In some sense yes, you learn a lot about energy management and you are acutely aware that you have no engine. On the other hand you always have no engine, so you learn to fly and manage your situation accordingly. At the more expensive end of the spectrum, some racing gliders have "get me home" mini props.
When you train, you initially fly in the vicinity of your home airfield and the risk is pretty low unless you do something stupid. For cross country, you train to do field landings and those are common enough in competition season. Basically you learn how to land out in situations where you can't sustain flight. You also tend to not fly over places that would make it difficult (eg built up areas or controlled airspace). Landing is always a decision made with plenty of time to spare, flown as a normal traffic pattern and usually starting the final glide with a lot of height. Competition pilots get more... close to the wire, but single seat gliders just want to stay airborne.
I don't know the accident rate proportionally, but glider related fatalities are extremely rare. In GA if you truly lose your engine, you have fewer options and you have to think a lot faster. While gliding you do also fly with a parachute, though there is scepticism about how effective it would be for a low altitude ditch.
Lots of pilots don't bother with cross country and just mess around their local airspace - still great fun.
When you train, you initially fly in the vicinity of your home airfield and the risk is pretty low unless you do something stupid. For cross country, you train to do field landings and those are common enough in competition season. Basically you learn how to land out in situations where you can't sustain flight. You also tend to not fly over places that would make it difficult (eg built up areas or controlled airspace). Landing is always a decision made with plenty of time to spare, flown as a normal traffic pattern and usually starting the final glide with a lot of height. Competition pilots get more... close to the wire, but single seat gliders just want to stay airborne.
I don't know the accident rate proportionally, but glider related fatalities are extremely rare. In GA if you truly lose your engine, you have fewer options and you have to think a lot faster. While gliding you do also fly with a parachute, though there is scepticism about how effective it would be for a low altitude ditch.
Lots of pilots don't bother with cross country and just mess around their local airspace - still great fun.