It won’t be a surprise if this news sweeps the bed sheet off you, literally. According to a researcher from the University of Michigan, more people are afraid of dying from unprotected sex than a 480-km road trip via car.

According to Terri D Conley , risky behaviour related to sex is judged more harshly than other comparable health risks, including car driving. Conley found that stigmatisation of sexuallytransmitted infections (STIs) has resulted in people being disproportionately terrified of having unprotected sex.

The participants stated a 7.1% chance of dying from one unprotected sexual encounter compared with a 0.4% chance of dying in a car accident. That is roughly 17 times as high.

In the second study , partici pants read one of two vignettes, in which a target either unknowingly transmitted an STI (chlamydia) or a nonsexual disease (H1N1) to another person through a sexual encounter. In the third study, participants read one of 12 vignettes; the type of disease (chlamydia or H1N1), severity of the disease outcome (mild, moderate, or severe), and sex of transmitter (female or male) were manipulated.