Monash MKF2111: Attitudes and Persuasion in Queensland Flood Safety

This report examines the Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES) campaign focused on changing driver attitudes towards flooded roads. The report analyzes the 'If It's Flooded Forget It' campaign, highlighting the strategies used to address risky driving behaviors during floods. It delves into the affective and cognitive attitudes of drivers, exploring how emotional factors and perceptions of risk influence their decisions. The report also assesses the role of social media in disseminating safety messages and influencing behavior, focusing on platforms like YouTube and the impact of real-life experiences. Furthermore, it discusses the tactics employed by QFES, including personal interviews, road navigation tools, and advocacy efforts. The conclusion emphasizes the campaign's success in altering driver behavior and reducing flood-related fatalities, underscoring the importance of attitude change in promoting public safety. The report references various sources to support its findings and conclusions.

RUNNING HEAD: Attitudes and Persuasion
Attitudes and Persuasion
Changing The Attitudes

Attitudes and Persuasion
Executive summary
This report is based on the Queensland Fire Emergency and Services strategies to deal with
the safety of the people those are driving on the roads full of the water of the flood. If it is
flood forget it is the campaign to reduce the death rate of the driving people to prevent them
the driving and this report will discuss about the theories of the Queensland government. The
use of social media and its affects are discussed in this report and the tactics applied by the
government to protect the people from the emergency situations.
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Attitudes and Persuasion
Contents
Introduction...........................................................................................................................................3
Attitude of the drivers on the campaign.................................................................................................3
Affective attitudes of drivers.............................................................................................................4
Cognitive attitudes of drivers.............................................................................................................5
Role of social media and the site in the changing attitude.....................................................................5
Tactics included in the Queensland Fire Emergency and Services........................................................6
Conclusion.............................................................................................................................................7
References.............................................................................................................................................8
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Attitudes and Persuasion
Introduction
Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES) is dealing to provide the fire and
emergency services and making the strategies to aware the people about their safety and
security in case of flood, fire and any emergency in Queensland. The main services provided
by the QFES are divided into different parts to deal with the different types of emergency and
disasters (Queensland government, 2019).
If It’s Flooded Forget It (IFFT) campaign
This is a campaign to change the behaviour and attitudes of the drivers about the flooded road
to save their lives. This is a very successful campaign to alert the old drivers to not to drive in
case of heavy flood dealing with the emotional aspect of their life and many more (Rick
Greeen, 2017).
Attitude of the drivers on the campaign
The main focus of this campaign was making aware to the regular and professional drivers of
the Queensland, because their attitude towards the previous death was very risky and they
were not ready to accept the avoidance of driving because of the flooded water. This attitude
of the 4wd or regular car drivers was very challenging, their beliefs were very strong about
their driving skills and familiarity about the roads and about the car they drive. Queensland
government survey shows the result regarding the attitudes of the drivers for the flash flooded
roads became helpful for planning the strategies to prevent the drivers from the flood
disasters (Wisetjindawat, 2017).
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Attitudes and Persuasion
Source: (Queensland government, know the dangers, 2018)
Affective attitudes of drivers
The emotional aspect was focused in the introduction of this campaign because in a research
it was found that the drivers driving on the flooded road was sometimes in pressure to reach
at the destination or to save the other belongings from the flood. The beliefs of the drivers for
their driving skills were also an emotional factor. The belief of the drivers in their ability or
the quality of the vehicle they are driving, sometimes they were emotionally face
encouragement from the others to drive on the flooded roads (Peden, 2017).
The communication strategy of the Queensland government was focused on the beliefs of the
people driving on the flooded roads by risking their lives. The customer experienced loop
approach was focused on the solution of the prevailing myths and the misunderstanding about
the driving on the dangerous road.
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Attitudes and Persuasion
Cognitive attitudes of drivers
The cognitive attitude of the drivers was about the thoughts and the attitudes they have
towards the roads familiarity and the location. As the experienced drivers they thought they
are skilled and more talented than the others and they can easily drive or their beliefs about
the quality of the cars they drive. To handle this change in the attitude government used real
life experienced videos and advertisement to make them aware that no quality, no age, no
