Are racers more realistic in the arcade than at home? Usually, thanks to the built in steering wheels and 
pedals that are far more realistic and less clumsy to handle then you generally see with home setups. But any of us that drives a vehicle and plays arcade racers can confidently say that playing a game is quite a way off from the real thing. That didn’t stop a 9 year old boy from taking his family car for a spin after “watching dad and playing at the video arcade”. Fortunately the boy wasn’t hurt and he didn’t hurt anyone else, which is quite a feat considering that his height didn’t give him any advantage in driving. Strangely, the police warned the parents to “look after their car more carefully in the future” (emphasis mine) – I would think that they would say that about the kid since it’s not like it was the car that decided to take the boy for a spin!
This did make me think about my own son though – he is two and he absolutely loves cars and he especially enjoys arcade racers. Every time I bring him to the store, he wants to play our Tokyo Drift racer and makes me throw in a couple of dozen credits so he can race. He also gets mad if he sees someone else sit down to play the game when he isn’t playing and has even thrown a fit or two when someone is playing “his game.” It’s a hoot but I know it will be fun making sure that he understands that he can’t take the wheel until he is old enough to drive.
