Teenage Passenger Influences on the Simulated Driving Performance of Teenage Drivers

This study, conducted at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, will examine how male teenage driving performance varies in the presence or absence of male teenage passengers. It will explore what information teen drivers and their passengers use when making decisions that affect their performance on the road.

Male drivers under 18 years of age who have a Junior Operator's or Full License and have driven at least once in the month before enrolling in the study may be eligible to participate.

In a university laboratory, participants sit in a 1995 Saturn sedan and operate the controls of the car just as they would those of any other car, during simulated drives in urban, suburban and rural areas. They are fitted with a head-mounted eye tracker that records their point of gaze in real time. On one drive, the subject drives alone; on another, a male passenger rides along. After the drives, the subject fills out some questionnaires.