VR Virtual Driving Game: Reinventing the Traffic Rules Learning

Panorama

Jiaxian Li

Tsinghua International School, Daoxiang Lake, Beijing, China

Keywords: Virtual Reality, Driving Simulation, Traffic Rule Learning, Safety Education, Immersive Training.

Abstract: In recent years, road traffic accidents have occurred frequently in China, and the traditional driving safety

education model has been difficult to meet the actual demand due to the problems of single form and poor

training effect. To cope with these challenges, this study builds an innovative driving simulation safety

education system with the help of virtual reality (VR) technology, combined with the theory of man - made

traffic accident factors. Based on the Unity3D engine, the system builds a virtual scene based on real road

data and realizes traffic flow simulation by using SUMO, which highly reproduces the driving environment

and behavior with VR technology. Through the collision detection mechanism, the system sets up violation

triggering conditions, adopts customized screen space rendering method to simulate the driver's vision, builds

image - based 3D panorama of the accident scene, and cultivates safe driving habits from the cognitive and

perceptual perspectives. After actual testing, the system can conduct driving simulation and safety training

under different roads, weather and traffic conditions, effectively stimulating the user's enthusiasm for learning

and enhancing the awareness of driving safety, which is of high practical value and in line with the conclusion

that VR immersive training is more effective in enhancing the user's participation and knowledge memory. In

the future, with the continuous innovation of technology, this kind of system is expected to play a more critical

role in the field of traffic rules learning.

1 INTRODUCTION

In modern society, the number of automobile

ownership continues to grow rapidly, and road traffic

safety problems are becoming more and more

prominent. In China, the high incidence of traffic

accidents has become one of the social concerns.

These accidents not only cause a large number of

casualties and property losses, but also have a serious

negative impact on social harmony and stability.

According to relevant statistics, the number of

casualties caused by traffic accidents remains high

every year, and the economic losses are huge.

Traditional ways of learning traffic rules, such as

classroom theory teaching and static graphic

publicity, have obvious limitations. These methods

lack interactivity and interest, and it is difficult for

learners to transform the knowledge of traffic rules

into safe behavior in actual driving, resulting in

unsatisfactory training results.

https://orcid.org/0009-0003-3430-2007

With the rapid development of science and

technology, virtual reality (VR) technology has

emerged. “Song et al. state in ‘Application and

Prospect of VR Technology in Automotive Industry’

that VR technology has achieved significant results in

automotive design and production training (Song,

2023). Its application experience and development

trend in the automotive industry provides a reference

for the development of VR virtual driving game in the

field of learning traffic rules, which helps to promote

the innovation of this game in technology and

application mode .” With its unique immersive and

interactive features, VR technology opens up a new

way to learn traffic rules. VR technology can create

highly realistic virtual environments, allowing

learners to experience various traffic scenarios as if

they were there, so that they can understand and apply

traffic rules more intuitively. Taheri et al. pointed out

that VR driving simulation can effectively measure

driver behavior and characteristics (Taheri et al,

544

Li, J.

VR Virtual Driving Game: Reinventing the Trafﬁc Rules Learning Panorama.

DOI: 10.5220/0013701700004670

Paper published under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

In Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Data Science and Engineering (ICDSE 2025), pages 544-549

ISBN: 978-989-758-765-8

2017), which provides strong support for the

application of VR technology to traffic rule learning.

People can see, in previous studies, there has been

literature pointing out that traditional driver education

methods have difficulties in transforming knowledge

into actual driving skills, which makes it difficult to

meet the needs of realistic traffic scenarios. At the

same time, some studies have emphasized the

potential of VR technology in the field of education,

arguing that it can provide a more vivid and

interactive learning experience. There is also

literature that analyzes existing VR driving

simulation games and finds that although these games

have made some progress in scene simulation, they

still need to be improved in terms of the depth of

traffic rule education and the evaluation of their

effects.

Therefore, this study aims to explore how VR

virtual driving games can reshape the learning mode

of traffic rules, and ultimately achieve the goal of

reducing traffic accidents by strengthening learners'

understanding of and compliance with traffic rules.

