Do simulators train as well as behind the wheel training?

Discussion in 'Questions From New Drivers' started by Traveler51, Jun 12, 2012.

  1. SHO-TYME

    SHO-TYME Road Train Member

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    Is that why a few years ago his trucks were hitting everything but the lottery? I guess they can't crash a simulator.



    Driving a simulator is like banging a blowup doll. Feels good but isn't the real thing........
     
    Gizmo_Man Thanks this.
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  3. sevenmph

    sevenmph Road Train Member

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    IMO, there is no way a simulator can imitate the seriousness of real driving. If you make a serious mistake on a simulator other students laugh at you. On the road, property damage and injury happen in those situations.
     
  4. GyrrwrLori

    GyrrwrLori Light Load Member

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    Exactly! Though this one has 4 screens. No clutching required to shift, don't even need to match rpms, just slam it into gear. I did a blind side alley dock during my first week on this simulator on my 1st attempt. I knew at that point it shouldn't be taken seriously.
     
  5. Gizmo_Man

    Gizmo_Man Road Train Member

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    i dunno, it always felt "real" to me...
     
  6. road_runner

    road_runner Road Train Member

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    My military unit spent about $3k on one of those JJ Keller contraptions. Nothing but on overpriced video game with really crappy graphics. It now serves as a paperweight. Yeah... your tax dollars in action.
     
  7. musicgal

    musicgal Road Train Member

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    I had to use the simulator at US Xpress a couple of time and it made me queasy......I know of one person who actually threw up.
     
  8. ironpony

    ironpony Road Train Member

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    I worked in flight simulators for a number of years. It's not a replacement for actual seat time, but it has uses in a properly structured training program. They allow you to prepare for actual situations so that the seat time is more valuable - going through instrument approaches on the simulator made the students much more prepared for the actual flight time, for instance. The other deal was emergency situations - you can put a student through an emergency sequence that would be too hazardous in the real hardware.

    ...and yeah, they make great video games too!
     
  9. vikingswen

    vikingswen Road Train Member

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    That is funny.
    I have used a crane simulator before and that was a real pia, but I never owned a video game in my life and don't do well in the pretend world either.
     
  10. CAXPT

    CAXPT Road Train Member

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    This is their real purpose. It allows them to hit you with all kinds of scenarios, road conditions, etc.. that you may never have thought about and gets you thinking about how to respond. I thought for it's purpose it was just fine.

    Remember, they aren't testing your shifting technique (although that would be a good simulator to build), they are testing your recognition of road conditions and YOUR response to the condition and the handling of it. The roads in the US and Canada aren't one homogenous type of road, and the simulator helps to give a student or driver, the opportunity to see different conditions. Like someone that has driven the City their whole life and has never been on a rural road/town etc.

    Anyone take US 41 south in Indiana through Attica instead of getting off onto IN 63? Scenarios like that can help scare the smart into you.
    :biggrin_2551:

    It is what you make of it.
     
  11. TheRedskinsWay

    TheRedskinsWay Light Load Member

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    after training with usx we had to use it. Its nothing but a really bad goofy video game.
     
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