Why do people drive through floodwater? Utilising virtual reality to assess motivations and behaviour associated with driving through floodwater | Natural Hazards Research Australia
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Why do people drive through floodwater? Utilising virtual reality to assess motivations and behaviour associated with driving through floodwater

Research theme

Resilient communities

Project type

Postgraduate research

Project status

In progress

This PhD project will use the University of New England's state of the art virtual reality and eye tracking laboratories to experimentally test the psychological factors that might influence the decision to drive into floodwater. The project will also examine the protective effects of risk treatments such as warning signs, penalties and safety education.

Research team
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Shauntelle Benjamin
Research leader
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Dr Amy Lykins
Supervisor
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Dr Melissa Parsons
Supervisor
Project details

Drivers continue to enter flooded road crossings in Australia, often with tragic outcomes. Given the expected increase in flooding predicted with climate change, designing better risk mitigation and community safety strategies requires understanding of the psychology behind a drivers’ decision to enter floodwater.

Key research questions of this project include:

  1. What are the motivations (i.e. variables that affect behaviour) for decisions to drive into floodwater?
  2. What protective factors are associated with decisions not to drive into floodwater?
  3. Does a driver’s perception of risk influence decisions to drive into floodwater?
  4. Can interventions be tailored to different motivations, protective factors and risk perceptions?
Publications
Year Type Citation
07/2022 Journal article Why take the risk? Exploring the psychosocial determinants of floodwater driving
Resources
Date Type Title
31 August 2020 Poster Nurturing to avoid nature
Participating organisations
The University of New England

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