experience matters if it shows flood and flash it is better to leave the idea of driving
(government, Know the dangers, 2018).
Role of social media and the site in the changing attitude
The behaviour of people is difficult to change; people usually see the change as the negative
impacting factor. Government of the Queensland planned to change the behaviour of the risk
taking drivers by using the social media. The role of social media became very popular
among the people. Government used Facebook, Twitter and You Tube as socially connecting
platform to change the behaviour of the drivers (Queensland government, know the dangers,
2018).
Major role played in the social awareness was from the You Tube platform. Because the
many real life experience videos were posted from time to time and this lead the people
believe the dangerousness of the flooded roads.
The main outcome of the social media platform about the flooded roads on the change in the
attitudes of the behaviour was based on some approaches like,
 Self-efficiency of the drivers to believe that they can face any risk or the challenges of
the flooded roads.
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Attitudes and Persuasion
 Social learning theory focus on the behavioural approaches of the drivers. This theory
is better depends on the You Tube videos. The You Tube platform will be helpful to
develop the attitude change theory of the drivers.
 Theory of the planned behaviour is the approach to make the drivers aware about the
change. The attitude is related to the behaviour and personality of the people and the
effects of the social platform resulted positively on the behaviour of the drivers
(government, our strategy, 2019).
Tactics included in the Queensland Fire Emergency and Services
The government of the Queensland adapted the Queensland Fire Emergency and Services to
deal with the security and safety of the public. Every year tropical and sub-tropical region
face strong thunderstorms resulting in the high flooded road where driving cause death risk to
the drivers. The government is very active to spread the message to drive safe or not to drive
in case of the flood to its population by various means and they with the time develop and
plan new strategies to aware the drivers about the risk and hazards of the flooded risk and to
save them in any critical situations. Queensland Fire Emergency and Services have settled
strategic guidelines to meet the change in the attitude of the people. Some of the elements not
included in the given case study but applied by the Queensland Fire Emergency and Services
are as follows,
1. Conducting personal interviews of those drivers that avoid the driving in the heavy
rain or used the alternate road map help of the government services. This impact the
behavioural approach of the other drivers.
2. Road navigation and guiding road maps indicating the warning signs on the flooded
roads and the community guidelines and behaviour of the drivers can be easily
changed.
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Attitudes and Persuasion
3. Queensland Fire Emergency and Services works with the guideline authorities those
are responsible to promote the safe driving behaviour tools on the social media by
using the phone road app, website and other sources.
4. Advocacy activities are planned and targets to advocate the government department
responsible to developing the law, rules and legislation of the emergency reliefs and
guidelines (government, our strategy, 2019).
People usually avoid the adaption of the change in their behaviour but Queensland Fire
Emergency and Services focus the theories to make the people accept and adapt the
introduced change to safe the drivers from flooded road (Kwasnicka, 2016).
Conclusion
On the basis of above discussed facts and theories this report concludes that the Queensland
Fire Emergency and Services focus to change the attitude of the drivers towards the flooded
roads. Death rate in the Queensland in the year 2015 due to flood was 53% of the total death
and this was very serious issue to warn the drivers to avoid driving on the flooded roads.
Queensland Fire Emergency and Services passed the community guidelines and social media
platform to guide the people about the risks and to changer their previous attitudes and beliefs
about the driving. Hence this report concludes the efforts and strategies of the Queensland
Fire Emergency and Services are giving the positive downfall in the death rate due to the
successful change in the attitude and behaviour of the drivers.
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Attitudes and Persuasion
References
government, Q. (2018, October 24). Know the dangers. Retrieved September 01, 2019, from
www.floodwatersafety.initiatives.qld.gov.au:
http://floodwatersafety.initiatives.qld.gov.au/anatomy-of-an-incident/
government, Q. (2019). our strategy. Retrieved September 1, 2019, from
www.qfes.qld.gov.au: https://www.qfes.qld.gov.au/about/Pages/Our-Strategy.aspx
Kwasnicka, D. D. (2016). Theoretical explanations for maintenance of behaviour change: a
systematic review of behaviour theories. Health psychology review, 277-296.
Peden, A. E. (2017). Causal pathways of flood related river drowning deaths in Australia.
PLOS Currents Disasters, 1-24.
Queensland government. (2018, October 28). know the dangers. Retrieved september 2,
2019, from ww.floodwatersafety.initiatives.qld.gov.au:
http://floodwatersafety.initiatives.qld.gov.au/anatomy-of-an-incident/
Queensland government. (2019, September 1). State of Queensland (Queensland Fire and
Emergency Services) 2019. Retrieved September 01, 2019, from
www.qfes.qld.gov.au: https://www.qfes.qld.gov.au/Pages/default.aspx
Rick Greeen. (2017, December 5). Campaign Brief. Retrieved September 1, 2019, from
campaignbrief.com: https://campaignbrief.com/qfes-builds-on-if-its-flooded/
Wisetjindawat, W. B. (2017). Analysing impacts of natural disasters on logistics activities:
flood risks and petroleum fuels in Queensland, Australia. Transportation research
procedia, 1198-1212.
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