Playing Video Games Makes You a Terrible Driver It seems that Science (Science!) is not content with just accusing video gamers of being violent sociopaths; a new survey suggests that drivers who play video games are more likely to be terrible drivers. The survey, conducted by Continental tyres found that players of racing video games were more likely to take unnecessary risks, get more tickets and fines, and have more accidents than their non-gaming counterparts. The survey polled 2000 people, split evenly between gamers and non gamers.
Video gamers are terrible drivers: Study A UK study has claimed that people who spend their spare time playing driving video games prove to be more dangerous when put behind the wheel of real cars. The research was carried out by British tire manufacturer Continental Tyres, based in West Drayton in Middlesex, southeast England, according to IGN. Researchers said that players of driving games like "Gran Turismo" or "Grand Theft Auto" are liable to take their onscreen tactics with them into the real world, suffering from a higher tendency to run red lights and attempt risky overtaking moves. Ultimately, they are more likely to crash.
Gran Turismo 5 Can Wreck Your Car - PS3 News at IGN People who spend their spare time playing driving games prove to be more dangerous when put behind the wheel of a real car a report by Continental Tyres claims. The report – picked up by this morning's edition of London's free tabloid Metro – claims that players of games such as Gran Turismo are liable take their on-screen tactics with them into the real world, suffering from a higher tendency to run red lights, attempt risky overtaking moves and ultimately are more likely to crash. It was also noted in the report that players of driving games would rate their skills higher but would still make more insurance claims than others. "Gamers take more risks than non-gamers, possibly due to the lack of real consequences in the game," commented Tim Bailey, safety expert at Continental Tyres. Ever been buoyed by an extended session of Gran Turismo 5 or Forza 3 only to end up binning the family saloon soon after?
Study: Games Teach People How to Drive... Badly Flying around the virtual track so quickly that your whiplash gets whiplash may make you feel like a one-man Hollywood car chase, but, well, that might not be such a good thing. A recent study – which polled 1000 gamers and 1000 non-gamers – found that those who've wielded a gamepad in one hand may as well have been swinging a double-edged sword with the other. In terms of risk-taking behaviors, gamers' penchant for throwing caution to the wind was very nearly terrifying. 31 percent of gamers said they'd run a red light in the past year compared to only 14 percent of non-gamers. Meanwhile, 45 percent of gamers said they'd given into driving's dark side and let road rage consume them, while goodie-goodie non-gamers clocked in at 22 percent. Across the board, gamers simply reported taking more risks: speeding, getting stopped by police, scaring passengers, using the phone while driving – you name it. But that's not the end of the story.
Game players are more reckless drivers - study Racing game players are more dangerous drivers than those who don't play games, according to new research conducted on behalf of Continental Tyres. Zoom Having quizzed 2,000 motorists (half gamers, half non-gamers) between the ages of 17 and 39 on their driving habits, the firm found that gamers take greater driving risks - and pay for them - much more frequently than non-gaming drivers. How accurate the findings are is up for debate, but they're pretty damning, as you can see below, courtesy of Jalopnik. Study: Racing games help players learn to drive... just not safely, Need for Speed SHIFT PS3 News According to a new study from British tire manufacturer Continental Tyres, people who play videogames are more likely to pass their driving test. However, that might not be a good thing - the study also shows that they're also more likely to end up in a wreck. In the study, which polled 1000 gamers and 1000 non-gamers, more people on the gamer side said they have been in a crash. They also took the higher score in all of these categories:
New Study Says Video Gamers Are Terrible Drivers - Mobile Xbox 360 A new study conducted by British tire manufacturer Continental Tyres, based in West Drayton in Middlesex, southeast England claims that people who spend their spare time playing driving games, such as Forza Motorsport 3, prove to be more dangerous when put behind the wheel of a real car. The study polled 1,000 gamers and 1,000 non-gamers between the ages of 17 and 39 about their driving habits, and researchers discovered that video game drivers are more likely to crash, speed, be pulled over by the police, run a red light, or take more risks than people that dont play driving video games. Also in the report it was noted that players of driving games would rate their skills higher but would still make more insurance claims than others. The study did show that people who played driving games did pass their driving test in less attempts than those who didn't play driving games.
Gamers Make Dangerous Motorists Today’s Metro reports that ‘Playing driving games on consoles makes people more dangerous in real life’, citing research carried out by Continental Tyres. Strangely, I can’t find any mention of this ‘news’ on the Metro web site or the Continental Tyres press site but it is in the print edition of Metro, page seven, top left corner. According to Metro, ‘Fans of titles such as Gran Turismo and Grand Theft Auto are more likely to crash when they get behind the wheel. They also have a higher tendency to try risky overtaking moves, run red lights and suffer road rage.’ Oddly, Continental Tyres do not make any inference that playing Grand Theft Auto makes you want to beat prostitutes to death, surely if their research shows that driving in GTA influences you in real life then it is logical that every aspect of the game will determine how you behave?
Do Games Improve Real-Life Driving Skills? If you have a friend or relative that is an avid gamer, you’ve probably heard the claims that computer games help to improve their driving skills. It could seem like a believable remark. They are in a safe environment, with games that are so realistic in terms of the physics of the car and the virtual world. Maybe games with cars in them could help drivers? Well according to a study conducted by Continental Tyres, these claims are wrong.
Do racing games make us bad drivers? : Online Race Driver Posted by DanThornton on January 31, 2011 · 1 Comment Apparently games like Gran Turismo and Grand Theft Auto make us more likely to crash, run red lights, try risky overtakes and suffer from road rage, according to research by Continental Tyres. The research was quoted in UK free newspaper Metro, and unfortunately there’s no sign of the article, or any further information, on either the Metro or Continental Tyres website, but Continental Tyres ‘Safety Expert’ Tim Bailey was quoted as saying:
Video Games Teach Us How To Be Better Bad Drivers - Kotaku @Snufkin: Same with attempts at passing the driving test. I dunno how hard the test is in the UK, but I'm not sure how anyone could fail the test I took. 2 accidents a year, no matter how minor, is a lot. @Snufkin: It does look like the percentage statistics simply imply that gamers are more willing to take risks, but not end up getting in a wreck, whereas the statistics for number of "prangs" make it seem that non gamers are less likely to take risks while driving, and MORE likely to get in wrecks. @freedomweasel: I have some sympathy for the high failure rates on tests.
Driving Games Can Make You a More Dangerous Driver I distinctly remember getting behind the wheel of my cherry 1990 Pontiac Bonneville back in the day, shortly after a long session of playing Driver for the original PlayStation game console. I quickly realized that my nerves were still on edge and, on the real road; I became fearful of my ludicrous desires to pull off the driving antics I had just taken part in on the virtual road. According to a recent study, these feelings aren't exactly a rare occurrence and, no big surprise; statistics say fans of racing games are usually more dangerous when putting the real pedal to the metal. British tire manufacturer Continental Tyres (Ha!