Specifically, this study focuses on the following

key elements: exploring the unique advantages of VR

virtual driving games in traffic rule learning

compared with traditional learning methods;

exploring the methods of designing efficient VR

virtual driving games to achieve efficient traffic rule

learning; and analyzing the challenges and limitations

of this new learning method in the process of actual

promotion and application.

Based on the Unity3D engine, the system builds a

virtual scene based on real road data and realizes

traffic flow simulation by using SUMO (Hu et al,

2022). Jin et al. (2024) pointed out in ‘Research on

automobile virtual simulation training platform based

on VR technology’ that when constructing virtual

scenes based on VR technology, Unity3D engine can

effectively integrate multiple resources and optimize

scene details. This provides technical support for this

paper to utilize this engine to build virtual driving

scenes, further verifying the feasibility of this method.

Which highly reproduces the driving environment

and behavior with VR technology. Through the

collision detection mechanism, the system sets up

violation triggering conditions, adopts customized

screen space rendering method to simulate the

driver's vision, builds image - based 3D panorama of

the accident scene, and cultivates safe driving habits

from the cognitive and perceptual perspectives. “The

virtual reality-based simulation training method and

system for power plant safety driving proposed by

Southern Power Grid FM Power Generation

Company (2021) in A virtual reality-based simulation

training method and system that employs similar

collision detection and scenario simulation

techniques for power plant safety driving training.

The application of this patented technology provides

a practical reference for the functional design of the

VR virtual driving game in traffic safety education in

this paper, and verifies the effectiveness of these

technologies in training scenarios.” After actual

testing, the system can conduct driving simulation

and safety training under different roads, weather and

traffic conditions, effectively stimulating the user's

enthusiasm for learning and enhancing the awareness

of driving safety, which is of high practical value and

in line with the conclusion that VR immersive

training is more effective in enhancing the user's

participation and knowledge memory. In the future,

with the continuous innovation of technology, this

kind of system is expected to play a more critical role

in the field of traffic rules learning. “Kiran et al. (2024)

in ‘Accelerating autonomous vehicle safety through

Real-Time Immersive virtual reality gaming

simulations’. immersive virtual reality gaming

simulations to enhance autonomous vehicle safety.

The simulation techniques and ideas in this study

provide a reference direction for VR virtual driving

games to achieve more realistic and efficient

simulation in traffic rule learning, which helps to

further explore the potential of VR technology in this

field.

To explore these issues in a comprehensive and in

- depth manner, this paper first conducts a systematic

review of related literature. By sorting out the current

status and research results of VR technology in

education, especially in the learning of traffic rules,

the hotspots and shortcomings of the current research

are clarified. Then, the research methods used in this

study are elaborated in detail, including case analysis

of existing VR virtual driving games, user experience

research, and data collection and analysis methods.

After completing the data collection and analysis,

specific research results will be presented and an in -

depth discussion will be conducted with these results.

The discussion will include the conclusions,

innovations, shortcomings of the study, and the

outlook on the future research direction.

2 THE IMPACT OF VR DRIVING

GAMES ON

TRANSPORTATION

VR virtual driving games are revolutionizing the way

traffic rules are learned. Traditional methods of

VR Virtual Driving Game: Reinventing the Trafﬁc Rules Learning Panorama

545

learning the rules of the road, such as classroom

lectures and static pamphlets, have long been plagued

by a lack of interactivity and limited engagement. In

contrast, VR virtual driving games offer a dynamic

and immersive experience.

These games create highly realistic virtual driving

environments that approximate real-world scenarios.

For example, they can accurately reproduce the

layout of city streets, including traffic lights,

crosswalks, and other vehicles. Highways and

mountain roads can also be faithfully reproduced,

including the unique challenges each road condition

presents, such as high-speed traffic on freeways and

sharp turns on mountain roads. This allows learners

to experience different driving conditions first-hand,

far more effectively than simply reading about them.

