Seeing dangerous driving on social media has 'more than expected' influence on young drivers

Conducted by the Contextual Behavioural Science lab in UCD, the research found a notable association between engaging with social media content and dangerous driving itself that was much greater than expected, especially among young people. File picture: Dean Lewins/AAP

Social media depictions of dangerous driving can then lead to more young people engaging in such risky behaviour, new research suggests.

Close to 70% of young drivers feel pressure from other drivers to take risks, the University College Dublin (UCD) research found. Young people are among the most at risk on Irish roads, with people aged 16 to 25 making up 21% of deaths on Irish roads last year.

Conducted by the Contextual Behavioural Science lab in UCD, the research found a notable association between engaging with social media content and dangerous driving itself that was much greater than expected, especially among young people.

Dr Conor McCloskey, who conducted the research, explained: “Our results suggest that close to a quarter of the variance in risky driving in young people may be explained by social media consumption habits, and though we did expect to see an association, the scale of it was much more than expected.” 

According to the study, peer pressure from other road users plays a significant role — and can lead to risky driving habits.

Close to 70% of young drivers who participated in this research said they feel pressure from other drivers to take risks, with 68.1% reporting that they speed in order to “keep up with traffic”, and 62.1% said they would overtake a cyclist without enough space to keep other drivers happy.

The research also found male drivers hold significantly stronger beliefs that their friends would approve of dangerous driving, whereas female drivers reported higher encouragement of safety from their peers.

The research is part of a broader project examining road safety behaviours among learner and young drivers and aims to develop solutions to encourage safer driving. The overall aim of the project is to reduce road fatalities in Ireland through applied behaviour change.

Last month, the 20th Road Safety Performance Index (PIN) Report found that road deaths in Ireland increased by 31% last year compared with 2019.

The report highlighted how Ireland was one of just four countries to record a rise in fatalities between the two years, whereas 24 European countries saw reductions.

In the decade from 2015 to 2025, the highest number of road deaths in Ireland was recorded in 2025, while the lowest was 2021.