Personal Risk Management
2003

Some outcomes or injuries may be insignificant to us whether their occurence
is probable or not. For such outcomes, we may decide that it's not worth the trouble to protect ourselves. For example, we normally don't take precautions against scratching our hands while carrying out daily tasks or working on our bike. We see a scratch as unimportant and not worth the trouble to protect against.

Even when the outcome is quite probable, if we perceive the consequences as minimal, we may decide not to use protective measures.

At the other extreme, you can have an outcome that is unlikely to occur but the consequences very serious. This is where it is prudent to protect against.

Think in terms of home fire insurance. How many homes in your neighborhood burned down last year? Probably none. Yet, most will choose to insure against fire. Why? Because the outcome, no matter how improbable, has very serious consequences. Most would think that it's prudent to protect against such a loss. Chances are you'll never need it, but. . .

When it comes to riding gear, the situation is very similar. Some injuries are not life altering, others are.

Of course, it all depends how comfortable you are with a given risk level when choosing your riding gear.