Crashing at 300mph is guaranteed deadly. Being shocked with 120v is not. I've been shocked a half-dozen times and I haven't been injured in any way.
Current code in US/Canada also requires RCDs (we call them GFCI) in some places (and AFCI everywhere, which the rest of the world hasn't really adopted) and shuttered outlets... but these do not catch all types of faults. For instance, if a human conducts electricity across two conductors connected to an RCD/GFCI, it won't trip. It only trips if current is drawn to ground or to another circuit. Layered safety is a good approach.
That's not to say that 240v systems are unsafe -- they just have different characteristics and requirements because of it.
Yeah I've been shocked a few times with 240v and it's not nice but doesn't often kill people. Most electricity caused deaths are from something causing a fire rather than shocks I think.
Current code in US/Canada also requires RCDs (we call them GFCI) in some places (and AFCI everywhere, which the rest of the world hasn't really adopted) and shuttered outlets... but these do not catch all types of faults. For instance, if a human conducts electricity across two conductors connected to an RCD/GFCI, it won't trip. It only trips if current is drawn to ground or to another circuit. Layered safety is a good approach.
That's not to say that 240v systems are unsafe -- they just have different characteristics and requirements because of it.