Does Simracing Make You a Better Driver?

A few weeks ago, an interesting debate was hot on Reddit: Has Simracing made you a better driver in real life?

We’ve seen this question many times. It doesn’t have to be from someone who already enjoys simracing, since anyone—even those outsiders who consider it childish—can be curious about the skills that simracing awakens in a person who dedicates many hours to it. Let’s get to the point.

Do you drive better?

• Short answer: Yes

Long answer: Yes, I’m much more aware of the inherent dangers of piloting a complex machine weighing over 1 ton through roads filled with other vehicles driven by drivers of varying skill levels. I’ve improved my reflexes (as much as possible) and learned to look further ahead, anticipating possible accidents or issues on the road. I also more easily detect problematic attitudes behind the wheel that can be dangerous for me or other road users. I’ve also gained awareness of unforeseen events not derived from driving itself, such as weather changes, breakdowns, potholes, signage, etc.

The benefits are more than evident. And above all, one that I haven’t mentioned above and that forms part of the overall aspect of practicing something assiduously: the generation of confidence. Turning driving into a less stressful and chaotic activity is something primordial for the independence of many people who cannot rely solely on public transportation networks.

There are a lot of testimonies, but I’ve selected some to show you the main idea:

• You realize how much of a social contract/trust it is to drive side by side when there isn’t a dotted line between you.
• It makes me better, and worse!
• I notice things further ahead and feel like I can better judge if someone is likely to be unpredictable, but damn it’s made me impatient
• Thank you bottom split for prepping me for public streets, just let the idiot by and wave at them when you drive by them in the ditch later.
• It also makes me infinitely more aware of drivers, but it also makes me realise just how shit they are.
• My situational awareness has improved significantly, and so has my ability to execute evasive maneuvers at the last second.
• The second half being that iRacing has taught me more about human behavior than anything, I drive super aware of my surroundings and I am a lot more patient on longer drives. Yeah iRacing might be virtual, but I’ve seen people commit to dumber shit on the roads than in the sim.
• Absolutely. It’s taught me not only to pay attention to the car in front, but also survey way up the road ahead as well. It’s really fascinating picking up traffic patterns and behavior once you realize what to look for.
• Without my sim racing experience and the muscle memory I’d built up, we would have ended up in the woods. So yes, sim racing definitely made me a better driver.

And if you know if this work for the real racing too, just check this video by Jimmy Broadbent: