The project commenced in July 2017 to develop an understanding of the motivations, beliefs, decision-making processes and information needs of at-risk groups for flood fatalities. State Emergency Services (SES) from around Australia have worked closely with the research team from the onset of the project, taking particular interest in the behaviours of their own personnel when it comes to risk taking and driving into floodwater, as well as their attitudes to the public entering into floodwater.

To look at the extent to which entering floodwater is influenced by behaviour, the research team conducted extensive survey and quantitative research to investigate the conditions in which people drive through floodwater and the decision-making around what was being thought at the time and why they chose to go through instead of turning around. Risk is often difficult to assess and a poor ability to perceive risk is likely to result in increased engagement in risky driving behaviours. To better understand the decision-making processes involving drivers’ decisions to enter floodwaters, the research team explored the ability to recognise floodwater hazard and adequately assess the level of associated risk, in a newly developed online tool, EXPERTise 2.0 (Expert Intensive Skills Evaluation). 

Read the final project report here.

In conjunction with AFAC and SES research end-users, the results of this research has informed the co-development of a set of public communication guidelines and the establishment of a set of national community safety announcements for use by the ABC in emergency broadcasting. Read the utilisation project report here.