In addition, VR virtual driving games incorporate

elements such as weather changes and day/night

cycles. Rain, snow, fog, and glare all affect real-life

driving conditions, and these games can simulate

these effects. The day/night cycle further adds to the

realism, as driving at night requires different skills

and awareness of traffic rules. By experiencing these

variations, participants can better understand how

traffic rules apply in different situations.

The interactivity of VR games also plays a crucial

role. Learners are not passive recipients of

information; instead, they actively participate in the

virtual environment. When they violate traffic rules,

the game can provide instant feedback, such as

warning sounds or pop-up messages. This real-time

feedback can help learners correct their behavior and

reinforce their understanding of the rules. In addition,

the ability to freely navigate the virtual world and

make driving decisions gives learners a sense of

agency, making the learning process more engaging

and memorable.

VR - based learning models for traffic rules

learning are still in the early stages of development.

Currently, most VR virtual driving games integrate

traffic rules into the gameplay in a rather basic way.

They typically present traffic rules as simple

instructions or tasks, such as "stop at the red light" or

"yield to pedestrians." However, this approach lacks

depth and fails to fully utilize the potential of VR

technology.

A more effective VR - based learning model

should be grounded in educational psychology and

cognitive science theories. For example, the

constructivist theory emphasizes that learners

construct knowledge through their experiences. In the

context of VR - based traffic rules learning, this

means creating scenarios where learners can actively

experiment with different driving behaviors within

the boundaries of safety and observe the

consequences. For instance, in a virtual intersection,

learners could be given the opportunity to test

different ways of yielding to other vehicles and

pedestrians, and then reflect on how their actions

comply with traffic rules.

Another important aspect is the use of

gamification elements. Incorporating rewards, levels,

and challenges can make the learning process more

motivating. For example, learners could earn points

for correctly following traffic rules, and these points

could be used to unlock new driving scenarios or

vehicles. Levels could be based on the complexity of

the traffic situations, starting from simple scenarios

and gradually progressing to more challenging ones.

Furthermore, the VR - based learning model

should consider the individual differences of learners.

Piaseczna et al. in Driving Reality vs. Simulator: Data

Distinctions, provide an in-depth analysis of the data

differences between driving reality and simulators

(Piaseczna et al., 2024). It was found that simulators

fall short of reality in terms of physical simulation and

driver physiological feedback for certain complex

driving scenarios. This reveals that we need to pay

attention to these differences when utilizing VR

virtual driving games for traffic rule learning in order

to better translate game learning into real-world

driving .”Some learners may be more visual, while

others may prefer auditory or kinesthetic learning.

VR technology allows for the customization of the

learning experience to meet these different needs. For

example, visual learners could benefit from more

detailed visual cues in the virtual environment, while

auditory learners could have additional voice - overs

explaining the traffic rules.

3 RESEARCH APPROACHES

AND LITERATURE INSIGHTS

Research Methodology and Literature Review: This

study synthesizes a variety of research methods to

comprehensively analyze the application of VR

virtual driving games in the learning of traffic rules.

In the case study section, several representative VR

virtual driving games on the market are carefully

selected, and analyzed in depth from multiple

dimensions, such as the architectural design of the

game, the ingenious integration of traffic rules, and

the feedback of users' actual experience during the

game. Through the detailed study of these cases, we

not only summarize the advantages of the current VR

virtual driving games in enhancing user participation

ICDSE 2025 - The International Conference on Data Science and Engineering

546

and simulating real driving scenes, but also excavate

the problems in the depth of rule education and

interactivity design, etc. We corroborate the results of

these analyses with the subsequent analysis of the

literature in order to have a more comprehensive

understanding of the current situation in this field.

