There is nothing quite as exhilarating as driving a car. Riding with the windows down, wind in your hair, sunroof open, and Spotify playing your favorite tunes is close to heaven. No matter what your Zodiac sign, the feeling of freedom is incredible!
To experience that freedom, however, requires learning how to drive a car. Some people are taught by their parents or go through a driving school with a teacher and two other students in the back seat. My emotional Scorpion mother made an attempt to teach me, but almost immediately recognized I should learn from a professional instructor.
Little did either of us realize that simulated driving games (such as City Car Driving on Steam and Driving Essentials on PlayStation) were available as great learning tools.
As with anything, there are pros and cons to these games and we’re going to discuss them below.
PROS:
- To become “road aware” requires a lot of practice. Hours upon hours of practice. That’s why the Zodiac signs of Capricorn and Virgo are often considered the best drivers because they are diligent and self-motivated. Since an adult has to be in the car with you to practice, that means you have to wait until someone is available and willing to ride with a novice rider. Driving games allow you to practice whenever you want and you’ll start to get the feel for the rules of the road in no time.
- Driving simulators are less stressful. When physically driving a car, an error in judgment could result in an accident and that’s pretty nervewracking. Gemini and Pisces Zodiac signs are especially nervous when learning to drive. A simulator allows you to experience a plethora of driving situations without risking your life—or the adult riding with you.
One of those situations is speeding; a simulator will show exactly what losing control of the car while speeding can do. It will detail what happens when you overcorrect to try to gain control of your vehicle. These are important skills best learned on a simulator. The thrill-seekers of the Zodiac, Aries and Sagittarius, best pay heed!
- Driving games also offer imperative insights into something as simple as braking. When you’re learning, you don’t realize how quickly things happen based on the weather. The simulator will allow you to go back through your game so you can see when you should’ve started braking in a snow or rain situation.
- With a simulator, “game over” is merely a chance to start another game. Not so in real life.
CONS:
- No driving game can give you the 360 degrees feeling of being in a car. Full vehicle simulators (such as CarSIM and TruckSIM) come close—but they each cost over a million dollars. Those are the type of simulators UPS uses to train their drivers. Consequently, for those in the average consumer price range, there is nothing equal to driving a real car for the real experience.
- There is something that some adults, mostly seniors, experience. It’s called “simulator sickness,” a condition that can result in light-headedness and nausea (much like car sickness). Most younger adults have had more exposure to video situations and don’t tend to experience this simulator sickness.
- Real-life comes with real distractions. The air signs of the Zodiac, Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius, especially have to keep their wits about them. I’m a Libra and have more than once seen a cute dog on a leash and almost rear-ended the person in front of me. Leos are distracted by any attention paid to them and sometimes don’t see the light turn red. A simulator just can’t equal real-life distractions.
- Interestingly, there hasn’t been much data collected on the efficacy of driving simulators. Whereas extensive data has been gathered regarding aviation simulators and they have proven to be beneficial. Considering that City Car Driving was developed in 2007, and Driving Essentials in 2019, you’d think there would be vast amounts of data but there just aren’t. With the ever-present interest in astrology, I would’ve thought they could break down simulator driving data based on your Zodiac sign by now!
CONCLUSION
Driving games aren’t meant to make you road-ready. They’re a fun and informative way to learn the basics on a virtual platform. They provide hours and hours of entertainment while learning the rules of the road. They do not, however, substitute for getting behind the wheel of a real car, no matter what your Zodiac sign. Accidents in real life don’t come with a reset button.