Driving Simulators

VT still has driver education? Lucky you. Most all of the schools have ditched it as budgets have tightened.

Bringing a school like the BRAKES program or Street Survival to an area takes one thing: money. You can't rely on the school or your government to do it. It takes the organization and contributions of many. Our program has a lot of good sponsors: the local auto auction donates the lot, the Ford dealer provides the cars, and several businesses foot the bill for things like the tent, instructor expenses, etc. BRAKES typically costs $40,000 to put on. Our local group has halved that cost through getting free stuff and paying for the rest with donations. A woman actually was able to bring the program to her local town in Alaska.

What really drives me insane is selling the parents; they will spend thousands buying insurance and/or a car for their kid but say the cost for a driving school is "too expensive". We've brought the cost down to a $95 donation, and if you really can't afford it we'll give your check back. We return very few checks after the school is completed.

We're trying to save a lot of starfish washed up onto the shore, but frankly, if I can save just one kid from sliding sideways into a telephone pole because they followed Carrie Underwood's advice in a song (because that's all they knew), I've done my job.

Well if you only have 6 hours of driving time...I'd say get a high-end gaming wheel setup (like the one poopshovel's selling) and find a free sim that can do the job, I see one called OpenDS that might be what you want.

This might sound nuts, but I think NFSU2 could be helpful. Seriously, it has realistic streets with traffic.

This is commercial software but it looks like exactly what you need, 22 Euros:

http://www.3dfahrschule.de/uk_index.htm

Ask for a "technology fee" from the parents. If the fee is $50 and you have 200 students per year, that's $10,000; you're halfway there.

I also found this: http://www.driverinteractive.com/teen_program/

How many students do you have per year? Half a day at O'Neil rally school would go a long way.

In the car is important, yes, but brain science shows more and more everyday that teens do not have enough cognitive development to make the right choices regarding good decision making. A 15 year old is just not capable of knowing when to NOT get him or herself in over their head. Teaching them advanced driving skills before they can show the maturity of when to use them is problematic. Sure a few can, but most can't. And, if they did not grow up with a healthy respect for vehicles and vehicle dynamics they are not going to gain that in a day.

Additionally until we can get parents to take a greater role in "mobility curriculum" (thank you Andy Pilgrim) BEFORE they get to high school we as DE instructors are forced to spend too much time correcting learned bad habits from so many years of watching Mom and Dad do things wrong.

The simulator won't change this. But it will increase familiarity and make my job just a bit easier.

Thanks to those of you who understand I am looking for additional tools, not replacements.

Spending a day listening to Andy Pilgrim discuss his new DVD "The Parent Zone" was quite an eye opener. Amazing as he doesn't even have kids.

Mmadness wrote: Ask for a "technology fee" from the parents. If the fee is $50 and you have 200 students per year, that's $10,000; you're halfway there. I also found this: http://www.driverinteractive.com/teen_program/ How many students do you have per year? Half a day at O'Neil rally school would go a long way.

Interesting concept for the tech fee. Gotta give that some thought.

I have seen the driverinteractive stuff online. But unlike the first simulator there are no rear panels.