Mostly the media making it easier to distribute news. 40-50yrs ago, you likely would never hear about a stray murder 1000miles away. Now your internet news feed will pop up with murder news from every podunk town across the country. The podunk towns were still having murders back 50yrs ago but you just never heard about them.
With modern tools, you can check out reviews of locations which likely makes it even safer to travel with an RV.
Another added benefit is newer tow vehicles are far safer.