Are You An Aggressive Driver?

Posted by Robert Janelle Mar 25, 2007

I paid my way through journalism school by delivering pizzas. One night I drove into a new subdivision, which had recently had manholes put in. Marking these new manholes were large orange and black striped pylons scattered around the street.

Upon seeing this scene, I knew immediately what I must do.

Backed up my black Volkswagen Jetta just behind the first pylon. Popped out the clutch and slalomed between the large cones, completely spinning out on the wet road at the end of the course.

Was it reckless? Yes. Aggressive? Oh yeah. Would I do it again? You better believe it!

According to a study by German researchers released last week, my bad driving can be chopped up to playing Gran Turismo.

The researchers (from the Allianz Center for Technology and Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich) surveyed 198 men and women about how willing they are to take risks while driving. Those who played racing games said they were more likely to drive aggressively and be involved in accidents than those who didn't.

However, this does raise a question: does playing racing games cause aggressive driving or are aggressive drivers more likely to play racing games?

The study continued. According to a Reuters article about the study, the researchers had 83 men play either a racing game or another type of game. They found those who played the racing game admitted to having more thoughts about risk-taking than those who played the other types of games.