Risk homeostasis theory applied to a fictitious instance of an individual driver's decision making.

According to the Risk Homeostasis Theory (RHT) drivers are utility maximizers, and therefore optimizers and not minimizers of accident risk. Although the expected consequences of performance carry their weight in a driver's perception of utility, and thus in perceived level of risk, the target level of risk and the ensuming driving decisions, there are other determining factors. If economic considerations were the only ones, than the decisions can readily be specified. RHT, however, postulates that a person's preferred level of accident risk is influenced by other values as well e.g. culture, sex, age, personality, sociology.