Study: Racing games may spur risky driving

[Schnoogs]

People who play car racing video games may be more prone to drive recklessly and get into accidents, according to a study that adds to evidence that video games can influence the behavior of some players.

The study by German researchers published on Sunday examined the effect these games, featuring realistic driving environments with players often racing through city and suburban traffic, affect people who play them.

Full article can be found here (http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/03/19/virtual.racing.reut/index.html)

I can only speak for myself but I love racing games with a passion and I've only received one traffic ticket my whole life despite having had a license for over 15 years now. I've been in one accident and it was because someone turned without looking. Hardly conclusive but I've managed to minimize Grand Theft Auto style driving successfully ;)

[wezlypipz]

Sadly, I agree with this. I played Crackdown all night last week and on the drive to work in the morning, I was more aggressive and I took more risks. I'm not saying it's this way for everyone, but games affect me slightly.

[Gorvi]

Here's a tip : Playing Burnout Legends on the PSP while waiting at traffic lights on your way to work is not such a good idea. :p

[nemyhlovecraft]

I had two accidents and a speeding tickets before I played any racing games and haven't had any traffic violations or accidents in a while. It would be pretty specious to say that racing games have caused me to be a better driver, but on the converse its just as much a fallacy to say that they could make anyone a worse driver.

[grandepolloloco]

I play grand theft auto quite often (seems like its the cool thing to blame GTA so why not) and I tend to flip or roll my car atleast twice a week.. but its cool cause I just beat some old lady and take her car right afterward

[UnderHero5]

Am I just having massive dejavu or was this already posted like a week or two ago?

Edit: I was thinking of this newspost http://www.evilavatar.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26386&highlight=racing

I've played racing games for as long as I've played videogames (my whole life) and I'd say I'm one of the better drivers out there. I don't speed. I don't cut people off. I try to be courteous to other drivers. Always use my blinker, etc.

If this is true, then it's true that violent games make people more violent. Can't have it one way without the other. So which is it?

[Kamalot]

I think this is fairly common knowledge. They don't MAKE people drive recklessly, but they may spur someone to take more risks while driving than they would have had they never been exposed to games.

[Camel]

Besides just driving recklessly, I've been known to throw turtle shells at people while I'm driving too.

What do you have to say for yourself now, video games?

[wyeast]

How are they certain that it's not that the "risk taker" is more attracted to playing the driving games in the first place, rather than the game somehow evilly turns you into a reckless machine? Without long term study it's jumping to conclusions.

[Tennistoad]

I disagree,, After playing in a few nascar2k3 season leagues. I believe I'm a much better driver and drive more cautiously.. That is untill 2 laps to go and then granny's getting bumped outta the way.

[stoosh95]

I gotta say it totally depends on the game ... After playing GTAIII or Carmegeddon? It totally negatively affects the way i drove.

However: after some hours in Gran Turismo or a Formula 1 game, where the physics of driving is much more accurate, i actually find it positively affects my driving.

btw ... wait at least 1 hour before driving after you play carmageeddon ... that is one evil game.

[KingGorilla]

Am I the only person here who plays racing games drunk?

[menage]

I always want to jump on Mushrooms when I see them.

[Arphahat]

After the GTAIII came out, I noticed that my thoughts would occasionally turn to the driving behavior I learned in-game. At red lights, for instance, I would consider just passing all the stopped cars and going through the light. Or, driving across medians or on the sidewalk as being OK. I never drove that way, of course, but I did make a connection that was creepy.

[jpublic]

I don't disagree with this study, but I'd like to see them examine the triggers for each person - some people will have different ones. For example,I can play PGR3 or Crackdown or whatever all day, and I go out and drive quite calmly, but you dump some of the *songs* from them that I identify with driving and I'm fighting Speed Racer inclinations.

[NoName]

I could have sworn this has been posted as news a week or two ago.

Anyways, while I agree with the article, I think movies like Fast and the Furious cause more of a problem.

Of course, no one will complain about movies but if it's a video game...

