Video Racing Games May Spur Risky Driving 428
kiwimate writes "A study concludes that people who play car racing games may be more likely to take risks and drive aggressively when driving in real life.
According to the article, "The study appeared in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, published by the American Psychological Association"." Just because after I play Grand Theft Auto I want to ram other cars does not mean I'm a worse driver. Honest.
Not just games (Score:5, Interesting)
Of course one could still bring up the cause->effect arguement, as it's unclear as to whether or not people drive like idiots due to game/movie influence, or people who drive like idiots like those types of games/movies.
Its True (Score:1, Interesting)
This is unusual, but plausible (Score:5, Interesting)
I'm a keen driver, and a strong advocate of road safety, so I've looked at a fair bit of the research that's available. Most variables that have been found to affect driver attitude are based on something that is happening while they're actually in the car: things like tiredness, drink and drugs obviously have an effect, but so do things like the type (actually, speed) of music you're listening to. (Some groups of drivers also generally exercise better judgement regardless of the immediate circumstances: to find out who, take a look at what counts for/against you when your insurance premium is worked out!)
Then again, perception of speed is also affected by recent experience: think how slow it feels when you come off a high speed road into a town, even if you're doing the limit around town, and compare that with how that limit feels when you're just starting driving and already in town. That's perception rather than attitude and judgement, though.
So while the conclusions here seem plausible, they're also a bit unusual. I saw a story very similar to this a few days ago in the UK media. Anyone know if these are all the same thing, or there's a recent research trend generating several sets of results in quick succession?
Re:Who plays racing games? Teenage boys? (Score:5, Interesting)
I was judged "not at fault" in the accident, and praised for paying attention in driver's ed...
Re:Who plays racing games? Teenage boys? (Score:3, Interesting)
After playing SOE's PlanetSide [sony.com] for a while, I was driving through a parking lot one day and reflexively swerved to avoid driving over an oil stain (a dark spot on an otherwise mostly clean parking lot).
In Planetside, mines are not visible until you are close to them. If you are driving at full speed, you usually cannot stop fast enough to avoid them. The best you can do is to not drive right over them, which reduces the damage.
In the parking lot, I came around a row of cars and there was this dark spot that looked like a mine. It took me a while to stop laughing, and later that night my entire outfit was laughing at me when I told them about it.
Anyone remember Road Rash? (Score:1, Interesting)
I admit it... (Score:1, Interesting)
Why do you think nascar racers play games to learn tracks? Maybe all the recent collisions in nascar can be blamed on video games? Doubt it, but maybe?
Re:Ridge Racer (Score:3, Interesting)
Hell...I've been driving that way WAY before they ever came out with racing video games....that's the fun of having a 2 seat sports car, or muscle cars with powerful engines.
I'd dare say the radar detector is more of a driving force than the video game. I don't even look at the speedometer till I hear the Valentine One [valentine1.com] go off....
What constitutes good driving? (Score:3, Interesting)
Nearly everyone thinks they are a better than average driver. They aren't.
Bad drivers have certainly been around long before video games. Hell, I'm sure there were Roman charioteers who yelled at other charioteers, "Learn to drive, ya moron!" That does not in any way imply that video games do not contribute to reckless driving. RTFA, the experiment was well designed.
Re:Arrg! (Score:1, Interesting)
A "formal driving simulator" is just another type of video game. Make it a game and give CA$H for driving safely while obeying the law in the simulator. Let us see then who walks away with more money.
It seems kind of silly to deny ... (Score:3, Interesting)
How and how much it will affect us are debatable, but the standard Slashdot denials seem a bit naive.
good point (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:It's all about GTA (Score:3, Interesting)
And that, of course, is the key issue. Jack Thompson, et al, want to regulate what everyone can do, based on the small percentage of people who apparently can't handle the fine distinction between fantasy and reality.
It's all part of the increasing tend towards nanny-stateism, and in my opinion a direct product of many people's lack of faith in the ability of other people around them. If you think that everyone around you is an idiot unfit to make decisions for themselves, it's easier to rationalize giving control over everyone's lives up to some jackbooted Authority Figure.
Re:It's all about GTA (Score:2, Interesting)
It's worth noting I prefer racing sims over arcade racers--I.e. Live for Speed instead of Need for Speed.
On the other hand, I wouldn't say I'm an excellent driver. My attentive abilities are dismal--I can't talk to people in the car, even passengers, because I start failing to notice people stopping in front of me. I miss exits all the time, and I back into signs getting out of parking spaces. But none of this can really be connected to video games--it's just me.