Car crash news
10/02/2011

Computer game players may be more at risk of a car crash

A survey by a tyre company has revealed that motorists who play computer driving games are more likely to have a car crash, drive through a red light and take other risks which could lead to a personal injury road accident, compared with non-gamers.

Continental Tyres asked 2,000 UK drivers, 1,000 of whom regularly played games such as Need for Speed and Grand theft Auto, about their driving habits.

Looking at their insurance claims records, among the situations where the gamers could be more likely to have a vehicle accident, were everyday manoeuvres. They were also said to suffer from more road rage and be stopped more often by police.

Non-gamers considered those who spent hours in front of a console or computer were over-confident on the road and might repeat their virtual driving methods in reality.

Safety expert for the tyre firm Tim Bailey said, "Playing computer 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 consequence in games.

"The most important issues for driving safely are concentration, an appreciation of road and vehicle conditions and an awareness of potential risks.
 
"Clearly, driving games can develop these skills but that has to be balanced – driving on public roads is never a race."

The potential for non-gamers to cause a car crash was also assessed with this group revealing that, compared with the gamers, they took one more attempt on average to pass their driving test and had caused twice as many minor road accidents in the year prior to the survey.