I think it would be very difficult to create a safer trainer than the R22 that was at all pragmatic.
Slowrotor announces that because of his knowledge of R22 accidents he refuses to fly them any more. What knowledge is that, mate? Here in the UK the R22 flies almost half of all single-engine helicopter hours. It's whacked about by cack-handed students and low time pilots going through manoeuvres you'll rarely encounter in day to day flight, and does it have half of all accidents? Nowhere near.
Perhaps you'd fly the 300 instead. But the Hughes has had at least nine fatal mid-air break-ups due to a design fault which has still not been corrected on the first 500-plus machines. Imagine what you'd be reading from the Robinson-haters here if the same could be said for the R22.
Yes, we could all be like the UK military and do our ab initio training on AS350s. Trouble is, that would kill the industry stone dead.