Statistically flying is no doubt safer than ever before. Nevertheless, in more recent times I have got the feeling (i.e. I'm not stating that it's a fact) that accidents and serious incidents are on the rise. As technology and automation have advanced so have new types of incidents and accidents.
Take the Uberlingen midair. If the crew had followed their TCAS RA, instead of hesitating and then following the ATC instruction, there would have been no collision. Equally had there been no TCAS the ATC instruction would have been sufficient to avoid a midair. TCAS would have done its job but crew discipline/confusion caused the accident. Result: TCAS technology did not prevent a midair. At the opposite end of the spectrum there is now a new generation of young pilots who have become too trusting in automation and systems and they are perhaps less inclined to revert quickly to manual flying skills when they should. And finally, if you follow the debates on some recent threads concerning accidents, it appears that qualified pilots (flying the same type) disagree in the workings and logic of some of the automation. This I find quite alarming and leads me to wonder how that affects decision making in times of stress.
Btw, should this not be in the SLF forum?