iTECH: Road Show

Two state trucking associations are trying some creative approaches to get around the prohibitive cost of simulator-based training to teach driving safety in a controlled, virtual environment.

To make the technology more accessible, the Texas Motor Transportation Association and the Pennsylvania Motor Truck Association are using mobile classrooms to bring the training tools right to their members, most of whom cannot afford the sophisticated electronic machines or to take drivers off the road and send them to far away training centers.

"The time it takes to send people to a center is a big deterrent," Don Siekerman, PMTA's safety director, said. "Instead of taking a whole day, if they had a mobile trailer at a terminal, you could have somebody in and out in an hour’s time."

For the full story, see the December Issue of iTECH, which appeared as a supplement in the Dec. 2 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.