In a holistic approach towards the issue of risk, attention is focussed exclusively on the safety of the entire system of road traffic rather than on the individual participant. This article sets out to demonstrate that risk taking on a road may also have a positive, beneficial function for an individual motorist. Risk will be understood as the product of the probability of loss suffered by the motorist and the extent of this loss. 159 female and 451 male drivers were examined by: 1. Questionnaire for examination of risk, 2. Test-Routing's scale, 3. Ex-post experiment together with active observation by participation. Only 18% of subjects found 60 km/h the limit of safe speed. Almost 22% of men considered that 90 km/h and higher was safe, against 8% of women. Only 37% observed speed limits. Long drives on motorways tend to make a driver underestimate his speed. Since many drivers enjoy driving fast, and driving fast relieves stress in some people, it is difficult if not impossible to eliminate risky behaviour in road traffic completely.
Abstract