RE-ASSESSMENT OF DRIVING SIMULATORS FOR THE TRAINING, TESTING AND LICENSING OF COMMERCIAL VEHICLE DRIVERS

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is seeking to validate a low- to mid-cost simulator to potentially enhance commercial motor vehicle (CMV) driver training, testing, and licensing. Based on preliminary findings FMCSA believes that simulators hold considerable promise for improving commercial driver performance and highway safety if their value can be sufficiently demonstrated. In the first phase of the truck simulator validation study (SimVal), FMCSA published an initial truck simulator assessment report (1996), which indicated that simulation was sufficiently mature for validation purposes. A research design was then developed to validate the use of simulation technology. In the second and final phase, researchers will conduct the follow-on empirical study using the Phase 1 research design. This paper describes a second, more detailed, truck simulator re-assessment to learn about technological progress since the publication of the initial report. The re-assessment is based on the simulator functionalities described in the research design report. The completion of this report will assure that FMCSA has the most up-to-date information on commercially available truck simulators in the U.S., when the request for proposals is made in FY'02. This paper draws heavily from previously published FMCSA documents and reports.