Insecurity and risk in transport: A discussion

The present report discusses risk perception, insecurity and behavioral adaptation in transport. The first part of the report contains a survey of current knowledge about risk and insecurity in transport, as well as factors that affect insecurity, risk perception and behavioral adaptation. The second part of the report discusses how individuals perceive insecurity in transport and how such perceptions are influenced by major incidents and societal changes such as the flow of refugees coming to Europe, war in Syria, and a large number of terrorist attacks in transportation and other sectors. The third and final part of the report describes and discusses theoretical models and approaches to understand risk and insecurity in transport. According to recent research, individual perceptions of risk and insecurity are mainly affected by emotional aspects, rather than rational considerations. A neuroscientific model is proposed for the explanation and prediction of transport behavior and several new research questions and knowledge gaps are proposed. The most important practical conclusion is that transport policies should take into account that perceived risk and insecurity under transport, as well as choices of means of transport, may be affected by events outside the transport sector.