I've crashed many times with my feet strapped in with quality leather toestraps and aluminum cleats. Never injured my ankles except the bony outside from road rash. My concious rule in my racing days was "don't let go of the bars until I hit the road". Served me well. Lots of road rash but I could get up and get back on the bike. Now to get up, I usually had to reach down and loosen the straps. When I crashed in the Stowe race (over Smuggler's Notch), I had to release 4 buckles.