Study claims gamers make worse drivers

Have all those hours spent casually smashing up your car in Burnout or falling off Rainbow Road in Mario Kart affected your real-life driving skills? Yes! According to who? Science, that’s who.

A poll of 2000 motorists commissioned by Continental Tyres reveals that those who game are crappier drivers than those who don’t. The study, which questioned drivers aged between 17 and 39, found that gamers are twice as likely to run red light, run red lights, make insurance claims, and generally misbehave on the roads.

On the flip side, gamers statistically suffer less prang damage, and do pass their driving test quicker (though not in my case: after sixty-five hours of lessons, I gave up – to my eternal shame, that’s actually true).

“It seems that while gamers develop useful skills and are more confident, they need to apply some balance with a sensible assessment of risk,” tooted Continental’s Tim Bailey. “Playing computer driving games means good concentration levels and improved reaction times, however, they can take more risks than non-gaming drivers, possibly due to the lack of real consequences in games.”

As a gamer, I want to defend my brothers and sisters, but that does make sense. Also see aforementioned anecdote about me being inept in a car.

[Via Edge]