“Indisputable link” (?!) between driving games and driving faster

Driving games recipie for driving disaster? Oh please, when will this ever end? - Image 1Oh for Pete’s flying sake…

BBC reports on a little thousand-man survey conducted by British driving school BSM that shows what they, BSM, claim is an “indisputable link” between playing driving games and then driving faster and harder. (We’ve been here before, haven’t we?) Here are the results from the BSM survey which prompted that “indisputable” comment:

  • 27% of motorists ages 16-24 admitted to more risk-taking on the road after a gaming session;
  • A quarter of the drivers said that they felt like they were in a racing simulation while driving for real;
  • 34% of respondents thought that racing games “can improve real-life driving ability”;
  • Two in five respondents (around 40% of the pool) thought that games “improve reflexes” (which is, in any case, a real-world driving skill, too);
  • And just over half the regular gamers pass their driver’s test for the first time, compared to only 45% of infrequent (or non) gamers.

In a critical reply to this survey, acclaimed games designer David Perry said that it’s not the gaming before the driving that mattered, but the emotions behind the wheel that dictate the driver’s fate. “Anything that affects your emotions will affect how you drive. 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.”

Of course, the BBC said that Perry is currently working on a driving game (hmm… guess it’s not the “Top Secret Project” then). But you know what? We’ll just go back to what we said a while back, and agree with Perry: if you can’t amp down, don’t rev up (yeah, it used to say “gas up”, but “rev up” is more relevant). You’d be surprised how many of the best racers in gaming and real-life can be ice-cold analytical behind the wheel – they have to be to maintain their edge.

And one more thing: indeed, gaming can help improve reflexes, and (if designed well) even introduce the uninitiated to some of the basics concepts of driving. Still, driving games are no substitute for driver’s ed.

Driving games recipie for driving disaster? Oh please, when will this ever end? - Image 1Oh for Pete’s flying sake…

BBC reports on a little thousand-man survey conducted by British driving school BSM that shows what they, BSM, claim is an “indisputable link” between playing driving games and then driving faster and harder. (We’ve been here before, haven’t we?) Here are the results from the BSM survey which prompted that “indisputable” comment:

  • 27% of motorists ages 16-24 admitted to more risk-taking on the road after a gaming session;
  • A quarter of the drivers said that they felt like they were in a racing simulation while driving for real;
  • 34% of respondents thought that racing games “can improve real-life driving ability”;
  • Two in five respondents (around 40% of the pool) thought that games “improve reflexes” (which is, in any case, a real-world driving skill, too);
  • And just over half the regular gamers pass their driver’s test for the first time, compared to only 45% of infrequent (or non) gamers.

In a critical reply to this survey, acclaimed games designer David Perry said that it’s not the gaming before the driving that mattered, but the emotions behind the wheel that dictate the driver’s fate. “Anything that affects your emotions will affect how you drive. 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.”

Of course, the BBC said that Perry is currently working on a driving game (hmm… guess it’s not the “Top Secret Project” then). But you know what? We’ll just go back to what we said a while back, and agree with Perry: if you can’t amp down, don’t rev up (yeah, it used to say “gas up”, but “rev up” is more relevant). You’d be surprised how many of the best racers in gaming and real-life can be ice-cold analytical behind the wheel – they have to be to maintain their edge.

And one more thing: indeed, gaming can help improve reflexes, and (if designed well) even introduce the uninitiated to some of the basics concepts of driving. Still, driving games are no substitute for driver’s ed.

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