Titel_SS06

0 % Degree of volunterity 100%0 % Degree of influence on the success of the activity 100%

Soccer

Mountain climbing

Motorbiking

Hazardous mountain

climbing

Air travel

Train transport Car transport Occupation

Work at home

Figure 13.3: Illustration of relation between the degree of voluntariness, the degree of personal
influence on the success of an activity and the type of activities accepted by individuals,
adapted from Schneider (1994).

0 % Degree of volunterity 100%0 % Degree of influence on the success of the activity 100%

1

2

5

10

100

Figure 13.4: Illustration of relation between the degree of voluntarism, the degree of personal influence
on the success of an activity and the quantitative level of risk apparently accepted by
individuals, adapted from Schneider (1994). The numbers in the figure should be
multiplied with 10-5.

Based on experience e.g. as indicated in Table 13.1 and from other sources of information it is
possible to relate the activities listed in Figure 13.3 to the probability of death and thus arrive
at a quantitative graduation of the acceptable risk for individuals as a function of the degree of
voluntariness and the degree of personal influence on the success of the activity. The result is
illustrated in Figure 13.4.

It is worthwhile to have a closer look at Figure 13.3 and Figure 13.4. In the upper left corner
of the Figures the activities are truly individual of character – a high degree of voluntarism
and a high degree of personal influence on the success of the activity is observed. In the lower
left corner, however, the activities are in fact not truly individual – they are not voluntary and
the success of the activities are not controlled by the individual involved. It is for activities of
this type that the society has an obligation to safeguard the individual, in accordance with the
“Universal Declaration of Human Rights”. From Figure 13.4 it appears that a value in the