causes reckless teen driving

Study Links Video Game Play to Reckless Driving Among Teens

By Timothy Bussey on September 19, 2012

Playing certain types of video games may increase the chances that a teen driver will take careless or reckless chances on the road, according to a recent study.

The study followed 5,000 U.S. teens over four years. The teens were interviewed each year, asking questions about their video game play and their driving habits. The first interview revealed that 50 percent of the teens regularly played “mature”-rated video games. One of the most popularly-played games was Grand Theft Auto III, in which reckless driving wins points.

A year later, teens’ driving records were examined in a second interview. Researchers found that the number of teens pulled over by police for careless or reckless driving maneuvers nearly doubled, from 11 percent to 21 percent. They also found that the number of teen drivers reporting car accidents went from 8 percent to 14 percent.