How often do people fly SVFR? I was going over Special Visual Flight Rules (SVFR) with my instructor recently and he told me that he has only requested it a few times, and that it is mainly used if you are flying from deteriorating weather into improving weather. In other words, you are sure that where you are going is clear. I got thinking about it and felt that if there were ever an SVFR situation, I would most likely ground the flight (until I get my instrument rating that is).

That being said, how often do pilots request SVFR?

It seems like it would cause people to end up in situations that they can't handle i.e. weather deteriorates more instead of getting better, does this happen often?

It has been mentioned that SVFR rules vary from country to country, I am asking about peoples experiences in the USA but am happy to hear of other similar situations around the world as well.
From my experience in the US at the facilities I've worked, and the discussions I've had with other controllers, it depends heavily on the area's weather patterns. The facilities I've worked, it's been usually a tool, when people are trying to get in right before the weather hits, or they're seeing good improvement in neighboring airports and at the main one, and know that it'll be good enough to make it between the two areas.

Other places, like coastal or areas where fog banks are common, SVFR can be useful, esp if only half the field is covered in clouds, and you need to make it in or can easily get out.

Personally, I'd probably just file IFR and cancel when I got to a good spot VFR, if I just wanted to go out and enjoy, versus just flying to a destination. 

Also, note, SVFR in terms of separation is only one SVFR aircraft(and really aircraft period) in the airspace at a time. So, you'll be delayed to come in if there's IFR, or other SVFR aircraft ahead of you.

Helicopters generally do request it more than fixed wing aircraft in my experience. Also, realize a pilot has to explicitly request SVFR, a controller can't prompt or hint at the correct terminology to use to request like saying "Do you have a SPECIAL request"