost shift using DT shifters without wobbling but going Brifter is expensive and those things look hideous to boot. For me nothing beats a short wheelbase racing frame with a decent set of wheels, aero levers with internal cable routing, and DT shifters.

NB: I also rode my Malvern Star ten speed in two speed mode in those days. First was for starting off and tenth was for everything else :-). 90RPM cadence spinning was for wimps!