Motorcycling as a Moral Improvement: A Response to Hansson
AbstractIn Ori 2014 I claimed that switching from a motorcar to a motorcycle when traveling alone is a moral improvement. Hansson 2014 replied that switching is not an improvement because we need better road and motor vehicle protection, not less. In this response I will show why the lack of protection is not a decisive objection to motorcycling and I will stress the point that motorcycling is a moral improvement, at least according to prevalent normative ethical views.
New roads are often designed without adequate investigation of driver risk perception. However, according to many researchers, it is imperative that human factors be considered during the design of new road infrastructure. In this study we investigated driver perception of risk on 3 road sections of a single highway. For the purposes of this article, 3 field experiments took place in a 2-year period, with 136 volunteer Greek drivers taking part in these experiments. Participants evaluated the risks of road sections and curves. The results show that 3 main demographic characteristics-age, familiarity, and self-assessment-affect risk perception, whereas special provisions for older drivers during road design and construction are imperative.