Drivers in Pennsylvania between the ages of 50 and 75 will get to test out a new program by Allstate that’ll attempt to determine whether playing video games makes for better drivers. The pilot program will be open to 100,000 people who will be asked to play at least ten hours of memory-type games aimed at improving alertness. These drivers will then be compared to other 50- to 75-year olds who haven’t gone through the training, called “InSight” to see if accident rates differ.
The “brain fitness” games have been developed by a company called Posit Science, based in San Francisco. If the program works well in Pennsylvania, Allstate may roll it out to other states as well. Apparently accident rates start to creep up around the mid-sixties age range, so if these games are able to help decrease accidents in and around that age bracket, it’d likely be a worthwhile program to pursue nationwide.
[Posit Science via CNN/AP]