Speed Kills, Not Video Games
Published February 01, 2006
Last Tuesday night, January 24th, a wealthy and exclusive residential neighbourhood in Toronto, Canada was witness to an event that's growing in popularity among North American teens: street racing. Nobody might have paid any undue attention to the two Mercedes Benz cars travelling at 140 kmh (90 mph) in a 50 kmh (35 mph) zone save for the fact their actions resulted in the death of a local cab driver.
One of the two cars smashed into the taxicab with such force that it folded the vehicle around a utility poll. Adding to the poignancy of the case are the discrepancies in status between the teenaged defendants and the victim of the event. While the young men are the progeny of affluent families, the late cab driver had been working as a cabbie for the last six years in order to afford to bring his wife to Canada. He was due to be sworn in as a Canadian citizen on Friday, February the 3rd and had been expecting his wife to able to join him shortly after.
The young men have been charged with criminal negligence causing death, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death, and failing to stop after an accident causing death. They are currently out on bail of $50,000 a piece and living under numerous restrictions including being prohibited from driving.
A case like this doesn't need any distractions from the details of the actual events. It has already been complicated enough by the sentiments aroused concerning the circumstances of the deceased. But media outlets have begun to muddy the waters further by focusing on the fact that a certain video game was found in the front seat of one of the two cars being raced.
"Did Need For Speed Kill" was the headline the following day in the Toronto tabloid The Toronto Sun and was also the theme of many a talk radio call in show. In other words did the fact that these two young men had obviously played this game at some point have any bearing on the death of the cab driver?
In the article linked above, Scott Colbourne of The Globe and Mail answers with a qualified yes. Mr. Colbourne writes a weekly column for the newspaper on matters relating to online and computer media and examines them within the context of our overall society and culture.
Here is my personal answer: Of course it did. Video games are now part of the wider culture, just like movies, books and car magazines, and our culture sends out some very contradictory messages about the use of vehicles as playthings ... The idea that driving fast means something — that there's a real need for speed — is deeply ingrained in society. We have speed limits, but a car's monetary worth is partly based on how much it can surpass those limits, on how many horses it has under the hood ... Scott Colbourne, The Globe and Mail Tuesday January 31/06.
Richard Marcus is a long-haired Canadian iconoclast who writes reviews and opines on the world as he sees it at Leap In The Dark and Epic India Magazine.
- Speed Kills, Not Video Games
- Published: February 01, 2006
- Type: Opinion
- Section: Gaming
- Filed Under: Gaming: News, Culture: Society, Culture: Media
- Writer: Richard Marcus
- Richard Marcus's BC Writer page
- Richard Marcus's personal site
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Gee, I don't feel guilty about owning and driving a car. I admire nice cars, and I wish I could afford to have something swankier than my Dodge. But I don't worship cars, as you seem to imply when you say "we are all guilty..." And I have never scored any coolness points by having a slick car. I don't care what people think about my status. I know what it is. My car gets me from A to B when I need to go from A to B. That's it. I drive about 20,000 miles per year. What do you suggest as an alternative? I feel about as guilty about this incident as I would about some kids going on a GTA-inspired shooting spree on account of me owning a copy of Civ III.
Interesting article.
Great article gypsyman. The cop did say it was ironic. At least he has his head on strait.
Steve - NFS: Most Wanted is so worth the purchase.
It's like blaming the video game, not the gun company, when someone shoots up a classroom. Apparently, the item that killed someone has no bearing on the events.
Fun read Gypsyman.
Odd - I just finished Quake4, but don't feel the slightest inclination to pack up my arsenal and start blowing people away. Could it be that only a 24 karat doofus carries what he did in a game into the real world?
I've heard stories from parents who won't let their teens ride in another teens car. Why? Because that teens parents thought it would be cool to buy them a
To quote a friend of mine who when asked about the game Dungeons and Dragons being a devil worshipping game - "I almost never kill my parents."
Just wait till Dungeons and Dragons online hits. Some kid will cast a fireball spell at some other and wipe out a McDonalds. I can see the headlines already! Unfortunately the culprit behind most of these tragedies (imho) is just plain poor parenting. "I make 150k a year and can afford to buy my kid a fast car and every new toy he wants." well thats great but do you spend time with them? And I don't mean on the couch at the same time watchin a movie! I mean do you KNOW them...as a person? who are they... what do they like...DO THEY HAVE A FIRM GRASP ON REALITY! Admittedly sometimes it's not bad parenting but a simple "slipped through the cracks" thing but... I guess what i'm saying (long-windedly) is that parents need to step up and take some responsibility for the minds their action or inaction help form. Kid killed himself? Must've been rock/games/movies. Just once I'd like to see someone stand up and say "I guess I should have been more involved...noticed more...or just plain paid attention!" Sorry for the rant.
Well, what if you do spend time with your kid and find the answer to your question, "DO THEY HAVE A FIRM GRASP ON REALITY", is "No"? What do you suggest then? What do you do when you learn your 15yo son is a wacko?
I don't know if "spending time" with your kid helps keep him from being a lunatic -- some people are just born to be crazy. But if you do spend time with them, then at least you'll know he's a nutcase before it comes as a complete surprise.
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this totally reminded me! I have to pick up the new need for speed for XBOX! Thanks!