Better Driving Through Videogames

For some people, video games are a pleasant distraction, and for others, they’re a way of life. Whether you’re just playing Pokemon Go on your phone, or you’re the veteran of a hundred raids on hard mode in Destiny, most of the time, conventional wisdom says that video games are, at best, a pleasant distraction and nothing more. 

At worst, people over the age of 50 insist that they’re murder simulators that will train you to go to your school and open fire. It’s important to note that people over the age of 50 also still think that Twitter is something that only birds do at dawn, so let’s take that last one with a severely huge grain of salt, people. 

But one of the more surprising things about video games, in general, is that they can make you a better driver. 

That’s not such a stretch when you think about it. Some video games are simulating the real world. It’s one of the reasons why big groups like the American army and a lot of airline companies use stupendously expensive video games to simulate combat, or flying and landing a 747 at LaGuardia airport. But even when a videogame isn’t a huge, expensive, custom-built training simulator, there are still some big benefits, as one driver found out.

Virtual Training, Real Results

In April of this year, in the United Kingdom, a 21-year-old student by the name of Sadiq Rahman was driving on an English highway called the M61 during a rainstorm. He wasn’t alone, he was carrying his wife and his mother as passengers in the car. The rain was pretty severe and the road had become just slick enough that slippage was possible, and this is exactly what happened to Sadiq. He hit a puddle and the car, at high speed, began to hydroplane, meaning that the tires were no longer making contact with the asphalt on the road, and were instead “skating” on the surface of the water. Sadiq had only gotten his license three years earlier, and was in one of the most technically challenging automobile mishaps a driver can get mixed up in.

However, Sadiq had one thing on his side; years of playing driving video games. Despite not being an expert driver, at least in real life, he’d played enough driving games over the years to understand the principles of drifting, and his reflexes knew what to do. He turned into the drift rather than falling back on a knee-jerk reaction to try counter-steering out of it, and managed to regain control of the car and safely decelerate out of the hydroplaning action.

His wife was unsurprised and said that after seeing him play these types of games for years, she knew that he’d pull out of it.

Patience and Determination

One must be patient and have determination while driving, especially if you’re caught in traffic. The good thing is, playing video games enhances patience and determination. Science believes that If you have a bad temper, playing video games can make you feel better. 

Video games are structured and repetitive. Meaning, if you die, you can just restart the game over again. This will exercise one’s patience and determination to keep on trying again. A good player will keep on trying until the goal is attained. 

The same goes for driving, if a person has patience and determination, he will try his best to be a better driver.

Accurate Decision-Making

Strategy video games will increase the decision-making skills of the player under time pressure. These kinds of games are usually in the action category such as Apex Legends or Counter Strike.

Before the game starts, there will be options for the player to choose which exercises the decision-making skills of the person. Good decision-making can be applied in driving when you’re in a road situation that will need you to make a safe decision. 

High Concentration or Focus Abilities

To win in video games, you need to be focused. Being distracted when playing video games will result in a bad score or you will not be able to accomplish the tasks. This applies in the real world, too. A person’s concentration abilities will make them better drivers.

A study has been conducted about action gamers when controlling a vehicle. The results are as expected, gamers are more accurate in controlling the vehicle and maintaining a straight line. They also showed above-average concentration skills.

Degrees Of Realism

Improving driving skills through the use of video games is something that can happen at both the general public and even professional driving levels. In general terms, action-based videogames are good at sharpening hand-eye coordination, which are skills that carry over to driving. But when you play certain types of driving games, real “practice magic” can happen. Playing a regular driving game with a normal game controller can give you some peripheral driving experience.

However, today’s computers and game consoles also support full driving wheels, complete with manual gear shifts, brake, acceleration, and clutch pedals. Playing driving games this way can impart some real driving skills as the better wheel controller and more realistic driving games have real resistance and physics at work that can help people to get a feel for the road. Some people have even used driving games to ease themselves into learning how to drive manually without breaking a real car’s transmission grinding out the gears.

Professionally, some of the best drivers in the world play racing games such as Gran Turismo because they have incredibly accurate recreations of famous racecourses, such as the Nürburgring in Germany. It’s a way for them to remember and anticipate certain twists and turns in the course without needing to drive the course over and over again for practice.

A Good Balance

Of course, it’s important to remember that these are, first and foremost, games that are designed for enjoyment. They are NOT going to be a perfect substitute for real driving experience, or taking a defensive driving class or another kind of driver education course. However, playing these types of games, especially with wheels and pedals, is a way for people to get in a little practice, and even take the edge off of anxiety by getting some preparation in before stepping inside a car and taking one out for a spin in real life.

A videogame should not ever be a substitute for real driving education. But as a fun complement to one that gets in a bit of practice, you’d be surprised at how useful it proves itself to be.

Still Confused if This is the Right Traffic School for You?

Take our short quiz to find out!

>