After more than 50 swift-water rescues in Victoria this week, why do people keep driving into floods? - ABC News
After more than 50 swift-water rescues in Victoria this week, why do people keep driving into floods? - ABC News
Authorities remind the public constantly that floodwaters and cars don't mix, but drivers continue to take the risk. Here's what experts say about why people do it.
Because we keep trying to save everyone from their own stupidity and it's starting to compound.
Yeah! Let people die from bad decisions in the moment. People never make makes unless they’re stupid right?
People never make makes unless they’re stupid right?
There is a fine line between encouraging Darwin Award nominees and Eugenics.
Because it won't happen to meeeeee.
That's the reason. Every single person who enters floodwaters believes they'll make it across.
Many even do - which is also bad. One gets through, even if it is pure luck, now the fool behind thinks they'll make it because the first idiot did.
Because the only vehicles on the market suitable for Australian conditions are off-road vehicles.
Just like how some people with sports models of road cars feel an obligation to defend their brand by taking off fast at traffic lights, some people with off-road vehicles feel an obligation to defend their brand by driving through floodwaters.
It is a way to overcome your buyers remorse and feel better about the 10’s of thousands of dollars that you owe the finance company.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
The chief executive of Natural Hazards Research Australia, Andrew Gissing, said there were a number of reasons people attempted to make it across a flooded section of road.
Vehicle type, familiarity with the area and social perceptions were just some of the factors drivers took into account before deciding whether to forge ahead, he said.
Mr Gissing said people with four-wheel drives were more likely to take on flooded roads, as they tended to think their cars were much safer and heavier than others.
Pictures from VicRoads showed large sections of bitumen in flood-affected areas swept away earlier in the week, with guardrails warped and broken by the power of the water.
Sixty-three per cent of participants said they had encountered flooding in the last year, but if they thought their fellow road users would disapprove of them turning around, they would continue through the floodwaters.
Researchers also found that having a plan B, and actively seeking alternate routes — even when floods weren't impacting an area — also prevented drivers from entering floodwaters.
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People got places to be