New XBox game aims to help teens become better drivers

RICHMOND, VA (WWBT) - If you’re worried about your teenager getting behind the driver’s wheel, there’s a new game to help them become better drivers.

The XBox Game called Driving Essentials XE promises to teach your teen to drive safely.

The game claims to be “a complete training curriculum which teaches your teen driver to learn and refine critical skills essential to safe driving… all in the safety of your home.”

Alex Warnick, a teenager about to learn to drive, recently gave the program a test run.

“All right, so this is where your training begins,” sounds the program, explaining the tools in the car, like mirrors and turning signals.

“We’ll start on this test track and practice some basic skills before we get on the road," it chimes. “Start by looking around your vehicle ... It should look something like this. Then set the side mirrors as far out as you can. But where you can still see the side of your car. Go like this.”

The game shows the driver how to adjust the mirrors to eliminate blind spots, stop at a stop sign, parallel park, and drive with awareness.

“Yeah, that’s one reason why a car has mirrors," the game says. "If you set them correctly, you can eliminate many of those blind spots. Here. I’ll show you.”

“The first time I drove I went like 20 mph under the speed limit” said Warnick.

He says he did learn some rules of the road from the game.

“It’s one thing to learn the rules of the road on paper or in class," said Jennifer Warnick, Alex’s mother. (Jennifer is a photographer at NBC12 who helped with this story) "But when you can actually see it and do it yourself … and have to think about all those little things that go together, it’s going to produce a better driver.'

The game costs $39.99 for the XBox One.

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