Ever been tempted to try out a new driving tactic after watching a new move with reckless behavior? Maybe you were just trying things out to be funny for your movie-going friend, but reckless behavior after seeing it in movies could actually increase your chances of a ticket- or worse.

Evidence suggests that you may want to be more cautious when the next installment of the next Fast and Furious movies reaches theatres in April 2020. There’s plenty of research about the link between risky behaviors and onscreen media. However, causality issues are problematic for most of the studies in this area. A more promising approach that is being explored by current researchers is to look at natural experiments that show how people react immediately after being exposed to media that glorifies risks.

One recent study, for example, found that Google searches related to suicidal intent increased significantly with the release of 13 Reasons Why. One recent study has looked at the impact of the Fast and Furious movies series which looks at reckless driving, street racing and heists. Traffic violation data was analyzed in Maryland and looked at all speeding tickets there between 2012 and 2017, looking at the impact of the three Fast and the Furious movies released during that time.

The study found a large increase in the average speed of drivers who were given speeding tickets on the weekends after releases of the Fast and Furious movies. The speed people were given tickets for increased by approximately 20% on the weekends immediately after the movie was released. If you have been involved in an accident because of someone else’s excessive speeding, you may have grounds for a personal injury lawsuit.