I've seen very little change over the past several decades. I think things are generally better now (21st Century) than they were 'then' (1970s and 80s).
Speed cameras make a positive difference, as does the more-stringent MOT. There are fewer wrecks on the road and fewer drivers who seem never to have been taught to drive.
On the negative side, traffic volumes are higher and there may be a greater reliance on ABS and similar technologies, resulting perhaps in more risks being taken. I also (as a driver and cyclist) fear the greater numbers of LHD HGVs one sees these days. They are an inevitable consequence of our eccentric island status and driving rules which have a Citroen-like joy in difference, but I find they can be a menace and a source of fear. There is also a degree to which 'teenage driving' is now seen in men (usually men) in the thirties, forties and fifties. WHen I was a lad, very few adult males felt the need for that Subaru-Chavtastic driving style one often sees today. There seemed to be more dignity in adulthood. Now, everybody wants to be John Terry or a tattooed cage fighter until they are fifty - and the attitude comes onto the road with them.. sorry, where did I put my pipe?
I may also now know a little more about traffic flow and behaviour in traffic, so that might make me feel 'safer' in genral.
I confess to not being greatly moved by many of the 'outrages' that some headcammers bleat about. The OP has been riding for less than a decade and this is a very short space of time in which to notice change. I imagine it was never as bad as he thought it was and is not now as good as he thinks it is. It's just OK, which is pretty much what it always has been.
