Travel exposed people to injury, weather, illness, animals, robbery, and the uncertainties of being away from home.
Most journeys presumably ended without disaster, but travelers had fewer protections than modern travelers. Isolated routes could leave someone vulnerable if injured, robbed, or caught in severe weather.
Banditry was a recurring concern in the ancient Mediterranean, although the actual risk varied by place and period. Political unrest could make some regions especially insecure.
Traveling with companions, using familiar routes, moving during daylight, and staying near inhabited places could reduce risk.
Archaeology identifies routes and settlements but rarely documents an individual robbery. Evidence for fortifications and security belongs to the broader setting of ancient travel.
Greek, Roman, Jewish, and Christian texts mention bandits, unsafe roads, travel accidents, and other hazards.
Biblical narratives recognize the vulnerability of people traveling away from settled communities.
Jesus' parable of the Good Samaritan assumes that listeners could understand the danger of a traveler being attacked, stripped, and left injured beside a road.
Road danger was real, but we cannot calculate a universal level of risk for ordinary first-century travelers.
Concern for safety was probably one reason people preferred companions for some longer journeys.
The hazards of travel give added force to biblical teachings about hospitality, mercy, and care for strangers.