• News
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Media
  • About
  • News
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Media
  • About
Sign up Now (For Free)

Sign up for our newsletter and receive the latest automotive news in your inbox!

Invalid email address
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Thanks for subscribing!
News
Read Now
  • All News
  • Automakers
  • Automobiles
  • Auto Shows
  • Business
  • EVs & Environment
  • Guides
  • Lawsuits/Legal
  • Regulatory
  • Ride-Sharing
  • Safety & Recalls
  • Technology
Recent
  • Honda Takes Wraps Off New All-Electric Prologue
  • Mercedes to Offer True Self-Driving in Late 2023
  • Biden Meets UAW Picketers, Offers Support
  • Ford Halts $3.5B MI Battery Plant; Fain Slams Company
  • An Electric Acura NSX Could Be Coming
  • Jeep Culture is a Real Thing
  • Porsche Cars North America Gets a New CEO
  • Canadian Union Approves New Contract with Ford
  • The Rearview Mirror: Birth of a Legendary Design
  • UAW Ups Pressure, Expands Strikes to Parts Depots
Editor’s Choice
    Reviews
    Read Now
    • All Reviews
      • Feeder
    • Classic Cars
    • Concept Cars
    • Convertibles
    • Coupes
    • Crossovers/CUVs
    • Diesel
    • Hot hatches
    • Hybrids
    • Luxury Vehicles
    • Minivans
    • Muscle Cars
    • Pickups
    • Sedans
    • Sports Cars
    • Super Cars
    • SUVs
    Recent Reviews
    • A Week With: 2023 Mercedes-Benz EQB 250+
    • A Week With: 2024 Mazda CX-90 Turbo S Premium Plus
    • A Week With: 2024 Mercedes-AMG EQE SUV
    • A Week With: The 2024 BMW i7 xDrive60
    • A Week With: 2024 Alfa Romeo Tonale Veloce AWD
    • A Week With: 2023 Toyota Camry XSE Hybrid
    • A Week With: 2024 Subaru Impreza RS
    • A Week With: 2023 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 Desert Boss
    • First Drive: 2024 Polestar 2
    • A Week With: 2024 Mercedes-Benz GLE 450 4Matic
    Editor’s Choice
      Guides
      Car Warranty
      • Endurance Warranty Reviews
      • BMW Extended Warranty
      • Extended Warranty For Cars Over 100k Miles
      • Extended Car Warranty Cost
      • Subaru Extended Warranty
      • CarShield Reviews
      • CarShield Cost
      • Aftermarket Car Warranty
      • CARCHEX Warranty Reviews
      • Reputable Extended Car Warranty Companies
      • Used Car Warranty Companies
      • Best Car Warranty
      • Is CarShield A Scam?
      • Mercedes Extended Warranty
      • CarShield Plans
      Insurance
      • How To Identify A Car Insurance Company
      • Geico Mechanical Breakdown Insurance
      • How Far Back Does A Car Insurance Company Look
      • Mechanical Breakdown Insurance For Used Cars
      • State Farm Mechanical Breakdown Insurance
      • Mechanical Breakdown Insurance From Progressive
      • Dollar A Day Insurance
      • Auto Insurance For SSI Recipients
      • Car Insurance Rates After A Suspended License
      • Auto Insurance For Salvage Vehicles
      • Average Cost of Dodge Ram 1500 Car Insurance
      • Car Insurance Florida
      • Full Coverage Auto Insurance
      • GrubHub Insurance
      • Amazon Delivery Auto Insurance
      Shipping
      • Car Shipping Companies
      • uShip Reviews
      • Auto Shipping From California To Hawaii
      • Montway Auto Transport Reviews
      • Cheap Car Shipping
      • Easy Auto Ship Reviews
      • Auto Shipping Miami
      • Auto Shipping To Alaska
      • Car Shipping Cost
      • Auto Shipping Hawaii
      • Auto Shipping Puerto Rico
      • Sherpa Auto Transport Reviews
      • Auto Shipping Atlanta
      • Auto Shipping Boston
      • Auto Shipping. Chicago
      About
      • About Us
      • Contact Us
      • Terms of Use
      • Privacy Policy
      • Affiliate Disclosure
      • Sitemap
      TheDetroitBureau.com

      More than just “another” place to find news, reviews, spy shots, commentary, features, and guides about the auto industry. TheDetroitBureau doesn’t stop with the press releases or confuse a few lines of opinion with insightful, in-depth reporting.

      Contact Us

      Like what you see? Have some ideas for making The Detroit Bureau.com even better? Let us know, we’d love to hear your voice.

        Media
        Listen Now
        • Headlight News: All Episodes
        More from TheDetroitBureau
        • Guides
        • Latest News
        • Auto Reviews
        • Podcasts
        Headlight News

        TheDetroitBureau.com’s Headlight News offers a look at the past week’s top automotive news stories, as well as what’s coming up in the week ahead. Check out the week’s top story and our latest review…along with a dive into the past with this week in automotive history.

        home > news > Technology > Driving Simulators Aren’t Just for Race Car Drivers

        Driving Simulators Aren’t Just for Race Car Drivers

        It's a far cry from Grand Theft Auto and iRacing.

        Jeff Zurschmeide
        Jeff Zurschmeide , Executive Editor
        Nov. 09, 2022

        The first snows of the winter have arrived, and across the country municipalities and state transportation departments are out plowing snow. It’s a tough job, and snowplow drivers will be out in the worst possible conditions all winter long to help make our roads safer for travel. 

        simulator driver
        Snow plow drivers need practice too and the Oregon DOT ensures they get it using a simulator.

