1) Most splitters cant be taken on and off in 5 seconds like a riving knife usually can.
2) Most riving knifes are a lot closer to the blade than splitter
3) Non through cuts without having to take the splitter on and off.

Will a splitter do just as good of a job… most likely.

But why do people most of the time not use safety devices? Convenience!!

If its convenience and doesnt take extra time, then you will use it. Same reason why sometimes I wont unplug my jigsaw, sander, recip saw, even router and table saw sometimes when changing blades. Convenience.

 

"All of the discussion/debate on whether a splitter is better than a riving knife or visa versa is a mute point unless one uses common sense. If the saw is set up correctly, fence parallel to the blade and miter slots parallel to the blade, the chances of kick back are almost slim to none"

Maybe I've missed your point?

Here I thought the point of a splitter or riving knife was to prevent the blade from being pinched by unstable wood. All that you describe above is good practice, none of it will help you prevent kickback when the wood clamps down on your blade like it's loaded with high power springs.

 

Cyber,
Accidents happen; no one is impervious to them. If you think you are, then you will be the one with the next accident.

Before I had an outfeed table I pushed a board past the blade… at least i swear I thought it was, when i went to turn off the dust collector, the piece vibrated enough to hit the back of the blade and the 12"by12" piece left a bruiser in my mid section.

Not all accidents chop off an arm… even small ones can be avoided by some extra safety devices