Study: Youth Learn Reckless Driving Habits at the Movies

"It’s long been known that kids can learn unhealthy behaviors from watching movies," writes Tom Jacobs. "But along with cigarette smoking, heavy drinking, and the rest, we can now add another: Reckless driving."

The study, "Exposure to Movie Reckless Driving in Early Adolescence Predicts Reckless, but Not Inattentive Driving," was published in the online journal PLoS One, finds young people who watched movies featuring reckless behind-the-wheel behavior were more likely to engage in similarly dangerous driving years later."

According to Jacobs, "[the] researchers found 'a direct long-term relation between early exposure to reckless driving in movies, and reckless driving behaviors among U.S. adolescents with driving experience.'"