        The thing about plowing snow is that many drivers have not driven the plowing rigs for six months or more, and every year, some are driving a plow for the first time. 

        Snowplow trucks are large and typically incorporate complicated equipment including multiple plows and equipment to spread grit or salt on the roads to increase traction. Hazards on snow-covered roads may include parked or stranded vehicles, reckless drivers, and even wild animals that may try to cross the road. 

        “Last year we suffered a whole lot of snowplow strikes across the state, either by the traveling public or incidents involving our drivers on unfamiliar roads,” said Tim McKenzie, a safety manager for the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT).  

        In this case, a strike is not a labor dispute, but a technical term for running into something. Snowplow collisions are a huge problem across North America, and repair costs can be staggeringly high. 

        “This is a common problem,” McKenzie explained. “Usually we get driven into or forced off the road by somebody else. When we get a plow strike, it can run anywhere from $5,000 to $50,000 per incident. 

        “And that’s just to fix the equipment and get it back on the road. That doesn’t include the loss of service time. We are short on plows, and we are short on people. Plus, we’re only out there using our plows when they are most critically needed.”

        Technology provides a solution 

        To enhance driver skill and reduce the collision count this winter, ODOT looked for a way to train its drivers in the off-season. The state agency partnered with a community college in Tillamook, Oregon to use the school’s truck driving simulator to give the snowplow operators some practice and coaching on working in the snow before winter brings the real thing. 

        snowplow simulator wide shot
        ODOT is working with Tillamook Bay Community College to use the simulator.

        Most of the year, the simulator is used as part of the college’s CDL program to train commercial truck drivers.

        “We started looking at options to get people familiar with the roads and the equipment a little bit more,” McKenzie continued. “We wanted to see what kind of preventative training we can do. One of the guys had heard about driving simulators, but we didn’t know where to find one. We started looking around and happened to find out that Tillamook Bay Community College (TBCC) has their own CDL program, and they had a simulator that was part of it. I started looking into the company that makes the simulator, and they had a snowplow module that they could put in.” 

        ODOT rented the simulator from TBCC for the month of October to give some of its snowplow drivers a chance to practice and experience some life-like emergencies without the dire consequences of learning on the job. 

        Like a real truck 

        The simulator system includes a bank of computers and three large display screens placed in front of a dashboard, steering wheel, and driver’s seat that closely approximates what you’ll find in a commercial truck. The student sits in the driver’s seat and the system responds to his or her inputs. The seat even moves and shakes to heighten the virtual reality. 

        “It’s a really good tool for our new employees,” said instructor Jared Britton, a transportation maintenance coordinator for ODOT. “Two of our students today are out of Warrenton, Oregon. They just came on a month ago, so they’re new to ODOT. 

        “They have some driving experience, but they don’t have any plow experience. So this is giving them a little bit of time before winter hits. We know it’s not a perfect setup, but it starts to give them a little confidence, and it’s better than hitting the snowy slopes without ever having done it before. It’s a lot cheaper to crash the simulator!”

        driving the snowplow in the simulator
        The simulator system includes a bank of computers and three large display screens placed in front of a dashboard, steering wheel, and driver’s seat.

        Like driving on real snowy roads

        While the student is driving over roads that may be straight or twisty, the instructor can adjust the amount of traffic, road hazards, and even animal or human figures that appear to step out in front of the truck. 

        Additionally, the student can see a rear-view on the screen, just like looking through the truck’s mirrors, and note upcoming traffic. A joystick allows the student to control the snowplows’ positions as they would on an actual truck. 

        “This is the place where we push the envelope a little for them,” Britton explained. “We actually encourage them to see what happens when they’re doing things. We can induce lots of malfunctions with this simulator. 

        “We can cause flat tires, or running out of gas, or take away traction from the rear wheels. We can mess it up real bad for them! Right now, we’ve got a fairly big snowstorm going, which is another factor we can change. And we can go from day to night, because a lot of these guys plow all night long. It’s a whole different game out there at night!” 

        Much more than a game

        Operating a simulator may seem like playing a video game at first, but there’s a strong data analytics element to the training that allows instructors to evaluate a driver’s critical emergency skills in a safe environment. 

        “This is a really advanced system,” McKenzie explained. “Not only does it use a camera to record the driver and the action, it also records pedal and steering inputs and things like that. So you can see when a malfunction is induced, and then how long before the driver reacts to it. If there’s a problem with the vehicle, you can see how they react to it. So it’s a great training tool to go back through and see that it took a driver some amount of time to respond to an emergency.” 

        ODOT expects the real payoff will come over the winter in the form of fewer collisions and problems. The skills gained and practiced on the simulator are intended to help keep snowplow strikes to a minimum. 

        If a clear benefit can be demonstrated, the agency plans to invest in its own simulator. Even at a cost of up to $250,000 for the simulator and the fully outfitted trailer in which it rides, that could be cheaper than the usual bill for snowplow repairs due to collisions. 

        How to Care for Your Car

        Cheap Car Warranty

        Editor's Choice

        Best Extended Car Warranty

        Editor's Choice
        Recently Published
        2024 Honda Prologue debut w:exec

        Honda Takes Wraps Off New All-Electric Prologue

        Today

        Mercedes to Offer True Self-Driving in Late 2023

        Yesterday
        Biden speaks to UAW with bullhorn

        Biden Meets UAW Picketers, Offers Support

        Sept. 26, 2023

        Leave a Reply Cancel reply

        Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

        Share this article:
        © The Detroit Bureau 2023
        • Guides
        • Privacy Policy
        • Terms of Use
        • Affiliate Disclosure
        • Contact Us
        • Sitemap
        Follow Us: