Video gaming and its impact on driving simulation performance: A secondary analysis of a randomized control trial

Abstract

Background: Individuals who play video games on computers and cellphones may have better psychomotor skills. It is unknown whether simulated driving performance varies between individuals who play video games more per week compared to individuals who play less. This study investigates whether initial simulated driving performance differs between high and low gamers during a brief (e.g., 10 minutes) driving simulation. Methods: Data for this study were collected at baseline during enrollment for a randomized clinical trial (n = 40). Participants playing video games for > 10 hours/week were categorized as the high gaming group; others were in the low gaming group. Each participant drove the same simulation on the STISIM M1000 simulator, which recorded various driving performance metrics (e.g., driving out of lane and time to initial collision). Data between the groups were compared using Cox proportional hazards and analysis of covariance regression models. Results: The average age of participants was 21 ± 2.7 years and 48% were male. After adjusting for age, sex, and miles driven per week, the high gaming group spent a mean 4% less time driving out of lane compared to the low gaming group (β = –4.03, SD = 1.32, p ≤ 0.05). No other differences were observed between groups for any other outcome. Conclusion: With the exception of percentage time driving out of lane, the number of hours gaming per week does not seem to impact an individual’s initial driving performance on a driving simulator. These findings may inform future driving simulation research methodology.