GTA 5 Helped Me Get Over My Fear Of Driving
Grand Theft Auto 5 changed gears in a huge way for the series - it offered a first-person perspective that you could switch to on the fly. Rather than hovering about behind characters as though you’re piloting a drone, you can see the world through their eyes. It’s not a 1:1 in terms of accuracy, but it’s far more fluid and realistic than third person, and it’s more than just a neat option to have. It’s also used to practice driving, giving it a real-world application. But for me, it was helpful for overcoming my fear of driving, not for learning how.
I’ve not always been terrified of getting into a car. It’s something that came about when I was 14. We were on a typical school run, taking a left out of our drive onto the countryside road as we always did. But it was a chilly winter morning with black ice coating the narrow, one-way road. We quickly lost control of the car, swerving around before hitting a tree head-on. I was knocked out and woke up to my brothers screaming in the back while my mam’s head was practically through the window. It was a scarring experience, and made getting into cars terrifying.
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Then I found a release in GTA 5. The first-person perspective felt realistic enough that it would make me uneasy. Driving cars in-game gave me the same emotional response as getting into an actual car, and that clicked something for me. Often, I’d drive around normally, obeying traffic laws, doing the usual ‘bored while playing GTA’ shtick. It helped me come to terms with simply being in a car doing everyday things. I’d practice with the mundane so that I could get used to it again.
At any moment, I could flick to another camera perspective or turn it off.
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