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Are Gamers Safer Drivers?
thecarchik writes "Racing video games: many of us play them and love them. But do they really make us better drivers, as some say, or do they make us more dangerous on real-life tarmac? Two studies go head-to-head on the issue."
Depends on the game in question.
FTA: "Continental finds that frequent players of titles like Gran Turismo and Grand Theft Auto are more likely to crash their real-life cars than those that don't."
There's a huge difference between driving a car in Gran Turismo (or any racing sim for that matter) and driving one in Grand Theft Auto. If you can keep your car on the road in Gran Turismo, there's a good chance you can keep it on the road in real life. If you drive your car like Carl or Niko... well...
"We're not sure..."
TFA says that those who play games are more likely to be involved in certain types of accidents, but doesn't say whether they controlled for age. The accidents they're more likely to be involved in? Running red lights, road rage, or "low-percentage passes" whatever that means. I suspect playing Gran Turismo doesn't lead to running red lights or road rage.
Corruption is convincing someone that the selfless ideal is the same as their selfish ideal.
I always get pulled over when I try up up down down left right left right on the freeway.
What makes you a better driver is:
- Respect for other people on the road
- Courteous driving
- Attentiveness to road conditions and what others are doing.
- Doing a defensive driving course that teaches you how long it *actually* takes to stop.
I have not RTFA (proper slashdot style!) - if it states that gaming effects different attitudes then I am all for changing my opinion.
Most of my friends are big video game players. A number of them are nutso drivers. We all used to play Mario Kart when we were 14, one friend in particular would always win. Great reflexes, totally twitch, and when he turned 16, he took to driving a real car like it was a game.
I don't remember how many cars he's crashed. He's mellowed out on the road over the years, as hyper-aggressive teen drivers tend to do when they hit their twenties, but I still get nervous when I see him near a car.
He's technically proficient with a vehicle. Yes, he can maneuver out of a tricky situation much better than I can. On the other hand, he's more likely to put himself in a tricky situation than anyone I've ever met. He would try to min-max his driving, slam on the brakes not a second later than he needed to, slow down only at the brink of an accident, and tailgate like crazy. These are all very good things to do in Mario Kart. In the highway, you've probably seen someone like him: that maniac who zooms past you when you're already going 10 over, swerves a foot in front of you to avoid rear-ending a semi, and vanishes on the horizon.
He might even drop a banana in your lane.
I don't believe in time. It's a grand conspiracy designed to sell watches.
Most gamers that I know tend to be more aggressive drivers. So no... I'd say that they aren't safer at all. At most they handle vehicles with more confidence and a greater sense of control, but there is far more to really driving safely than just being confident behind the wheel of a car.
File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
Top Gear tested this on laguna seca track back in 2005. Clarkson attempted to beat his gran turismo record of 1.41 but only made it to 1.57, and he said that the game omitted a few details of the track, and the game's physics allowed him to brake later when coming into turns than he could in real life. Video here. And since we're on the "safety" thing, you cannot press a key to restore your car on the track
Carmageddon really made me a better driver : I'm able to get a triple combo bonus when aiming an old lady, followed by a kid, then a dog.
The catch-falling-items-in-mid-air effect is actual. As a (former) avid FPS gamer, I can attest this has everything to do with it. This has brought much fun when things were dropped around friends and family. Average people don't expect someone to catch falling stuff in the blink of an eye and more often than not applauds when seeing that. Depending on the circumstances :) it could be even more fun when not catching that thing but striking an obstacle in the process, since force and momentum of this is impressive. Catching a falling dinner plate or cooking pot is impressive, but completely obliterating it in mid-air or severely denting the pot is even more - depending on the circumstances and ownership of said devices, of course :) Having experienced the speed and force of this rather involuntary action made the tales about Kung Fu at least somewhat plausible - though I was completely unable to repeat any of that consciously or in any other situation :)
As I slowly played less and less, this skill unfortunately diminished :)
Works also for sudden and critical situations in driving. Being able to estimate speeds and vectors of different objects all around the visual field helps tremendously. As does the skill to react correctly in an instant, not overreact by jerking the wheel around, keep cool (until several seconds after, at least).
And GTA works wonders for slippery road conditions, since you've trained thousands of kilometers for them without even knowing it. Steering into the slide when losing traction to let the wheels regain traction and then steering back is a skill that takes some training and guts to do it in the real world. As is knowing how the vehicle will react when suddenly drifting. Saved my hide for a few times now.
I think gaming is a double-edged sword for this. It may lead to risk-seeking or risk-increased driving, but also to much faster and more appropriate responses to sudden incidents. If you're able to keep down the urge to drive like a maniac, it will certainly increase safety because of all these hours spent "training".