[mulligan]

I've been racing for a few years now, never had an accident (street or track), never had a ticket, never had an officer stop me (he can't catch me anyway) and I've been playing racing games as long as I can remember, but, that's not er.. 100% true, the music in NFS:MW and GT4 that I have on my stereo is another thing, It's kinda hard not to jam the throttle when "Blood and Thunder" or "Moon over the Castle" comes up.

[Johan]

I've had enough tickets across enough states that, confined to one state, I would have lost my license. During that period of excessive speeding, I was under the influence of a coffee habit that I couldn't kick.

I'm suing Colombia. They're exporting legalized crack, and it cost me $$$ in tickets. Screw them; they're in for it now!

[Xenkylm]

How are they certain that it's not that the "risk taker" is more attracted to playing the driving games in the first place, rather than the game somehow evilly turns you into a reckless machine? Without long term study it's jumping to conclusions.

That's a very good point. The other thing to remember is that it's notoriously difficult to recreate a realistic "driving scenario" in a lab space, because simulators are inherently divorced from the same negative outcomes as real driving. It's entirely possible that the results could be rephrased as "Drivers who play video games are more likely to treat a simulator like a video game."

[Laughing_Penguin]

Back when Crazy Taxi was still in the arcades, my girlfriend (now fiancee) would refuse to let me drive after one of my marathon sessions with that game. I'm not sure how it relates to this study, but I definitely felt the urge to pull off some less than safe stunts after an hour or so sitting behind the virtual wheel. I really miss that game, need to break out the Dreamcast again.

[Hive]

Of course, no one will complain about movies but if it's a video game...

Sadly, it's mostly true.

Granted I've only been driving for a few years, I've still only been in one "freak" accident(with an inanimate object) and not a single ticket. However I've been exposed to cars, racing, games and the like since I was an infant. But there's a friend of mine, who's exposure to the subject was no different than my own, who has totaled 3 cars and been in at least 5 accidents if I had to guess, and I won't try his tickets.

I'm not saying I don't drive a little "crazy," but I make judgments based on the circumstances, for example, weather, traffic, area and time of day, just to name a few. So I feel there's a line where the driver's common sense comes into question.

[Smoof]

I've crashed one car and received two speeding tickets. The crash happened because I was being an idiot and not paying attention at all and one ticket was because I was hammering it on my way to school and the other because I was tired.

But, I don't think we're talking about violations you've been fined for. I think it's more of a "Holy crap, I've just done something really stupid." I've had plenty of those in the past and as of late, since I've started taking my car to the race track, those have completely disappeared from my regular driving.

As far as video games? No, probably not. Males being more aggressive drivers, yeah, I can see that.

[The Continental]

That's a very good point. The other thing to remember is that it's notoriously difficult to recreate a realistic "driving scenario" in a lab space, because simulators are inherently divorced from the same negative outcomes as real driving. It's entirely possible that the results could be rephrased as "Drivers who play video games are more likely to treat a simulator like a video game."And to think a group of published German researchers were unable to derive this conclusion. This study is completely flawed for the exact reason you mention.

[Xenkylm]

And to think a group of published German researchers were unable to derive this conclusion. This study is completely flawed the exact reason you mention.

I would be shocked if the actual JEP:Applied draws the strong conclusions that the CNN.com article does. The researchers are, I'm sure, well aware of this problem. Their study is barely mentioned, but the implications take up the whole page. Pop-science articles are the last place you'll find an accurate portrayal of science ;)

There are lots of ways that gamers are different from non-gamers, either by selection biases or actual modification of behavior. This kind of research gets VERY expensive, though, because the best kind uses real driving (insurance companies, like Liberty Mutual, do really good research because they have open driving environments with real cars).

Simulators are tough because it's hard to objectively measure "risky" performance. Is it speeding? Well, simulators (and driving games!) are notorious for feeling "too slow." Is it lane-shifting? Most simulators don't give haptic feedback, so you have fewer cues to keep yourself on track. The moment you try to define "risky driving," you have to battle against the limitations of your simulator.

