Most people do not think continually about the likelihood of accident, injury, disease, and death, either to themselves or to those close to them. Under certain circumstances, however, some of these risks to life and health become more salient than they had previously been, and this in turn may alter the perception of their relative frequency and, potentially, alter behavior in relation to them. Having been trapped for several hours in a malfunctioning elevator, one may be more inclined to walk up and down stairs–for a while, and for a reasonable number of flights.