Rule of thumb:
1-syllable words: add -er (or juse -r if the word ends in 'e')
2-syllables words: if they end in -y, replace -y with -ier; if not, use "more."
There are a few exceptions. Like 'simpler', 'narrower', 'quieter', and, in some instances, even 'cleverer'. Although, on a whole, the double 'er' ("erer") is just awkward. "Quiet" doesn't have that problem. Language is never about applying strict grammar rules, though. You can easily say either of these:
"Let's go to a quieter place."
Or,
"Let's go some place where it's more quiet."
The following, however, really sounds forced:
"He's cleverer than him."
Especially since 'cleverer', when you talk about people, is if not wrong, then certainly not preferred; "He's smarter than him." is much better. "Cleverer" really is only something you say about things, like:
"There's got to be cleverer ways of doing this."
That sounds perfectly normal again. It's subtle, but distinctly there. And the next, too, sounds very smooth and natural again:
"It's simpler than that!"
N.B. Indeed, 'safe' as a noun doesn't mean 'more secure.' Only when used as an adjective or adverb: "He is safe now." Or: "That's a safe way to procede."
Oh, and in Marie's usage of "more safe," 'safe' is not a noun, either; much like "more beautiful" doesn't make 'beautiful' a noun either. :)