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Realistic Driving Simulator Games?
modoquasi writes "I have a son approaching the age when it is legal to hurtle through the air at insurance-raising speeds. I would like to educate him to hurtle safely and legally as soon as possible, and not use my car to do it. I thought I would find a number of driving simulator/educators for teens at home. but all I found are the likes of GTA Vice City and Crazy Taxi. Though Big Mutha Truckers might educate him on correct parking procedures in tight spots, I don't think it covers four-way-stops and passing on a double yellow line. Do the readers of Slashdot have any clues where to find this type of software?"
how bout you just spend some time with the kid & go teach him yourself? there will never be an electronic substitute for what a kid learns directly from his parents.
I learned in part with Sierra Driver's Education '99 software, which is no longer sold. It worked well, and included audio books of tutorials, multiple-choice tests, and a driving simulator of "Virtual City." I quickly lost seriousness and learned the finer points of running red lights and dodging traffic while going the wrong way on the freeway.
The other cars pop out of nowhere and swerve randomly without signaling. That's highly unrealis...oh, wait.
LOAD "SIG",8,1
"Watch out, I smell an oncoming truck!"
-And, yes, I've done power drifts in a real car (I was young and foolish then).
... on a good day I could hang the back end out a good foot, foot and a half leaving a black scratch the shape of a massive parabola to mark my prowess. I will see your young and foolish and raise you a real young and completely stupid :)
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Get back to me when you have done power drifts on a street bike (motorcycle.) There was one corner leaving the college campus that was perfect - a smooth left hander, always clean, tires still cold
As for computer games, the last one I remember being even semi-real with respect to street laws, etc... was Corvette! It was a long time ago, but as I recall it accurately recreated San Francisco, had stop lights and stop signs, regular stock Vette and not a nitro methane fueled car with guns, and if you drove too fast or rolled a stop sign (or ran over a little old lady) the cops would come hassle you.
You are right though - kids will teach themselves how to drive fast. Step in and teach them when to drive slow and you will be doing them a big favor.
Stuff I wish my dad had taught me
If you hit an animal in the road, that animal doesn't die immediately and leave a red splat mark. That animal thrashes about for 20 minutes crying in pain dying - and watching that animal die a slow and painful thrashing death is a particularly horrible sight because you know you caused it. Those sounds will haunt you forever, even if it was just a cat.
If you cause a little tiny fender bender in a parking lot with nobody looking, leave a note and follow up.
If you are in an accident bigger than a door ding, call someome to handle it and keep your mouth shut. You are too emotinal to effectively deal with the situation, let someone else do it.
If you are going to speed, speed. If you aren't going to shave an hour off your trip, drive the speed limit / flow of traffic. Trying to drive 67 when everybody else is driving 63 is stupid. Either slow down to 63, or calculate how fast you need to go to get where you are going an hour faster and drive that fast.
Don't tailgate. The punishment for tailgaters varies from paying to have two cars repaired - to death.
Don't be an asshole or drive aggressively. In some states that will get you killed, or your house burned down. No shit.
The first two snows of the year are the worst because the roads haven't built up enough salt to keep everything all melted. Find a reason to stay home if you are a young driver.
Buckle up.
Drinking and driving is way more expensive than you could possibly imagine. You can't afford it. Don't even think about it.
If you have alcohol in your system, don't sleep it off in your car. Punk ass cops will still arrest you for DWI even though the car isn't moving and you are in the back seat.
You aren't even good enough to operate a car when you are concentrating on it. Forget about trying to operate a car and other personal electronic devices at the same time. If you need to call someone, pull over.
Never confuse horsepower with manhood. Shredding the tires and speeding in a residential neighborhood is about as macho as sitting on the curb crying because you just totalled your car by causing an accident, knowing that your insurance is about to go through the roof.
Four wheel drive adds nothing to your stopping ability in the snow / ice.
You can't outrun the Motorola.
If the cops have to chase you, they're bringing an ass kicking with them.
If you are turning onto a road from a dead stop and a car is coming, let the car go before pulling onto the road.
Glonoinha the MebiByte Slayer