Not tried the shoes in pedals style. Frankly I think that is unsafe.

Tri style cycling shoes are designed for exactly that... that is why the strap opens away from the chainrings (as opposed to a normal cycling shoe, where the straps open towards them)... that is also why there are heel loops, both for using elastics to keep shoes level, and to grab with your finger while riding to slip your foot in (some models even have double heel loops now, one for elastics, and a larger one for grabbing to slide your foot in while riding)... So I would argue I am using my gear exactly as it was engineered for...

Also Whitfield did not crash-out because his feet weren't in the pedals, he crashed out, because the other rider half-wheeled him and clipped the foot of a metal barrier and swerved into his wheel... In a pack setting you should never be half-wheeling (and also should be aware of hazards, such as fence feet...)... (I've had no issues getting into my shoes, even in draft legal racing, I just wait to do it until I am on the back of the group, and make sure not to overlap wheels...).

As an athlete, spectator and official, I have been at many ITU events, and it is virtually non-existent that you will see an elite race without their shoes pre-clipped into their pedals (you will see some at 70.3/IM races, but not on the ITU circuit). Not everyone will do a flying mount, you still some step and sling and two step mounts, and even the odd stop and straddle, but everyone has their shoes in their pedals, because it is the fastest and most efficient way to transition, and is generally quite safe.

Where you see the crashes are where people haven't practiced using those approaches, and typically they try to get their feet into their shoes while moving too slow to hold their line, rather than getting momentum first... Or that haven't practiced their mounts and jump too high or low (or not practiced them with bottles in their behind the seat cages, and don't clear the bottles with their hop...)...