Do racing games negatively affect driving habits?

[GoldenRivet]

When i was 23 years old i played Nascar Racing 4 like it was going out of style (i guess because it was going out of style)

At the time, i can say most assuredly that it did in fact negatively affect my driving habits.

Its hard to notice it until you step back and take a look, but you catch yourself trying to get away with 10-15 mph over the speed limit constantly, or on an S-Turn on the highway when other cars are not around i would hug the insides of the turn not reducing my speed.

I think the age and experience level of the person playing the racing game has a lot to do with how easily influenced they are by it.

now with 9 more years under my belt, I'm not so susceptible to such influences.

I think if a person were to study the driving habits of 18-24 year old males... for a 6 month period without any video games - then study their driving habits for a 6 month period while playing at least one or two hours of racing games per day the results might be surprising.