Floodwater fatalities most often men: SES

Men are three times more likely to die by driving through floodwaters than women, according to new research.

In the past two decades, 80 Australians have died while driving through floodwaters and 75 per cent of them were men, NSW SES spokesman Philip Campbell has told AAP.

SES research shows two groups are over-represented, men aged 18 to 25 and men over 60.

"Young men under 25, they're the ones who feel immortal," Mr Campbell said on Wednesday.

"The over 60s, they're the `I know everything' age group."

Despite better quality cars and better education, the rate of deaths has remained constant since the mid-1980s, he said.

"Something is not being done right in communicating with people who are driving into floodwater," Mr Campbell said.

NSW SES will look at overseas community engagement programs to see if there's anything it can learn.

Mr Campbell said it's also important to consider the psychological state of people driving through floodwater.

"People often stop thinking rationally and go into a different cognitive state," Mr Campbell said.

"They start making decisions they normally wouldn't make."

Death from driving in floodwaters make up nearly half of all flood fatalities and mostly occur in small coastal rivers, he said.