Patcan

Most comments here seem to have both attention and fatigue in common resulting in accidents. One in particular of using a metal push stick gave me to willies. A push stick that cannot be easily eaten by the saw blade in a pinch or won't trap fingers in a grab situation is a must.
Questions about the absence of a riving knife on older saws can be remedied by checking out an article in the the how to pages of this great resource (FWW) on the shop made zero clearance saw insert that can easily inclide a built in riving knife as demonstrated. I've made several at once and they work very well because they can be made to exactly match the blade width you are going to use.
Also the addition of an outfeed table at the back of any saw can be aa big safety feature. It will remove the temptation to over reach and add considerable stability to your efforts.
The primary reason that blade guards aren't used very often is because of the fat profile of them that prevent cuts close enough to the fence. A smarter design would be good.
If you are tired, don't even turn it on!

Manufacturers should also be providing expiration dates as well. Not just as a safety aspect but to prevent all the extra work and expense of do overs when product age gets involved.