Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/322764
A new research white paper examining safety impacts of simulator training for truck drivers was released recently by the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI). The report, Safety Impacts of Truck Driver Simulator Training, investigated the effective- ness of using customized truck driving simulators to target specific driving behaviors that have been associated with increased crash risk. This study incorporated driving be- haviors previously identified in ATRI's Predicting Truck Crash Involvement report. The study developed a series of "targeted" training scenarios for use in driving simulators. ATRI then part- nered with motor carriers to collect driv- er safety and training data for drivers trained on both general and ATRI-cus- tomized scenarios. Finally, the safety performance differences between driv- ers were analyzed at 6- and 12-months post-training based on the type of simu- lator training received. The initial results at 6-months post- training suggested that drivers who received the targeted simulator train- ing had fewer safety incidents over time, but those effects dissipated at the 12-month mark. While driver turnover may play a role in the declining sig- nificance, the white paper suggests that carriers examine the frequency of sus- tainment training for drivers. Truck driving sim- ulators provide carri- ers with the ability to offer a wide variety of training exercises to drivers from the safety and conve- nience of a classroom. By focusing training efforts on correcting behaviors that have a known correlation to crash risk, carriers can take a proactive step towards preventing future crashes. For more information, you can read a copy of this report at www.atri-online. org.◆ Beat School ATRI Research Examines Safety Impacts Of Driver Simulator Training June '14 www.studentdriverplacement.com 1 7 schoolbeat 0614.indd 1 5/20/14 10:30 AM