After the long awaited announcement of GranTurismo's release date, I decided to fire up my racing rig (wheel and pedals) and play some Fortza 3... While I was playing my dad walked into the room and to my own surprise started lecturing me about how this would negatively effect my driving "in real life",( I got my license a week ago). He says that this would only confuse me and because I spend more time with the game, than behind a wheel, my instinctive reaction in a critical situation would be to do something I do in the game, rather than what I should actually be doing. I disagree, because first of all, I consider myself a safe driver, and secondly Fortrza is a pretty good driving sim (still GTR-2 FTW!!!) but I do see where my dad is coming from. I was wondering what the community thinks of this...

Remind him pilots train on simulators.  Though I wonder what he would think about a Need for Speed game :)

Dude Gran Turismo 1-3 taught me how to drive.

burnout taught me how to drive.... and so did mario kart.. but mostly burnout. 
 
honestly i play a decent amount of racing sim or arcade and i know how to drive like everyone else (im 16 and got my license about 3 months ago) just as long as you dont think its a game then your fine.

they are only "driving sims" if you drive on closed courses with high powered cars, I have yet to see a decent game where you have to obey traffic laws and shit. It's a game just like any other...I've been driving for hella long with a clean record and I play Forza a bunch.

" Dude Gran Turismo 1-3 taught me how to drive. "

Its not about everyday driving... Im talking about critical situations ex. icy road and you are skidding of it into a ditch. ex2. an animal unexpectedly jumps out of nowhere, do you swerve and regain control or slam on the brakes. Im talking about subconscious, instantaneous, reactions (reflexes) which are developed by  "driving sims" , and will those reactions work out in real world.
Mosdl made a good point that pilots use sims to learn how to fly, but those are some high tech rigs, and I did hear that some F1 team has made something similar to that with full feedback etc... But that is some high tech/budget equipment and is WAY over more advanced than Forza for ex.

" Im talking about subconscious, instantaneous, reactions (reflexes) which are developed by  "driving sims" ... "

I have been playing Gran Turismo for more than half of my life. Weather or not it has helped me become the driver I am today is debatable. Studies would have to be done to prove if games like GT or Forza help or not. But in my case I have never had a crash, although there have been a few close calls which I believe were avoided thanks to action on my part. I also think that the fact that I drove a motorcycle for the first couple years of having my license helped me develop the good senses required to avoid dangerous situations, cause yo, car people are out to kill motorcycle people for some reason (driving a motorcycle is like being invisible).

There's always Test Drive Unlimited if you want to drive in a more "realistic" enviroment. I've yet to complete any races/missions other than the "take this vehicle to this destination without damage" missions because I really, REALLY like just driving around the island and taking in the scenery  (and take one of the bikes out for a spin when I want to go really fast and reckless.). The ordinary traffic in that game adds so much to the experience.

I would have to respectfully  disagree with your dad on this one. Anytime I drive a car in quick, unsafe conditions, my sim racing skills help contribute to the controlling of the car. These sim racers are getting so close to mirroring true physics, that it almost provides gamers with the skill of real driving. Of course there is still the recklessness that these video games may create when it comes to driving in real life, but I don't believe they necessarily do such a thing. I believe it is the same as if I were to play Counter Strike; I am not going to kill anyone, only because I like the game. But like you, I can see where your dad is coming from-- I just don't necessarily agree.

It's unfortunate that there are no studies done on this sort of thing.