SQLite is written in C.

And SQLite has a page on why [1] that explicitly lists the benefits of C for the project. Not on that list: bug reduction. Moreover, it has an almost superhuman level of effort put into testing and verification.

SQLite is just one piece of a broader argument that C's inherent risks aren't completely unmanageable. All it takes is an incredible amount of diligence, tooling, expertise, and money.

[1] https://www.sqlite.org/whyc.html

Your comment said "no one writing in C has bug reduction as a priority." Bug reduction is a priority for the SQLite authors, and it's written in C. This feels to me like an indication that it is a priority: https://www.sqlite.org/testing.html