The reason safety glasses and hard hat rules are like they are is if they weren't nobody would ever wear them.
It is very easy to rationalize that you never walk under something that could fall on you and you don't get close to stuff that could fly in your eye but that is just not the way it is on a construction site or industrial venue.
If you don't just get into the habit of wearing safety gear you won't have it with you and you won't feel comfortable working in it.
