Fleet managers, concerned that the standard of driving could be costing them both money and their reputation, are turning to vehicle simulators to train drivers in the finer points of road craft. Could this be a way forward for driving schools too, as the technology becomes more freely available?
Driving simulators to date have been limited to research centres and for the personal use of some of our larger logistics firms. There have been two options up until recently; either buy your own simulator at a cost of around £200,000 (not really viable for your average driving school!) or hire one at around a £1000 a day. Again, this second option hasn’t really been a viable choice as the cost to the pupil would be prohibitive.
A third way
Now there is a third option. Training and advice company Tadea have launched their Effective Transport Solutions (ETS) centre in Sunderland, offering drivers the chance to receive expert tuition in a wide range of on-road scenarios – without actually going out on the road.
It’s the largest multi-simulator facility in the UK and has six semi-immersive vehicle (pod) simulators and one fully-immersive simulator based around a converted Mini. Two more fully-immersive simulators will be installed by the end of September.
The main difference is that a full day’s training covering five different modules costs less than £600, while two-hour sessions – one hour in the classroom and one in a simulator – can be much cheaper. The centre is also offering discounts for larger bookings or regular repeat bookings.
An additional level of instruction
What the training doesn’t do is replace the essential ‘on-road’ experience, but allows drivers to train within a controlled environment as an additional level of instruction. It also means that even if the sun is shining, drivers can experience everything from ice and snow to high winds and low sunlight, and learn how to react to them.
Driving schools in the area are keen to look at the possibility of using the system to train learner drivers in an off-road environment, and see the potential particularly for nervous drivers before they go out into the real environment. It could also make quite a difference to driving school insurance premiums too, as insurers recognise that pupils who have had the simulator training before actually driving on the road are less likely to have an accident. This, combined with the possibility for developing better, more rounded teaching plans for learner drivers, makes the prospect of simulator driving a realistic one, especially as it is now finally becoming more affordable.