One study (of other studies) comes to an interesting conclusion: playing racing video games improves certain things that have an impact on actual driving.
Playing racing video games makes you a better driver! Science says so!
Ok, that’s a rather simplified view of the situation, but a study was recently conducted that came to exactly that conclusion.
At the British University of Anglia Ruskin published a research paper by author Rathna Bharathi Seetharaman, which investigated the impact of playing driving / racing games on real-world driving skills.
The research was conducted as systematic analysis of 13 previous studiesof which nine focused on the comparison of gamers and mere mortals, and four were interventional studies with coaching through games. The driver’s license was analyzed skills of keeping the vehicle within the lane, reaction speed, avoiding collisions, etc.
You can read the entire paper here, but to cut a long story short – the conclusion is that playing driving video games can get measurably better driving skills. It is stated that the data indicate that playing driving video games improves attention while driving, visual-motor coordination, information processing speed, reaction time and spatial perception.
Of course, it doesn’t mean you’re a good driver if you drive well in video games. The author of the analysis notes that the research determined only short-term improvements (based on 8-10 hours of “training” driving in video games) – there is no data for a long-term effect. In addition, no links were found between virtual driving and the improvement of skills for risk assessment, self-regulation and adaptation of one’s own driving abilities.
So keep in mind – if you were the champion of the street scene of Rockport in NFS Most Wanted, it does not mean that you should drive like a savage in reality. As the actress Josie Maran warned us long ago – racing is a game, and drive safely and responsibly on the streets!
