Risk Perception in Transport: A Review of the State of the Art

The aim of this chapter is to provide an overview of the state of the art concerning the role of transport risk perception for driving behavior, demand for risk mitigation and use of sustainable urban transport modes. The chapter also discusses the risk perception concept with a focus on operational definition and theoretical foundations. The review shows that risk perception may be relevant for all three transport outcomes. The research field could benefit from a more restricted understanding of risk perception as a pure cognitive construct covering perceived probability and severity of consequences of negative events aligned with theoretical approaches to risk. Future research could focus on harmonizing the operational definition of risk perception and aim to investigate which of the two main components are more important for transport behavior. Their associations with related, albeit separated, risk judgments and emotional processes also need to be disentangled.