Here’s an article on it: CLICK HERE
Study: Young Drivers Become Speed Demons After Playing Racing Games
Are racing games turning today’s youth into unruly speed demons? One study out of Britain would seem to suggest so. The report says the results are “indisputable.” Playing racing games could have a couple positive effects as well, however. (Pictured: Burnout Revenge)
Let’s forget for a moment that young drivers are generally more reckless on the road and typically like to drive fast. BBC News has reported on a new study that suggests young motorists are influenced by the racing video games they play. A thousand drivers in the 18-24 age group were questioned on behalf of British driving school BSM. BSM’s road safety consultant Robin Cummins claims that the results showed an “indisputable” link between gaming and dangerous driving.
According to the report, 27 percent of respondents said that they do indeed take more risks on the road after having played a game. And 25 percent even remarked that they imagine they are in a video game while driving for real; apparently males made this claim more often than females. [Well, there goes the stereotype that women are worse drivers! – Ed.]
“With more than 200 young people killed each year due to speeding alone, it’s crucial that they learn to ‘keep it real’ on the road,” cautioned Cummins.
Acclaim Games’ Chief Creative Officer Dave Perry (founder of Shiny Entertainment) refutes the notion that racing games can affect your real-life driving habits. “Anything that affects your emotions will affect how you drive,” he reasoned. “The guy in front, the music on the stereo…those are the things that make you speed up, not a game you played an hour ago.”
Interestingly, the study also found that there could be some positive effects on individuals who play racing games. It’s long been thought that playing video games in general can hone a person’s reflexes. 34 percent of the young drivers surveyed said that they think games can improve real-life driving ability, and 40 percent said that they think games can help to improve their reflexes. In addition, a little more than half of active gamers pass their driving test on the first try, compared to 45 percent of less frequent players.
—
– I figure if they ran a survey that asked if you drink Red Bull before driving would it affect your driving? The answer would be, sure!
– I figure if they ran a survey that asked if you just had an argument with your girlfriend before driving, would it affect your driving? The answer would be, sure!
– I figure if they ran a survey that asked if your favorite sports team just got wiped out in a game before driving, would it affect your driving? The answer would be, sure!
The survey is dumb. This list could go on and on and on.
Then you have to consider all the stuff going on in your head at that moment, in the traffic. Are you in a hurry, are you late, are you excited to see the person at the other end, are you bored and want to get the drive over with, are you listening to pumping energy music, the list can go on and on.
If there was a certain amount of people playing Nintendo DS WHILE driving, that would be a real problem. (Holding the stylus etc.)
If someone gets their driving games taken away over this nonsense, then it’s a real shame.
dp
