FlyingForFun
I don't doubt you (or what the ATCO said) but perhaps this shows that most of the time the other traffic doesn't matter - it is too far away.
I know for sure lots of people flying in Class G don't use their radio; plenty of old timers do it to make a point as much as anything else. But in the end, all you would get as a "VFR" pilot especially on a sunny day is an FIS which is practically worthless (e.g. London Information is a waste of space for traffic avoidance purposes)
There is also a LOT of traffic very low down, say 1000ft agl, and without transponders on, the ATCO would see the dots but would have no idea where they are vertically. I often fly under a RIS and at e.g. FL50 most of the "unknown level" traffic is either invisible or it turns out to be something practically crawling along the ground...
The real solution (for a problem which doesn't really exist - en-route mid-airs are very rare) would be mandatory Mode C (for all aircraft with an electrical system) and traffic data uplink like they are getting in the USA. That would start a nice thread here I am sure
