Many of us may have experienced sitting beside a careless driver while he is zigzagging through traffic. We usually feel uncomfortable in such situations; however, some of us would have shown the same driving style when driving. This may seem awkward and paradoxical yet is true. People typically do not like risking their lives when someone else is steering although they are more tolerant when having control over their situation. The more freedom of choice one has the more tolerant he/she is about the risks imposed on him/her as the consequence of his/her decisions.
The table below is adopted from book RCM II written by John Moubray, it explains this fact for the case of existing risk of death. As you see, people can bear 1000 times more risk of being killed when they have total control over the situation compared to cases in which they have no control and choice.
When I saw this table, it came to my mind that maybe it can confirm the tendency toward democracy and freedom. People feel more comfortable in the democratic societies and can tolerate more difficulties compared to authoritarian ones.