Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for 15 to 20-year olds. Young/novice drivers have long been thought to be vulnerable to the impact of peer passengers, and thus have a higher crash risk. It has been proven that perceived risky behavior of close friends was the best psychosocial predictor of risk. Additionally, young drivers (18-20 years) have the highest involvement in distraction-related crashes. The goal of this study was to examine the effect of social influence and driver distraction on young drivers’ behavior. Twenty-four pairs of participants took part in the study. Participants drove in pairs and by themselves while completing four distraction tasks. Results showed that the presence of a passenger did not show statistical significance related to drivers’ behavior. However, other social influence factors did significantly impact drivers’ behavior, including stimulating companionship, type of friendship, and their interactions.
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