Game developers have been making racing games ever since the birth of video games. We have seen games like Need for Speed, Midnight Racer, Gran Turismo, Moto Racer, Forza Motorsport and many more. But according to a new research, it has been revealed that people who play racing video games actually play a negative role. People who play racing games make worse drivers.
Quite recently, polling company Censuswide conducted a poll in which they spoke to 1,250 drivers. The study was commissioned by Carwow which is an online car-buying platform based in Britain. They found that people who play racing games are more likely to be involved in accidents or be fined for driving infractions than non-gamers.
Censuswide also found out that a fifth of the participants admitted to transposing driving maneuvers learned in video games into real-life practice. These maneuvers mostly included speeding, while others included drifting, hand braking, and burnouts.
Furthermore, 26 percent of the people had two or more speeding convictions as compared to drivers who’ve never played these video games.
Gamers who play racing games quite often were found to have been involved in an accident 1.3 times more on average than compared to 0.6 times for all drivers.
A spokesperson for Brake, a charity dedicated to improving road safety, told The Telegraph:
“Those drivers who admitted to trying dangerous moves from video games whilst actually driving are taking risks with their fellow road users lives. Any driver tempted to try a move from a video game when actually behind the wheel needs to know that in reality, their actions can have serious consequences. There is absolutely no justification for any driver trying these dangerous moves on our roads, putting people’s lives in danger.”
Neil Greig, Director of Policy and Research at motoring charity IAM RoadSmart, said: “Most young men overestimate their ability because they suffer from a lethal mix of bravado and lack of experience.
“If anyone thinks that driving in virtual reality can ever replace the real thing then sadly it will end badly in court or in hospital.”
Even though the research is quite interesting, it doesn’t mean that racing games should be blamed for all road accidents and bad behavior. Racing games have existed for decades and cars have existed way longer than that and so have bad drivers.
Accidents happen due to mistakes, not video games. Road rules and guidelines exist for a reason which is to minimize the risk of accidents that happen on the road. If we simply just follow these rules, the chances of an accident happening drop down considerably.
As always, drive responsibly, wear your seat belt, and follow the rules of the road.
