Turning down a dangerous dare isn’t scared. It’s just the only person in the room still thinking.

Fear and judgement get filed under the same heading by whoever is doing the daring, because that framing is what makes it work. Refusing is usually not an absence of nerve but somebody running the actual numbers while everybody else runs on momentum. Groups suspend their thinking collectively and easily, and what breaks it is one person saying no out loud.

Have a refusal ready that does not require an argument: you are not doing that, you will be over here. Say it flatly and do not negotiate. The group usually follows the first person who provides an exit.