Let me start by saying, I have nothing seriously against Glocks other than A) they tend not to fit my hand very well, and B) dey ooglay. That said, they are well made pistols and work very well. My wife owns a G19. So, this is not to bash Glocks.
For one thing, a typical 1911 has at least three safety mechanisms to the Glock's one: grip safety, thumb safety, and (often, but not always) some sort of trigger/firing pin safety. It is true that all of these safeties have to function properly for the pistol to be brought into play, and it is also true that this requires more practice on the part of the 1911 owner to acquire the skills of a pistolero with that platform.
It is equally true that the sheer number of "Glock Leg" incidents simply dwarfs the number of "1911 leg" incidents, in large part due to the fact that drawing and using a 1911 requires the user to also use the fourth safety.....his brain. A Glock user on the other hand may get his booger hook into the trigger guard at any stage of the process, including the initial draw stroke, without ever engaging the fourth safety, and very easily shoot himself in the leg. Hence the statistics.
Now, I am not calling Glock users stupid. What I am saying is that they have to pay much closer attention to what they are doing in order to safely handle their pistols, than does the 1911 user with a cocked and locked pistol. And I am not saying Glock users pay less attention either. I'm just saying that if their attention wanders, the likelihood of an ND is quite a bit higher, which explains the statistics.
All of that said, repeatedly dropping your pistol, regardless of what it is, is just dumber than a bag of hammers. If your friend is doing that, he should not handle any firearms whatsoever because he has proven that he is not up to the responsibility..........that, or he drinks far too much "likker." If that is the case, and if he cannot be dissuaded from carrying a gun, then the rest of the world is much safer if he carries a 1911 than a Glock. That way, if he still wants to shoot himself in the leg, he is free to do so; but those redundant safeties on the 1911 will protect the rest of us despite his refusal to engage the fourth safety.
Dumb, dumb, dumb. Dumber than a mud fence.
). But, to think that you don't need to be diligent about maintenance is to invite disaster. Glocks are as likely to go kaboom, fail, jam, etc., as any other gun. The "Glock's don't require maintenance" notion is a myth. They have moving parts, and the movement of those parts can be impeded by poor maintenance. Failure of those parts to move as designed can get you killed. You shouldn't ignore the proper maintenance of your Glock any more than I should for any of my guns.