My commuter e-bike weighs a solid 80lbs fully loaded. I'm not hopping curbs or doing "whip skids" on it. I basically ride it like a touring motorcycle.
I found through trial and error that riding aggressively was safest, not because it was inherently safer but because everyone would take note of the idiot hooning around too fast and take extra caution. Of course the failure mode here is when someone doesn’t notice you…
Years later I now commute by bike in Cornwall where the local population is ignorant of cyclists. I ride an electric cargo bike with my son on the back and I’m incredibly conservative.
There’s no real difference in incidence of accidents, but incidence of “near-miss” and severity of possible accident? Hands down riding conservatively with no hopping around is safer. Duh! ;)
I've cycled to work for 15 years, and I've never hoped up a kerb and I don't even know what a whip skid / ted shred is.