🔧 Adventure Meets Ethics "Would You Pull the Lever? What Overlanding Teaches Us About Tough Decisions"

By Morgan MacDonald

Would You Pull the Lever? What Overlanding Can Learn from the Trolley Problem

When we think about overlanding, we usually imagine adventure: dirt trails, rocky climbs, remote campsites under the stars. But behind the gear, the maps, and the roaring engines is something far more complex: decision-making.

What happens when the trail forks and both directions carry risk? When you have to choose between saving your gear or helping a stranger? When leadership means choosing who goes first across a questionable river crossing—and who waits?

To explore this, let’s dive into a centuries-old thought experiment: the Trolley Problem.

The Trolley Problem: A Crash Course in Moral Weight

A runaway trolley is barreling toward five people tied to the tracks. You can pull a lever to divert the trolley to a side track, where only one person is tied down.

Do you pull the lever?

Most people say yes—sacrifice one to save five. It seems logical. But what if that one person is your friend? Or a child? Or a stranger who offers you money to pull the lever? Or worse: what if you know that the person you save will go on to cause terrible harm?

These moral twists challenge our values, exposing the raw emotional calculus beneath our choices. And while you’re unlikely to face a literal trolley problem on the trail, the ethical weight behind it shows up in other ways.

Overlanding and the Ethical Fork in the Road

Picture this: you're guiding a small convoy through Nova Scotia's backcountry. You reach a fork.

• Left: faster route, but it cuts through protected wilderness. The terrain is soft, easily damaged, and local conservationists have asked overlanders to stay off it.
• Right: longer route, technical terrain, and one of your group is a beginner. Taking it could lead to a breakdown or even injury.

What do you do?

This isn’t a quiz with one correct answer. It’s a test of judgment, values, and leadership under pressure. Much like the Trolley Problem, you're weighing potential harm against likely benefit. Sometimes, doing the "right" thing doesn’t feel right at all.

When Money Enters the Picture

Let’s go back to the trolley.

Now imagine the one person on the side track is a wealthy man. He begs you to pull the lever and promises $500,000 if you do. You’d still be saving five people—but now, your choice benefits you directly.

This is the point where ethics get slippery. Are you still a moral hero? Or did you just put a price on human life?

Now think about this in overlanding terms: choosing to partner with a brand whose products are cheap and profitable, but known to fail. Skipping safety checks to make a trip deadline. Saying yes to a route you haven’t scouted because the footage will look great on Instagram.

Overlanding, like life, is full of decisions where principle and self-interest clash.

The Final Twist: Would You Kill to Prevent Evil?

One more version of the trolley problem:

The trolley is heading toward a wealthy, generous man who has saved lives and improved the world. On the other track is a little girl. You somehow know that she will one day give birth to someone who will cause unprecedented global suffering.

Do you pull the lever?

There are no good answers here. Only consequences.

In this version, you’re not saving five people. You’re making a decision based on destiny, not action. You’re punishing someone for something they haven’t done yet. But if you do nothing, history unfolds in a way you know is catastrophic.

This dilemma maps directly onto the role of a leader in any high-stakes environment—including overlanding. There are times you must act with incomplete information, knowing full well that whatever you do, someone may pay the price.

What the Trail Teaches Us

Overlanding forces you into tight spots. Whether you’re leading a group through rugged terrain or managing your own rig deep in the wild, you’ll face ethical decisions:

• Do I push forward or turn back?
• Do I risk my own comfort for someone else's safety?
• Do I follow the crowd or stand by my principles?

What the trolley problem teaches us is not how to make perfect choices. It teaches us to prepare for the moment when perfection isn’t possible.

Because on the trail, as in life, there are times when your values, your courage, and your judgment will be all you have.

A Final Scenario from the Trail

Imagine this: You're on an overlanding trip in Cape Breton. A major storm is rolling in. You've got two options:

• Route A: fast but crosses a narrow wooden bridge rated for light vehicles only. One of your team is driving a heavily loaded Tacoma and might risk collapsing it.
• Route B: safe but long, and one of the group is showing signs of dehydration and heat exhaustion. The delay could be dangerous.

Do you risk damaging infrastructure and potentially injuring someone for speed?
Or take the long way and gamble on someone's worsening condition?

This is the overland version of the trolley problem. And it reminds us: the trail doesn't just test your rig. It tests your values.

So next time you're planning your next adventure, ask yourself:

Would you pull the lever?

And what would it cost you if you did?