Could driving video games have any impact on real-life driving? That’s the question asked by the online platform Auto Trader, which conducted a survey of 1,000 drivers aged 18 and above who spend more than four hours a week playing driving video games.

The results of the survey are intriguing: Auto Trader reports that racing game players tend to be better drivers than non-gamers. In fact, 41% of gamers surveyed felt they had excellent driving skills, compared with just 13% of non-gamers.

Gamers are also more self-confident on the road, with 56% claiming their gaming experience has had a positive impact on their real-life driving, notably by improving their reaction time and spatial awareness.

And their beliefs appear to be supported by the figures: gamers tend to have fewer penalty points on their driving licences than non-gamers. Only 15% of gamers have ever received penalties for their driving behaviour, compared with 28% of non-gamers.

These findings could be attributed to how video games encourage greater alertness and reflexes in users, developing their cognitive functions to a greater extent.

“Video games seem to have a greater potential for overall cognitive enhancement as they involve processing various types of information and adapting strategies dynamically and in real time,” according to one research on the subject.

However, Auto Trader’s study found that players of such games tend to adopt more dangerous behaviours on the road, such as using a mobile phone while driving. A quarter of gamers surveyed have been penalised for this offence, compared with just 4% of non-gamers.

On the other hand, non-gamers tend to be fined more often for speeding (85% vs 71% of gamers).