I think it's a great tool for the occasional user and professional. A lot of people focus on the injuries that happen when the operator is not careful. The SawStop also prevents the accidental injuries. The ones the operator did not see. That nail that was hammered into a tree when it was a sapling so many years ago and the tree grew around, hiding it until the person that bought that piece of wood with the hidden nail, runs it through the table saw. The saw wasn't designed so you can watch tv while cutting wood. I'd rather have the added protection of a device that has a good track record in saving digits.
I've conditioned myself to slightly to the left of the wood I am cutting, so that in the event of a kickback, my body is not in the way. I still remember the hole that was halfway across the shop in college, where a board went flying and embedded itself into the wall.
If you are cutting metal or materials that may trip the saw, you can put it into bypass mode, though it's a pain to do (by design).
I tried to post these last night in response to another post, but with the server issues...
Green and ready to go...
If I touch the saw blade before it's turned on and spinning, it senses the finger and prevents the saw from turning on. You can see the red light next to the green in the pic. Once I take my finder away, the red light blinks for a few seconds until going out, still preventing you from turning the saw on, just to make sure the blade is clear.
To those that no longer can count to 10. Did the accidents happen because of your carelessness or other reasons?