Care to elaborate a little on this?
Sure, I used to think -
man the day I have my instrument rating I'll never be stuck on the ground anymore! gazing up at 800ovc knowing there were blue skies above it. While the promise of this motivated me to get thru the IR, reality proved a lot different, and you quickly realize the limitations of piston aircraft without FIKI.
When you start looking at IFR flights with IMC and precipitation, life starts to get a lot more complicated. The weather portion of the Instrument Rating for your private pilot license just barely scratches the surface of what you need to know to safely get from A-B when the weather is not just 1000 & 3.
For example, you'll find yourself quickly realizing:
- The limitations of TAFs
- Cold fronts, warm fronts, troughs all start to have real meaning in IFR flying
- What the hell is Convective Available Potential Energy
- how to use Skew-T diagrams
- Microbursts, convective outflow boundaries, severe turbulence, LLWS, delays in nextrad and ATC radar are no longer imaginary theoretical things and how they all can kick you in the ass if you don't know what to look for.
- Icing - you'll experience it and it will humble you.
Statistically yes having an IR makes you a safer pilot, but you immediately have the legal means to put yourself in situations infinitely more dangerous and complex compared to the day before your check-ride where you were restricted to lala land of nice VFR weather.