THE USE of internet-based computer games to teach learner drivers how to handle vehicles, while also demonstrating concentration skills, may be introduced here under a “new media” approach being pursued by the Road Safety Authority (RSA).
Chief executive of the authority, Noel Brett, confirmed yesterday that the RSA was looking at a range of games available on the internet, which he said he hoped could be deployed later this year.
One such game, "road tested" by The Irish Times– with mixed results – involves the user taking a simulated drive through an urban area while taking a call on a handsfree mobile phone, and collecting points for spotting pedestrians in different coloured t-shirts.
The “Driving Challenge”, which is hosted on the website of the Department for Transport in the UK, looks simple enough. Participants are told that at some time during the test the handsfree mobile phone will ring and a woman’s voice will be heard. Every time the woman asks a question, the participant must hit the space bar on their keyboard.
Next, participants are told that pedestrians wearing different coloured t-shirts will cross the road. Each t-shirt colour is worth a different number of points and the total points must be calculated while driving and listening to the woman on the phone.
While it sounds simple enough, the Department for Transport said that just 19 per cent of participants pass the test.
A complicating factor is a large rabbit which crosses the road among pedestrians, and waves, but most participants fail to see it. Those who do, we are told, are not paying attention to what they are supposed to see. The game concludes with the warning that, even if you use a handsfree mobile phone, you are four times more likely to crash than someone who switches their phone off while driving.
According to Brett, the games are a fun way of attracting the attention of a younger audience. “We try to get our message across in as many ways as possible. We are in nightclubs and discos and are now looking at what is called ‘new media’,” he says. “We would hope to have something launched in 2009.”
For those who can’t wait, the website of the UK test is dft.gov.uk/drivingchallenge