Weren't these aircraft considered by pilots as very difficult to fly? I don't know if that counts as a "safety issue" of the design itself or not, but I guess if all things were equal I'd rather be on a type that pilots are more comfortable with.

They are distinctive-looking birds though.

Semi-related: I never see an L1011 of any kind anymore, but I still see cargo MD11's/DC10's from time to time in the U.S.