A visitor plays a racing car simulator video game during the first day of the Madrid Games Week dedicated to professionals in Madrid on October 16, 2014. The video game fair will be open to all public from October 17 to 19.
Numerous experts claim that racing video games, also known as "video racing games" (VRGs), are linked to dangerous driving behaviors in real life.
Among them is the CEO of the Australian Road Safety Foundation (ARSF), Russell White. Here's what he said during a recent interview.
Are Racing Video Games Linked to Dangerous Driving Behaviors?
The Drive interviewed Russell White regarding the influence of VRGs in real-life driving behaviors. The ARSF executive warned younger people that virtual racing simulation accidents are not comparable to real-life driving risks.
"I think part of the next generation road user can potentially be desensitized to video games," explained White.
"Having said that, some of the realism and simulation can be extremely life-like, but we have to be extremely careful with the dilution of the risks associated with driving," he added.
Russell further stated that younger drivers, especially those who are just starting to learn, need to remember that driving accidents don't have a reset button unlike in video racing games.
In 2020, a study discovered that there's a significant positive correlation between racing games and driving behaviors.
According to the study titled "The effects of video racing games on risk-taking in consideration of the game experience," which was published in the NIH journal, people who consume risk-glorifying media tend to engage in risk-tolerant driving behaviors.
Involved experts said that the rise of super-realistic VRGs also creates a perception that driving in the real world and racing cars at high speed have no negative consequences, just like in video games.
Meanwhile, those who played neutral racing video games (games that don't promote speeding, swerving, and other dangerous driving behaviors) are likely to have neutral driving habits in real life.
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VRGs Correlation to Risky Driving Still Questioned
An attendee plays a racing video game featured on a Samsung Electronics 57-inch Odyssey Neo G9 ultra-wide screen display during a media preview ahead of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) of Las Vegas, Nevada on January 3, 2023.
Although many studies support the idea that video racing games and driving habits are correlated, other researchers deny this argument.
Dr. Max von Sabler, the Director of MVS Psychology Group, said that some literature claims there's a positive correlation between playing car games and risky driving habits.
But, he also admitted that there are other studies proving that dangerous driving and video racing games have no relationship at all.
Experts behind these studies explained that people are smart enough to differentiate between the real world and video games.
However, Dr. Sabler, who is also a clinical psychologist, clarified that correlation is not equal to "causation."
This means that VGRs don't cause risky driving behaviors, but these games can influence the behaviors of drivers.
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