My 2 cents. Here are what I consider 3 three levels of "annoyances on a Mac" (in decreasing order of occurrence):

- slowdowns/spinning beachballs (98%)
- program quits unexpectedly (1.9%)
- kernel panics (<0.1%)

The percentages aren't based on any sort of data...just my experiences/observations.

Also remember that your computer should be running trouble free 99% of the time...so the "annoyances" listed above would only be occurring 1% (or less) of the time...making the <0.1% for kernel panics be VERY infrequent.

Basically kernel panics should almost never occur on a well running and well maintained computer. Here's a kernel panic article that's always a good read:

Resolving Kernel Panics

- Nick