Sam,

It's important to present the entire picture and let the public know the whole story.
I did some checking from here and saved the cost of the trip.

Cheaper by the web!
I barely touched the massive amount of testimonials available.

Scroll down, take a short read, or click and check out the rest.

We don't want to copy anything there.

http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Europe/Netherlands/Provincie_Noord_Holland/Amsterdam-463377/Warnings_or_Dangers-Amsterdam-Crossing_the_streets_Traffic-BR-3.html

Excerpts:
After going through Europe and places like Rome, I thought I had seen the worst of the worst of street traffic and how dangerous it is to cross the road - NO WAY this has to be the worst. This is how it goes - step off the pavement and watch out for the bikes in the bike lane, then the tram lane, then you get to the cars bit, not so bad, but then on your way over you forget about the trams, and the bikes and then you are finally on the other side of the road!!!! There are so many bikes in this city, just check out the bike parking lot near the train station!! I saw a post card where they are pulling out hundreds of bikes from the canals!

The biggest risk to your health and bodily integrity in Amsterdam are bikes and trams. Amsterdam trams (streetcars)are generally very big and yellow (OK, some are blue & white and others bedecked in ads) and should be easy to avoid. About 10 tourists a years fail this test and end up being shipped to their point of origin in a bag/box.

Watch out for the bikers and the tram! (streetcar) Vehicles in Amsterdam do not stop for pedestrians so you have to watch out when crossing a street. Especially the tram and the bikers have no mercy for a tourist getting in their way.

Be extremely careful whilst crossing the roads. Watch out for Trams, they have no mercy and bicycles although the riders do normally ring their bell to let you know your in the way.

Be very careful as you walk around, the locals have a rhythm with their bikes and you can easily find yourself on a bike path instead of the walking path. You are more likely to annoy them than anything, but if you are suddenly startled you may jump out of their way and into the path of a street car... very bad. There are a few deaths a year from tourists not paying attention to the traffic.

Being a pedestrian in Amsterdam is the most dangerous thing for me. You need to have your five senses in continuous action if you don't want to be run over. When there are no cars, there is a bicycle and when there are no bikes, there's a tram. That?s absolutely crazy!!!

Amsterdam bikes exist in almost every colour of the rainbow and obey no single traffic regulation. The bike is Amsterdam's most efficient mode of transport and most of the people on them are in a hurry to get from A to B, myself included. This means that most of us don't bother to ring our bells before we run you over.
There are bikes everywhere, but there aren't just bicycles in the bike paths, there are also scooters and mopeds and sometimes motorcycles. My friend was hit by a motorcycle while riding her bike and was thrown onto the sidewalk face first, cracking 2 teeth, and bruising her face and body. The woman who hit her left without stopping. We managed to get her plates but were told by the police that they couldn't help us. Can you believe that??