Study Says Gamers Are Bad Drivers

[Torrasque]

Taken risks (accelerating too quickly, passing, etc.): 44 percent to 21 percent
Suffered road rage: 45 percent to 22 percent
Speeding: 25 percent to 13 percent
Scaring passengers: 26 percent to 11 percent

I lol'd

But yeah, I can see that.
I think I am a good driver, know how to drive, but suck at driving legally.
That being said, you can generally tell who is a good driver, and who is a bad driver, by seeing how they do in a driving game.
The road rage percentage is awesome, lol.

 

[esperandote]

All bus drivers here must be serious gamers, that would explain a lot. Does crazy taxi count as a racing game? What about mario car?

 

[Wolfram23]

Hah I can believe it...
Let's see:
?Stopped by police: 22 percent to 13 percent (ME: Once for speeding when I got my last car, during the first week of ownership, and once 1.5 years later for no reason just a random check)
?Used a phone while driving: 19 percent to 12 percent (ME: Technically yes, but I avoid it at all costs. I only use it to let someone know I'm 2 minutes away so they better be ready, or else to get an address)
?Made a claim for an accident: 30 percent to 15 percent (ME: Yes, my one and only accident totalled my last car. 8 years no accidents tho until then)
?Ran a red light in past 12 months: 31 percent to 14 percent (ME: I don't think so)
?Driven wrong way down one-way street: 13 percent to 10 percent (ME: Technically no, but I did almost do it when I made a road trip to Vancouver...)
?Hit stationary object while parking: 22 percent to 13 percent (ME: hah No! Well... ok once when I was 16 and parking in an underground lot, scraped a rear fender on my parent's van)
?Kept quiet about banging into another car: 19 percent to 11 percent (Nope)
?Taken risks (accelerating too quickly, passing, etc.): 44 percent to 21 percent (Yes)
?Suffered road rage: 45 percent to 22 percent (No, but "road frustration" yes)
?Speeding: 25 percent to 13 percent (Technically yes but not really, I get passed by real speeders all the time)
?Scaring passengers: 26 percent to 11 percent (YES YES YES)
?Attempts to pass driver's test: 2 to 3 (1)
?"Prangs" in the past 12 months: 1 to 2 (...What??)

 

[dakorok]

Considering that Racing games are all about speed, I'm not surprised by this. Also, what the fuck is a "prang"?

 

[Agent Larkin]

Bah I'm a gamer and a great driver.

 

[DanDeFool]

I honestly had to suppress the urge to ram into a late-model Mustang on my way to work after a weekend marathon of Saints Row 2.

Most "Games are bad, mmkay?" studies are garbage, but I think there might be something to this.

 

[Busdriver580]

So we break more laws, but ultimately suffer fewer big accidents. Sounds like a fair trade to me.

I didn't feel like games made me reckless, i felt like " Holy shit, this is like that one game, but I won't respawn". As a result I am like super-careful all the time.

 

[hurfdurp]

But GTA taught me which way to turn the steering wheel when backing out of my driveway.

 

[CarlsonAndPeeters]

I guess the stats are what they are. However, I've always seen my driving as proof that there is minimal connection between how gamers game and how they act in real life. I was playing GTA before I could drive and I always drove like a maniac. When I learned how to drive, I did so safely, but I still drive crazily in video games.

There's just no mental connection between the two, at least not for me.

 

[WorldCritic]

Bull crap, as a driver, I'm actually more careful on the road than almost anyone else I know.

 

[dancinginfernal]

What in good God's name is a prang?

 

[Tdc2182]

Um, no.

I know everybody says they are a good driver, but I am a good driver.

The worst thing that has happened to me was a shattered mirror which was because I was operating on less than 30 minutes of sleep and the people who built my garage... suck at building garages. Every person in my family has done it.

 

[FightThePower]

EDIT: Never mind. Where's the 'delete post' button?

 

[2fish]

You see, we develop useful skills! They said so themselves! We just can't live within the constraints of your primitive road rules, MAAAAAAAAAAN!

=P Seriously though, drive safe, okay everyone? No koopa shells out the windows!

Well Saints Row and Crazy Taxi taught me to drive that is safe right?

I do wonder about details such as age/sex/how long the person has been driving, But the study says it so it must be true.

However anytime I see someone in blue I get pissed at those westside Rollerz and I start calling my team for an assult.

 

[Dooly95]

prang (plural prangs)

1. (slang) An aeroplane crash.
2. (Australian, New Zealand, UK, informal) An accident involving a motor vehicle, typically minor and without casualties.
3. (US, slang) crack cocaine.
4. In Thailand and Cambodia, a type of temple tower: see Wikipediarang (architecture).


So, by wiktionary, it could mean that by playing games, video gamers are less likely to crash an aeroplane than non-video gamers.

I can get with that. I can't say for sure I take unnecessary risks (if you're going 2x slower than the speed limit, I think I have reasons to pass you) but that's just my opinion. I can admit that I do suffer road rage.

 

[staika]

I like to think I'm a good driver but then again i did back into a stone pillar in front of my house, other than that the only thing I'm guilty of is speeding and when I'm on the highway i usually go about 80 mph and I've never been pulled over once.

 

[ckam]

I'm probably the most careful driver ever. Well, except for the drivebys, the nitros, the underground racing, throwing bananas at cars, and trying to hit boxes with my bumper...

 

[Dirkie]

I do game a bit, but i can't say it affects my driving. It took more than a year to get my licence, but that was due to personal insecurities.
The last few years i've only totalled one car (a van in front of me had better brakes).
Last month i was pulled over by the police, and they informed me that i do something about the smoke. Turns out the main bearings of my gearbox broke and all the oil leaked out.
I had three parking tickets the last 5 years, so i'm ok with that.
The advantage of gaming is developing faster reaction times or faster descision making, it could help in driving, but looking ahead and planning where you want to go also helps.


What is a Prang?
*edit* ok, i see it a couple of post before mine. Thanks.

 

[Inmate13]

This entire study was built on the blatant misconception that all gamers play racing video games... Really ask yourself that question: How many gamers, Overall, actually play racing games? Personally, I haven't played a racing game since San Francisco Rush on the 64 which, even in my pre-pubescent mind, I treated more as skillful, gravity-based, ramp-launcher game with cars and streets rather than an actual simulation of automobile piloting.

Tear down this fucking article and all the crocked-up, pseudo-scientific research behind it

 

[gigastar]

Since the study was done in the UK, I doubt it applies to me.

The UK Government and several enviromentalists have united opinions on gaming and driving. That is to say its bad. Pressures already on from the EU to cut the carbon footprint and old people are quick to blame the digital age for any problem including:
Bad driving.
Obesity.
Antisocial behavior.
Degredation of pro-social behavior.
Bank bonuses.
Unemployment.
Inflation.
Terrorism.
Gang violence.
And so on.

Given that about half of the population are people that grew up in the 50's you would see where this support comes from. Though some of them are actually justified and some are plain BS.

I have no idea why i wrote this.