I was always intimidated by clipping into the pedal. I ended up opting for a dual pedal. Flat on one side of it, and clip on the other. I put these on my Trek 7.5FX which I used as a daily commute ride and also for longer fun rides.

My first fail came one Saturday morning in spring. The snow was just melting (Maine) and I came to a stop sign at the main street on Rte 1. I couldn't get it to unclip and I toppled right over onto the sidewalk right in front of a parked police cruiser. He of course laughed a little as I did too. I was fine, but glad there was no traffic.

Second fail, and so far the final..... Same bike a few months later and after a lot more practice I was riding on a modified lobster ride and roll. I headed up this back road between two lighthouse checkpoints and got hit with a serious head wind. I was already in an easy gear and couldn't catch the right gear. I just all around was in a bad way and a gust of wind came down my right side and pushed me straight over. No getting my feet out from the pedals or anything. Just flat out toppled to the left into the middle of the road. I was extremely thankful there was no traffic as I would have been a goner! My right foot clip was looser then the left and I had landed on my left side. I couldn't get the bike off of me for a second. I ended up having to take the shoe off to get out from under the bike and onto the shoulder quickly. Took the rest of the hill as a walk of shame.

Learned a lot from those falls. It is just going to happen.