Driver education simulators

One example

So I've been teaching DE for 3 weeks now and really enjoying it. No, really! But I am concerned about those students whose parents are not letting them get behind the wheel of their family vehicle enough. I think a simulator would at least be a step in the right direction. We have only one car to share among 5 in-car instructors with a waiting list of students who need to get 6 in car hours of training before they can go for their Junior License. I don't think to use the sims as a replacement for behind the wheel but as an entry test to weed through students who need more time and/or are not ready to take it to the streets. What do you guys think? The unfortunate thing is that the state requires only 6 hours behind the wheel with a licensed instructor but 40 hours with a parent and 30 hours of in-class training. I think this is backwards and many parents are terrified, disinterested, or poor teachers to effect good habits.

To the gamers out there what are the best choices for hardware, i.e. steering wheels, pedals, monitors, etc.? Many companies market software alone so I would like to focus on as real a driving environment as possible. Perhaps even using the front half of a car and interior.

Thoughts?

Thanks!

George Rooney Professional Passenger

Token hotlink:

Your best bet for the wheel is going to be the Logitech G27, which is in a lot of the pictures on that link. It has 900-degree rotation and comes with an H-pattern and a clutch.

The downside is the brake pedal is a potentiometer, which means it applies more force in the sim by distance on the pedal rather than force on the pedal.

http://www.apelectrix.com/ This guy makes a load-sensor pedal for the G27. If you want a sim wheel that comes with a load-sensor pedal you'll have to spend a lot more money than G27 money.

I really support this. With a sim you can put the student into dangerous situations and they can learn implicitly how to react, rather than you just explain what to do and hope they make it home.

Make sure you make full use of the sim training... force them to learn to control a slide, show them what happens if they try to swerve while braking for a deer... have a kid run out from behind a car while they're puttering through a neighborhood and put-the-fear-of-lawsuit in them.

I've heard others mention the G27. Other sites mention wheels that only go 90 degrees. What's the point? Not like an F1 car for lock to lock in a real car!

As for the pedals. Our DE Subaru has an e-pedal. Uses potentiometers. Wouldn't that give the same sense?

vwcorvette wrote: As for the pedals. Our DE Subaru has an e-pedal. Uses potentiometers. Wouldn't that give the same sense?

No. A real brake pedal is not "positional" it is pressure sensitive. Once you have taken up the slack you modulate braking with pressure - the pedal moves very very little. With a pot you have to fake it by moving it a specific amount regardless of how much spring or rubber you put under it to make feel better.

A load cell (or a real master cylinder with a pressure sensor screwed into it...) is the way to go.

i can't really offer anything, other than to point out that i was sitting on my dad's lap steering the car on long drives when i was about 5 years old, and driving on backroads when i was about 10- which to me is just how it should be done. any kid that makes it to 16 years old and has no real world behind the wheel experience was deprived of very necessary learning experiences as a child.

http://www.inmygarage.com/?p=1550

still not the real thing, but getting closer for a diy build

We have a couple at work and while being incredible pieces of technology they do pretty much nothing to prepare you to drive. You sit in a real bus cab, look at eight screens, there are even little screens behind you that you can see in your mirrors, but it feels and scts little like an actual bus. The thing it seems to do best is make onlookers dizzy almost to the point of falling over.

^ If your bus sim doesn't act like a bus, then the people who developed the sim need more time and money.

Racing sims are evolving at an incredible rate, and a driver training sim doesn't have to be nearly as accurate to life as a racing sim.

I wasn't thinking about the brake pedal. I know it's pressure based. I worked on cars for 12 years. I meant the gas pedal. I can see how the brake pedal would be an issue.

However, I am more interested in situational awareness and visual acuity, with some sense of realness.

I appreciate all the input.

40 hours with a parent, but only 6 with an instructor? That'ts not right. Not at all. I agree with others that a parent, while well meaning, is rarely the best instructor for the son/daughter. A person the student trusts is much better--be it a relative or trusted friend of parent.

A new driver doesn't need a simulator with a clutch. And, they're so used to "bouncing off things" with video games, the simulator is probably only partially taken seriously by the student.

Simply need more instructors--funding from a local dealership/store with adv on the side?

I, too, did the sit on lap and steer thing as a kid--but only when there was little if any traffic around.