There are a ton of gizmos and gadgets on the market - some very good - that will make woodworking safer. Unfortunately, many people either don't know about them, never had any instruction, or think they are invincible. Many of the jigs and fixtures that I use (some I've made myself) are designed specifically to improve not only the quality of a cut, but also to insure my safety. For tablesaws there are many very useful addons that can be bought or made - feather boards for holding a piece down and tight against the fence to prevent kickbacks, homemade jigs for crosscuts and miter cuts, table extensions to catch long pieces, zero clearance inserts to prevent thin pieces from jamming the blade, and so on. Even simply keeping the table and fence clean and waxed and properly aligning the blade with the fence will reduce the chance of injury significantly. Here's a pretty good selection of what's available retail. There are others of course. http://www.woodcraft.com/category/3/1005233/2083485/Shop%20Safety.aspx
That said, cheap homeowner benchtop saws (those $300 Chinese specials) are an accident waiting to happen. If you can't afford a decent contractor or cabinet saw, hire somebody to do the work on their equipment.
Use quality blades, miter gages, etc. The junk that comes with most mid-range and lower saws will cause you nothing but grief.
My TS is a 12 year old upgraded iron top Craftsman. I use blades designed for the purpose - rip tooth, crosscut, dado set, etc. Probably have $800 invested in quality blades from Freud, and other high end makers, a $180 Incra miter gage, upgraded motor, linkbelt and forged pulleys, precision gages, etc.
