Why I Love... Driving Legally In Games

How a relatively new, late-blooming motorist came to love obeying the rules of the road in Grand Theft Auto V.

- Dave Meikleham

About 18 months ago, I passed my driving test at the grand old age of 32. While that may not sound like a Herculean achievement, it made me appreciate how hard it is to learn a new skill in your 30s. Compared to my teenaged sponge of a brain, my current sludgy grey matter is a big ol’ sink – something that made learning to drive tough. It’s also had the bonus effect of making me take an entirely different approach to speeding around Grand Theft Auto V’s criminal city.

Actually, there’s absolutely zero speeding involved. I recently took the plunge back into GTA Online after its recent Diamond Casino update, yet it’s not the virtual slots that have me hooked. Instead, I’m revisiting Los Santos as an all-new kind of up-and-coming criminal – one who respects the stickling restrictions of the modern day Highway Code.

After a year of ponderous three-point turns, roughly 138 failed attempts to parallel park and being constantly shouted at for edging into the wrong lane on spiral roundabouts, I have a newfound appreciation for the exacting mechanics of real-world driving. Like mastering a punishing slice-and-dice action affair – see this year’s Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice – driving an actual car demands acute awareness and sharp instincts.