[Loganrapp]

No different than movies.

Think people drove slow after watching The Fast and the Furious?

Hell, I did some odd shit just after watching Ronin.

[Borthcollective]

If anything don't most racing games teach us how to drive better. We don't have that many arcade type racers anymore, everything is about control.

I don't think my ability to kill zombies has gotten any better, so I claim shenanigans. Seriously if you think pushing XYBA, triggers, bumpers, joysticks, blah blah blah, has any affect on your real world life, please seek help.

[Xenkylm]

Actually, on the JEP:Applied website they have this article for free. That's probably how the Reuters person found it, since he/she doesn't seem to have read past the abstract (which is quoted in the article. bad!). If the reporter had read the end of the paper, he/she would have found the part where they talk about the potential limitations of the study.

The authors mention the exact problems we have with the study, as they should (and as most researchers do). These kinds of studies have limitations, and if you don't write about them in your paper, someone else will. It's better to admit you have problems in your study, than seem like you were too dumb to notice them.

I hate pop science.

[Johan]

I just have to say, if you're STUPID enough to drive like you're in a video game, you're just plain STUPID, and video games cannot be blamed.

Idiots are everywhere. Really. They're coming out of the walls, all over the place...

I think there's a study that confirms that. It's called "graduation rates for American high schools in the past ten years."

[TheFlyingOrc]

Here's a tip : Playing Burnout Legends on the PSP while waiting at traffic lights on your way to work is not such a good idea. :p

Neither is owning a PSP. OH SNAP

[cppcrusader]

I've never had a racing game affect my driving. Although, after a long session of Burnout I would find myself seeing the angles to cause a wreck. Not necessarily a bad thing though as it raises my awareness and probably helps my reaction time.

[Gorvi]

Neither is owning a PSP. OH SNAP

Oh no you didn't!

/snaps fingers 3 times.

Oh, it's on now! :p

[Smoof]

Just coming home from a short drive, I realized something: Games don't make me drive aggressively. When I have a song on that really gets me pumped or I'm into it, I tend to drive faster and more aggressive. I JUST noticed this...

I mean, I knew about it previously, but I just remembered, or really payed attention today.

[TheFlyingOrc]

Just coming home from a short drive, I realized something: Games don't make me drive aggressively. When I have a song on that really gets me pumped or I'm into it, I tend to drive faster and more aggressive. I JUST noticed this...

I mean, I knew about it previously, but I just remembered, or really payed attention today.

I hate when I get really into a song, and then realize my speed has increased some 20 MPH when I was already speeding. I'm going to get pulled for that sometime.

[neblig]

I attribute playing video games to actually saving me from some car accidents. I live in California where people drive so recklessly (compared to every other place I have lived in the US). Almost every week I have to react quickly to avoid some jerk who does something crazy like swerving into my lane without warning. If it weren't for the sharp reflexes and quick reaction times I gained from playing video games all my life, I'm sure some of those near misses would have resulted in accidents.

[Johan]

If it weren't for the sharp reflexes and quick reaction times I gained from playing video games all my life, I'm sure some of those near misses would have resulted in accidents.

Perhaps playing video games has so dulled your senses and reflexes that you're having more close calls than you would have otherwise? Thus making it seem as if your reflexes are actually somehow helping you, when in fact the opposite is the case?

/half empty...half full? :D

[Thenetcase]

I have a hardcore passion for racing games. I own dozens of racing games dating back years. I have owned and worn out over 10 racing wheels. I currently have my favorite racing wheel of all time mounted firmly and permanently to my desk (ACT Labs rocked).

I have NEVER received a traffic citation (not even when I drove up a one-way street the wrong way in front of a cop).
I try to be a very safe and law abiding driver ... there is no reset button in real life. :)

So this is only as much of a fact as people's maturity and chance lets it be.

*knock on wood*

[jwbxx]

Studies show that these studies that relate video games to violent or sparatic behavior are bull shit.

See you guys didn't have to pay 200,000 dollars and waste 4 months to figure that one out.