If I were to wager a guess, the people who would accept the deal are those who feel they are in a catastrophic situation.

Speaking of catastrophic situations, have you seen The Wages of Fear or any of the remakes? I've only seen Sorcerer, but it was quite good. It's a rather more realistic situation that jumping off a cliff, but the structure is the same: a group of desperate people driving cases of nitroglycerin-sweating dynamite across rough terrain to get enough money that they can escape.