Does risk perception really exist?

The main aims of the current study were to examine the risk perception concept and the role of risk perception and worry in demands for risk mitigation in urban transport. The results are based on a self-completion questionnaire survey carried out in representative samples of six Norwegian urban areas (n = 1047). Risk perception, worry and demand for risk mitigation were found to differ according to the type of travel mode in question. The results did not support the idea that risk perception could be conceptualised as a reflective construct of accident probability assessment and judgement of the severity of the consequences. Factors previously assumed to be important in the conceptualisation of risk perception may not be a fruitful basis for understanding how the urban public perceives risks in transport. It is not primarily the risk, but the risk source that is perceived. Risk perception is less conceptual than object-centred, and measures aimed at influencing perceptions of travel mode risk should to a larger extent take into consideration how such risk is perceived.