I don't know if you would consider this a success story but I got used to my SPD's faster than I thought. I had 2 falls, one in public and one in private. The public one was because I stopped in the middle of climbing a hill to rest (stupid move!) and when I mounted the bike to try to finish the hill, I clipped in, found it was too hard to get going, forgot I was clipped in, tried to put my foot down and promptly fell. Since then, I've been pretty fortunate but then again, I haven't had any surprise stops. For the most part, I've been able to anticipate when I need to stop and I unclip one foot right before I glide to a stop. It also helps that the M530'ch are double sided pedals with a small platform, make it easier. The small platform means that if I'm riding through crowded areas, where I need to make sudden stop, I don't clip in. I clip in once I'm in the clear. Don't be discouraged, you'll get the hang of it.