But squats are more complicated. Are the safeties really useless? It’s a bit hard in my area to find such a group, though I could look around. Have taken time off of lifts to fix some muscular issues.
A team or partner serves many needs: - safety in terms of spotting - safety in terms of feedback to guide you to proper form - safety in terms of damage control if you suffer an injury and need medical attention (especially if you have a stroke or aneurysm during a lift) - encouragement to maibtain your routine
But if you mean "I have failed my lift, prevent me from crushing myself" safety bars, there shouldn't be a problem with those as long as they are set at an appropriate height.
Front squats are also not so bad if you have safety bars to drop the barbell forwards onto.
Starting Strength style low-bar squats are trickier. I've previously found myself having to sort of roll forwards until the safety bars catch the barbell, then crawl out on hands and knees. Slightly scary the first couple of times but still pretty safe.
My worry is I won't really need the safeties until I have 200+ pounds on my back and if I exit wrong I could hurt myself. I tried practicing at the gym but it was very loud and the staff warned me not to.
I don't think front squats are inherently more or less safe than back squats; both are safe if performed with good form.
I understand the worry about heavy weights. If possible, you should try to find a gym that will let you drop weights (one mark of a good gym). Then you can practice to your heart's content.
On the other hand - he appears to have injured his wrist few months ago, although not by failing to finish the lift but by missing the rack when putting the bar back.