In terms of user experience research, a

combination of questionnaires and field interviews

was used. The questionnaire survey covered user

groups of different ages, genders, driving experiences

and other backgrounds, and extensively collected

information on their overall satisfaction with the

game, their actual gains in terms of the learning effect

of traffic rules, and their specific suggestions for the

improvement of the game. At the same time, field

interviews were conducted with some representative

users to gain a deeper understanding of their

emotional experience during the game, the

operational difficulties they encountered, and the

dynamic process of changing their understanding of

traffic rules. These findings will provide strong user

feedback support for the subsequent analysis of the

effects of VR virtual driving games in practical

applications, and complement each other with the

literature analysis and technical level research to

jointly build up a comprehensive understanding of the

application of VR virtual driving games in the

learning of traffic rules.

In the literature review section, the development

history and application status of VR technology in the

field of education are sorted out. It is found that VR

technology has achieved remarkable results in

medical education, engineering training and other

fields, but its application in the field of traffic rules

learning is still in its infancy. Existing research

mainly focuses on the technical realization of VR

driving simulation, scene construction and

preliminary exploration of educational applications.

However, no systematic theories and methods have

been developed on how to deeply integrate traffic rule

education with VR game design and how to assess the

learning effect of learners in the game.

From the technical level, VR virtual driving

games involve a variety of key technologies. Ma et

al., in ‘Design and realization of virtual driving

system based on VR technology’ (Ma et al., 2023),

also used the Unity3D engine to build a virtual

driving system, detailing the use of the engine to

implement the scene interaction and physical

simulation, and their research results provide

practical experience and technical details reference

for the technical realization of the system in this paper

.” For example, the Unity3D engine is utilized for the

construction of virtual scenes, which provides a

wealth of features and tools to quickly create realistic

road, vehicle, and environment models. As Hu

Shengming et al. point out, utilizing Unity 3D for

electricThe design of electrical fault simulation of a

moving vehicle, the technical principle of which is

similar to the construction of a VR virtual driving

scene (Hu et al, 2022). Meanwhile, the traffic flow

simulation is combined with SUMO to make the

traffic situation in the virtual scene more realistic and

dynamic. In terms of simulating the driver's vision,

the screen space rendering method with custom

coding can accurately simulate the driver's field of

vision and visual experience in different driving

scenarios. In addition, the violation triggering

mechanism established based on the collision

detection principle can monitor the driving behavior

of players in real time and give corresponding hints

and feedback when violating traffic rules.

In terms of educational models, there is a lack of

educational models of traffic rules specifically for VR

virtual driving games. Most games simply

incorporate traffic rules into the game tasks, lacking

systematic and targeted educational design. Future

research needs to combine the theories of educational

psychology and cognitive science to build a more

scientific and effective educational model to enhance

the effect of learning traffic rules.

Literature Analysis：The in - depth analysis of

the existing related literature helps to

comprehensively understand the development trend

of VR virtual driving games in the field of traffic rules

learning, clarify its potential and limitations, and

provide a solid foundation for subsequent research. In

this part, we will discuss the application advantages,

existing problems, effect evaluation and other

aspects.

4 EXPLORING THE PROMISING

ASPECTS OF VR - DRIVEN

TRAFFIC RULE LEARNING

4.1 Application Advantages

VR virtual driving games show certain application

potential in the field of traffic rules learning. From the

application cases, some VR virtual driving games

have successfully attracted the attention of learners

and significantly increased their interest in learning.

For example, a certain game has carefully set up a rich

variety of driving scenarios, covering city streets,

highways, mountain roads, etc. This enables learners

to drive in different environments. This enables

VR Virtual Driving Game: Reinventing the Trafﬁc Rules Learning Panorama

547

learners to practically experience and apply traffic

rules in different environments. At the same time, the

weather changes, alternating day and night and other

elements incorporated in the game further enhance

the realism and interest of the learning process,

creating an immersive learning atmosphere for

learners, which helps them to understand more deeply

the application of traffic rules in different contexts.

Moreover, the intuitive feedback in these games

about rule - following or breaking helps learners

quickly correct misunderstandings.

4.2 Existing Problems

Despite the many advantages of VR virtual driving

games, there are also obvious shortcomings. In terms

of traffic rule explanation, many games are deficient.

