ATRI Research Examines Safety Impacts Of Driver Simulator Training

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American Transportation Research Institute

Feb 13, 2014, 12:25 ET

ARLINGTON, Va., Feb. 13, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A new research white paper examining safety impacts of simulator training for truck drivers was released yesterday by the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI). The report, Safety Impacts of Truck Driver Simulator Training, investigated the effectiveness of using customized truck driving simulators to target specific driving behaviors that have been associated with increased crash risk.

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This study incorporated driving behaviors 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 partnered with motor carriers to collect driver safety and training data for drivers trained on both general and ATRI-customized scenarios. Finally, the safety performance differences between drivers were analyzed at 6- and 12-months post-training based on the type of simulator training received.

The initial results at 6-months post-training suggested that drivers who received the targeted simulator training had fewer safety incidents over time, but those effects dissipated at the 12-month mark. While driver turn-over may play a role in the declining significance, the white paper suggests that carriers examine the frequency of sustainment training for drivers.

Truck driving simulators provide carriers with the ability to offer a wide variety of training exercises to drivers from the safety and convenience 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.

A copy of this report is available from ATRI by clicking here.

ATRI is the trucking industry's 501(c)(3) not-for-profit research organization. It is engaged in critical research relating to freight transportation's essential role in maintaining a safe, secure and efficient transportation system.

SOURCE American Transportation Research Institute