That'll be the day; try to get your car insured and you have to check off a little box that indicates what types of video games you play.

But the Allianz Centre for Technology conducted a study where the habits of virtual drivers were compared to their real world performance behind the wheel. It turns out that poor video game motorists actually make bad motorists in real life. Those who don't pay attention to the virtual road are more prone to getting in accidents on actual roadways.

The study surveyed 198 man and women and showed that those who played virtual driving games tended to drive aggressively in these games. When 68 of the men were studied, researchers found that right after playing a driving simulator, they took more real risks behind the real wheel after wards.

But to be fair, the real driving wheel in question was attached to a high end driving simulator, and not to a console or PC gaming system. But virtual drivers do take more risks, which can carry over to real world habits.

This study however failed to take some big things into account. For one, video games allow us to take risks without suffering the consequence of such. Except of course for our digital avatars. May the rest in peace. And that operating a real motor vehicle is far different than  poking some buttons on a controller. There's far more stimulation when behind the wheel of a motor vehicle, and our brains acknowledge that, so we preform with some measure of increased responsibility.

I doubt studies like this will have any real world impact. If they do, then I'd hate to see what would happen if experience with Grand Theft Auto does to ones insurance rates. What about that time I played Gran Turismo 4 after eight beers? Would that count towards poor driving habits?