Learners often just passively follow the rules during

the game, and lack in-depth understanding of the

principles and importance behind the rules. Taking

traffic signals as an example, most games simply

prompt players to stop or pass without explaining in

depth the origin and significance of the signal rules.

This shallow presentation of rules is not conducive to

learners building a complete knowledge system of

traffic rules, and it is difficult to transfer the

application of rules in the game to actual driving

scenarios. For instance, learners may not understand

why a particular lane - changing rule exists, leaving

them confused when faced with real - world driving

situations.

4.3 Lack of Interactivity and

Interestingness

The interactivity and interestingness of the game also

need to be further improved. The operation interface

design of some games is complicated, which

increases the operation difficulty of learners and

affects the game experience. At the same time, the

tasks lack challenge and attraction, which cannot

fully stimulate learners' enthusiasm for participation.

For example, some game tasks are monotonous and

repetitive, lacking changes and novelty, leading to

learners' easy boredom and low participation. This

situation restricts the effect of VR virtual driving

games in the learning of traffic rules, and fails to

make full use of its technical advantages to enhance

the learning effect. Additionally, the lack of social

interaction elements in these games means learners

miss out on the opportunity to discuss and learn from

others' experiences.

4.4 Effect evaluation status and

improvement direction

In terms of the effect assessment of VR virtual driving

games, the existing literature exposes obvious

deficiencies. Currently, most studies only assess

learners' mastery of traffic rules through simple

questionnaires or tests, which is too single - minded

and lacks an in - depth analysis and evaluation of the

learning process. Almallah et al. (2021) mentioned

the relevant influencing factors in their study of

driving simulation motion sickness and sense of

presence, which provides a new perspective for us to

assess the effect of VR virtual driving games. Future

research needs to establish a more scientific and

comprehensive assessment system that integrates the

knowledge acquisition, skill enhancement, attitude

change, and other aspects of learners (Zhao, Huang,

2025). Through the all - round evaluation of the

learning process and results, we can more accurately

judge the actual effect of VR virtual driving game in

traffic rules learning, and provide a strong basis for

the optimization and improvement of the game. This

comprehensive assessment should also consider real

- world driving transferability for more practical

insights.

5 CONCLUSIONS

This study conducted a systematic research on the

status quo, challenges and innovative solutions of VR

virtual driving games in the field of traffic rules

learning. Through case analysis of existing games and

user experience research, it is found that VR virtual

driving games have great potential in traffic rules

learning, and can provide learners with a more

immersive and interactive learning experience.

However, the development of this field still faces

many challenges, including bottlenecks at the

technical level, lack of educational theories, and high

costs.

To address these challenges, this study proposes a

series of innovative solutions, including deep rule -

based educational integration, personalized learning

experience, and enhanced social interaction

functions. These innovative solutions are expected to

enhance the effectiveness and application scope of

VR virtual driving games in traffic rules learning. The

innovation of this study is that it is the first time to

systematically analyze the current situation and

challenges of VR virtual driving games in traffic rules

learning, and propose targeted innovative solutions.

In particular, the innovations of integrating in - depth

rule education into game design, using artificial

ICDSE 2025 - The International Conference on Data Science and Engineering

548

intelligence to achieve personalized learning

experience, and enhancing social interaction

functions provide new ideas and directions for further

development in this field.

However, this study also has certain

shortcomings. The main one is the lack of large - scale

empirical studies to verify the effectiveness of the

innovative programs. Future research can carry out

actual user tests to collect more data to evaluate the

effectiveness of the innovative solutions, and

optimize and improve them based on the test results.

Meanwhile, with the continuous development of VR

technology, such as the application of 5G technology

and the upgrading of hardware equipment, the

application of VR virtual driving game in the learning

of traffic rules will be more promising. The

subsequent research can further explore how to better

utilize the new technology to improve the

performance and learning effect of the game, and how

to combine the VR virtual driving game with the

actual driving training to form a more perfect learning

system of traffic rules. Additionally, exploring cross

- cultural applications of these VR driving games

could expand their reach.

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