Virtual rev-heads take their need for speed from the lounge room and apply it out onto the roads, creating a generation of aggressive, risky drivers, according to German research. Even after playing just one virtual racing game men took greater risks in critical traffic situations on a computer simulator, they found.
Extending prior findings on how aggressive virtual-shooter games increase aggression-related thoughts, feelings and behaviours, researchers at Munich’s Ludwig-Maximilians University and the Allianz Center for Technology found that of 198 men and women, those who play more virtual car racing games were more likely to report that they drive aggressively and get in accidents. Less frequent virtual racing was associated with more cautious driving.
Textron Marine & Land, an operating unit of Textron Systems, a Textron Inc. company, has been awarded a $2.8 million contract with the U.S. Marine Corps Systems Command to build four Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles. These initial military vehicles will be delivered within 60 days for comprehensive testing. The Government may order up to 4,100 MRAP production vehicles for the Marines and other services. Several other companies were also awarded contracts to build their test vehicles.
Alternative-fuel engines of different sorts all suffer from one major drawback or another: poor range, hard-to-find filling stations, high cost, poor performance.