The odds are greatly in your favor to never be in an auto accident, yet [even without the law requiring us to do so] we buckle up every time we pull out of the driveway.
Shelters, firearms, and seatbelts can all be lumped into that same generic category. They're items you hope like hell you'll never have to use, but if that time comes, you'll be damn sure glad you had them.
IIRC there's a 30% or so chance of a serious car accident in your lifetime.
Part of the issue here is that you face a low-risk situation repeatedly. Human reaction to low-risk scenarios are interesting.
Two good reads by Jared Diamond on reducing risks:
https://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/29/science/jared-diamonds-guide-to-reducing-lifes-risks.html?_r=0
http://revkin.tumblr.com/post/39303933993/in-edge-video-chat-jared-diamond-explains-his