Training Truck Drivers Like Pilots

WITNESS WHEELS – FEBRUARY 2014

THOROUGHTEC Simulation, the Umhlanga-based manufacturer of simulators for the mining, military and construction industries, supports the call to train truck drivers like pilots. As reported in The Driver newsletter for professional drivers, any modern truck is more complex to operate than a single-engined aircraft, and the drivers are calling for their training to reflect this.

One of the suggestions made is that truck drivers should be trained on simulators. ThoroughTec, which has sold 500 simulator units in 20 years, said the benefits of simulation training have been proven in numerous industries, from commercial and military aviation to heavy-equipment operator training in mining. “Simulator-trained drivers achieve competency quicker, operate more efficiently and are better equipped to handle unexpected and emergency situations: Greg Lew, ThoroughTec’s executive vice-president in charge of global strategy, told Witness Wheels. He said simulators can be used for beginner training, refresher training, operator screening and evaluation.

“A simulator also provides an unbiased and quantifiable evaluation score.”

As with aircraft pilot training, truck simulator-based training can practice the reactions of both experienced and new drivers to emergency and advanced driving situations, such as brake or steering failure, or a tyre blow-out, which are not possible to replicate safely in the actual vehicle. Lew said a simulator also provides an unbiased and quantifiable evaluation score, thereby removing human error and interference from the assessment process.

He supported the call for improved training, saying the laws governing commercial drivers’ licences in South Africa are too lenient considering the complexity of some of the trucks and hazardous situations that drivers encounter.

“Formalising commercial driver training and utilising simulators as part of the commercial driver licensing process would greatly increase the safety of truck drivers and other road users,” according to Lew.