What were they thinking? Using YouTube to observe driver behavior while crossing flooded roads

Floods are among the most life threatening weather-related hazards to society resulting in nearly one hundred deaths and billions of dollars in damages every year in the United States. Motorists are especially vulnerable to floods, as over 50% of all flood deaths are vehicle-related. Despite improved technological innovation, improved forecasts and lead time for warnings, as well as public awareness efforts such as the National Weather Service's “Turn Around Don't Drown” campaign, and Arizona's “Stupid Motorist Law” enacted in 1995 which requires that drivers who crossed a flooded wash or closed road must pay for their own rescue, flood fatalities remain high due to inadequate human behavior in floods. Previous research has focused on perceptions of what people say they would do when presented with a hazardous flood scenario in a self-reported survey. Survey responses may not be indicative of actual driver behavior. This study aims to observe actual driver behavior rather than perceptions to understand what people were thinking when confronted with high water.

An online survey was sent to 100 people who broadcasted themselves crossing flooded roads on YouTube. Survey questions asked the YouTubers why they were driving in flood waters, the purpose of their trip, their awareness of flood dangers and warnings, and what they say it would take to avoid driving in flood waters in the future. Nine telephone interviews were also conducted.

Results from 52 survey respondents show the majority (60%) decided to cross the flooded roads for fun or to film the flood. For the purposes of this study, they were labeled as “intentional” drivers. The minority of respondents (40%) were labeled as “situational” drivers if they had a specific place to get to, such as driving to or returning from work. Most respondents, situational and intentional, were males between the ages of 18 and 35 driving trucks or SUVs. Intentional drivers were more likely to drive on closed roads and were more aware of road and weather conditions compared to situational drivers. Most respondents indicated they pay attention to weather warnings to some degree; however, warnings had almost no influence in their decision to go ahead and drive on the flooded road, and most said they would drive again in similar conditions. The majority of YouTubers indicated that public education efforts would have little influence on their decision to avoid driving in flooded roads, but indicated a greater presence of emergency officials and/or warning signs in hazardous areas during a flood may deter them in the future. Respondents also noted they use different sources of weather information depending if there is hazardous weather or not. This study reveals YouTube is an emerging and useful qualitative and quantitative methodology in observational research. 2011-->