Video Games Improve Driving Skills

Video Games Can Help You Drive

By: Coral H.C.

“Look ahead!” the monotone voice echoed out of my tv. While growing up I played video games like most kids; I had adventure games, fighting games, and, yes, car racing games! You might not think so, but my race car games gave me beneficial tips to become a safe and sound driver. It all started when I got behind my bicycle’s handlebars and realized my video games’ advice helped me bike better. When riding a bicycle, it is elementary to put your chin down and look at what is right in front of you on the ground. You might think there is a crack in the road or a bump that you need to see, but when focusing on the ground right in front of you, it is easy to lose your balance or even crash into something. The trick is to put your chin up and look ahead.

When we look ahead, we can see the bumps and cracks in the road approaching from our peripheral vision or also called side vision. According to DriversEd.com, “Safe driving depends on your ability to notice many things at once” (2021). It is actually harder than it seems, but by moving our gaze up and ahead, we can see our full surroundings and concentrate better on the task at hand; bicycling, driving or playing race car games. Sometimes I have to remind myself to look ahead, which is one reason why I think video games can help because they do remind me while playing the games.

The particular race car video games that I played were a version of Gran Turismo on my home system and Need for Speed Underground at my local arcade. Gran Turismo was not only a great way to look at cool cars and race friends, but the game spoke helpful advice. When the “daft punk” voice spoke out of the tv, it would say to look ahead at straightaways and right after making a turn. To look ahead out of turn is a handy tip that I use while bicycling or driving. See, it is easy when turning to look at the turn, what’s right in front of you but pushing your chin out of turn and putting your eyes up is a conscious movement. It takes practice of friendly reminders, but it helps a lot.

At my local arcade, I was on the top charts of my favorite race car game, Need for Speed Underground. It was a small place called Starbase One, but it was one of my favorite places to go, and I would often see classmates there. Whenever I had friends over I would ask if they wanted to walk to the arcade and race me. Need for Speed Underground gave me different driving skills than my home game Gran Turismo. The obvious comparison is that all I had was a tv and a hand remote at home, but at the arcade, I was in a driver seat, had gas and brake pedals, and a steering wheel! This was pretty darn close to actually driving.

In the arcade, the race car game Need for Speed Underground had no helpful voice, just a vibrant colored tv screen, and hip hop or rock music bumming out of the driver’s seat headrest. The game was different from my home game. There were different courses and different cars but somehow, that robotic voice still echoed in each turn and straight away to look ahead. I was good but more importantly, I had fun, and I learned how to drive from these video race car games.

Later in my life, I became a professional mountain biker. I won the California State Mountain Biking Championships in 2006 and 2007. I believe I owe some of my skills to those race car video games that I played growing up. I worked hard physically to race, but there was always that 80s computer voice telling me to look ahead. It was when I would be going around a turn and then remind myself to move my eyes. It is a real movement that is needed and a focus. Who would think that so much of driving is about where we put our eyes? Some would think it is where we put out hands and steer the steering wheel, which is relevant but I think most important is where we look. Where we look is where we go. So if there’s one thing I can tell you that I think will improve your driving it is to look ahead.