So this is actually something I've thought a lot about, in terms of whether it's actually rational to be a prepper or if it's just a fun hobby.
In nominal terms, your risk of dying in a society-wide collapse is actually larger than your risk of dying in a car accident.[1] So if you wouldn't think twice about taking basic steps to lower your chances of vehicle death (e.g. wearing a seatbelt) then it's absolutely rational to be at least concerned about your risk of dying in the apocalypse.
However, in absolute terms your risk of dying in the apocalypse is still considerably smaller than the most common causes of death. Given that only 1.2% of Americans meet all 7 guidelines for good cardiovascular health[2], being a prepper probably has negative returns unless you already have enough money to access safe food and healthcare, you're meeting all the guidelines for good cardiovascular health, you don't have any neglected mental health issues, etc.
In nominal terms, your risk of dying in a society-wide collapse is actually larger than your risk of dying in a car accident.[1] So if you wouldn't think twice about taking basic steps to lower your chances of vehicle death (e.g. wearing a seatbelt) then it's absolutely rational to be at least concerned about your risk of dying in the apocalypse.
However, in absolute terms your risk of dying in the apocalypse is still considerably smaller than the most common causes of death. Given that only 1.2% of Americans meet all 7 guidelines for good cardiovascular health[2], being a prepper probably has negative returns unless you already have enough money to access safe food and healthcare, you're meeting all the guidelines for good cardiovascular health, you don't have any neglected mental health issues, etc.
[1] http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/04/a-huma...
[2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22427615