safetyChecker = re.compile(r"^[-\[\]0-9,. ]*$")
..doesn't the dot (.) in your character class mean that you are allowing EVERYTHING (except newline?)
The re docs clearly say this is not the case:
'''
[]
Used to indicate a set of characters. Characters can be listed individually, or a range of characters can be indicated by giving two characters and separating them by a "-". Special characters are not active inside sets.
'''
Note the last sentence in the above quotation...
-Peter -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
