Monday, March 19th 2007
Racing games increase likeliness of destructive driving decisions in the real world
German researchers have recently conducted a study to determine the effects of games that promote risky decisions on real-world driving. These researchers took a batch of subjects (both women and men), and divided them into three groups. The first group played first person shooter games, such as Medal of Honor. The second group played more calming/family-oriented games, like Crash Bandicoot. The third group played hardcore racing games such as Need For Speed. All test subjects got to play these games on a Sony PlayStation 2 on a gigantic 72" television. The results of this experiment drew parallels between racing games that promoted violent/risky decisions in the game and violent/risky decisions in real life. First person shooters and family-oriented games did next to nothing to a subject's driving ability. However, racing games did a ton to a subject's actual driving.
Playing these video games does the following things to a person's driving:
If you'd like to read the full study, please do so here.
Source:
Reg Hardware
Playing these video games does the following things to a person's driving:
- Increases the accessibility of thoughts that are positively related to risk taking.
- Leads to enhanced arousal and excitement.
- Increases risk-taking behaviour in critical road traffic situations.
If you'd like to read the full study, please do so here.
65 Comments on Racing games increase likeliness of destructive driving decisions in the real world
but i think this is because my car has a MPG meter and it kills me when it drops when i drive it fast
i drive safe coz it saves money and its more greener
everytime a car over takes mee i always meet it at the next traffic lights, if i drive fast i will only be like 3 meters in front compared to if i was driving econicaly
Remind me, what's so dangerous about driving automatic? In my opinion, it keeps you a bit safer at intersections (ever stall out in the middle of an intersection? Not fun :p).
whats rather entertaining is that the very cheapest cars are manuals, middle range auto, and high end a stick is seen as a feature..when with geo metros its the only option!
Who ever bought something like a BMW with an Automatic should be shot.
I drive a 4 spd manual and a 6 spd streetbike ;) I love manual but driving just isn't as fun in the US (I've driven in many countries).
As for this survey, it used less than 200 people so not exactly the most conclusive evidence. IMO, it's a load of crap that they're saying the games make people drive faster. The link between the two is the other way around - people who enjoy driving (fast) are more likely to buy racing games, so of course you'll get this pattern. An old granny who drives under the speed limit is hardly going to get a racing game, but an 18 year old who loves driving quick is always going to have the latest NFS.
The people that do research like this analyse it in such a narrow view, hardly any of it is worth listening to any more. It's all been moulded to suit the view of the researcher.
- easy to learn...
- cheaper on the insurance
- US roads (especially in the bay area) are heavy in traffic
- more focus on the road, less hassle...
Automatic are getting better with new technology such as tiptronic, CVT...etc...also manuals are getting better due to VW technology on clutch-less stick shift...which can be found on the new Audi R8 (nice car)...
1./ We are MORE LIKELY TO DRIVE BETTER when pushing a real-car to the limit, but
2./ We are more likely to push the car to the limit.
I think that's an undeniable fact. For non-petrolheads, who are not natural drivers, and don't have good balance, road judgement, speed awareness, etc. then they are NOT BETTER drivers at speed, i.e. Rule 1 above does not apply. Therefore if they do push their driving harder, it is most definitely more dangerous. QED.
Racing/car sims are great. After playing Need for Speed Porsche Unleashed... and loving it... I bought myself a 996. I now drive a CL600 monster. I'm out of pocket for high bucks... all due to a $20 game! LOL
I have found that most bad drivers are unaware of the limits of themselves and their car and they try to do things that are dangerous because they do not no any better. Sims can help you understand what cars can do in a safe environment and have made me a better driver. obviously the user must be aware of teh fact that most cars in games are representing high performance racing cars that will perform differently then your average road car. They can give you a good idea of what is going to happen and how to deal with it when you take a car past its limit. Really the best way to do it is to take your car to a track or a large open area that you can push your car and go over the limit to see what it can do. Then that knowledge can help you to get out of dangerous situations in real world driving.