A new study has found more than half of the motorists polled believe that dangerous driving is being fueled by video games played by youngsters.

The survey of 1,000 drivers by Young Driver, found that 47% of motorists believed that video games such as Grand Theft Auto and Forza Horizon were warping the view of young people when it came to actual driving on UK roads.

Concerns were raised that these sorts of games had the effect of making poor driving look ‘cool’ to young people, with 40% sharing this view. But it wasn’t only video games which were the problem, according to the poll. A third (33%) said skewed views of acceptable driving were also being taken from TV shows and movies.

Movie representations of driving rarely succeed in showing the consequences of driving dangerously according to 39% of respondents, while 29% felt that films such as The Fast and the Furious were responsible for influencing the views of young people when it came to driving.

60% young people said that watching driving scenes in films made it look far easier than it is in reality.

Quentin Willson said that more research has to be undertaken to look into any links between reckless driving and gaming “We don’t know the effects that games like Grand Theft Auto and Need for Speed have on teen attitudes to road safety simply because the research hasn’t been done yet.”.

“But at Young Driver we see every day that if you catch pre-teen kids who haven’t yet been corroded by the glorification of bad driving in films, on TV and through gaming, they’re much more receptive to road safety messages.”

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