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Video Games Linked To Reckless Driving

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the causation-tag-here-we-come dept.

An anonymous reader writes "'A new study suggests video games that involve reckless driving may play out in real life. Researchers say their data should not be taken lightly since car accidents are the number one cause of death for teenagers.' Just a case of video games being used as a convenient scapegoat, or could there be some truth to this?"

12 of 337 comments (clear)

  1. Kudos by Lord+Grey · · Score: 4, Informative
    From the last paragraph of TFA:

    The findings do not directly link playing video games to reckless driving. They only show an association. Researchers say the impact of playing games like "Grand Theft Auto" is minimal.

    Bingo. Driving games could cause reckless driving in real life. Or people who drive recklessly enjoy driving games. Reckless go-kart racing could also be associated with both games and automobile driving, but that wasn't the focus of the study.

    I'm glad TFA admitted that one isn't necessarily the cause of the other, thereby bypassing the whole causation != correlation argument. Kudos for that.

    --
    // Beyond Here Lie Dragons
  2. Ridiculous by MeanMF · · Score: 4, Funny

    That's just nonsense.. Without all those extended training sessions playing Forza, I'd never be able to drive safely on the highway at 90+ mph.

  3. I for one welcome this by AlastairLynn · · Score: 5, Funny

    Frankly, there are too many of these damn kids around anyway.

    1. Re:I for one welcome this by ch-chuck · · Score: 5, Funny

      Get your car off my lawn!

      --
      try { do() || do_not(); } catch (JediException err) { yoda(err); }
  4. Naw ... by WrongSizeGlass · · Score: 4, Funny

    The only time my poor driving skills from video games crosses over into my real driving is when I'm playing a driving game while driving my car.

    1. Re:Naw ... by Monkeedude1212 · · Score: 4, Funny

      I can't believe you made this joke without using the Yo Dawg Meme.

  5. I found the opposite by localman57 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    About 10 years ago I got really into the game "Midtown Madness" which features races where you race free-form through downtown Chicago picking your own route to hit a number of checkpoints. The game requires you to read traffic patterns, lights, etc far in advance. After playing the game, I found that I was doing the same thing in real traffic. My brain had been trained to observe and anticipate as if I were driving through city traffic at 80MPH rather than 35. I became much more aware of what was happening on cross streets, and in lanes other than mine. It faded back to normal, though, as I moved on to other games.

    I do wonder, however, if being able to crash a car repeatedly with no real consequences has an impact on your subconcious risk-assesment of various manuvers.

    1. Re:I found the opposite by hoggoth · · Score: 5, Funny

      I was really into Marble Madness. After playing the game, I found myself bouncing off walls and dropping into manhole covers.

      --
      - For the complete works of Shakespeare: cat /dev/random (may take some time)
  6. Spy Hunter by Stargoat · · Score: 5, Interesting

    People have been claiming this since Spy Hunter came out. It was bunk then and it is bunk now. It's not video games that make you drive fast, it's the Peter Gunn theme.

    --
    Hoist Number One and Number Six.
  7. I just want be prepared... by PFritz21 · · Score: 4, Funny

    So, this is my fault for making sure I'm properly prepared for my road trip by packing plenty of turtle shells, banana peels, and mushrooms? Unbelieveable...

  8. Re:Kids are kids by Krneki · · Score: 4, Insightful

    See? These cultural blinders we don't even know we're wearing. Only in America and related countries is it "traditional" for teenagers to be risk-takers. Decades of MTV have taken effect. I live inside another culture and here, teens are assumed to have other traits, none of which is a fondness for irresponsible behavior. In fact, the very idea of "teenager" doesn't really exist.

    "The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their households. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their legs, and tyrannize their teachers. Plato

    --
    Love many, trust a few, do harm to none.
  9. Re:Bunch of idiots by 2obvious4u · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Here is some information for you:

    Top Gear vs Gran Turismo - Possibly the most awesome thing ever posted to /. if I do say so myself.

    wiki reference

    I've seen this done by other gaming mags before with similar results. If someone has those links that would be awesome as well.