20 October 2015
South Africa has launched its first three-dimensional truck simulator in an effort to reduce the number of truck-related fatalities on the road.
Set up in KwaZulu-Natal, the mobile simulator has been constructed in a caravan. It is part of a two-phase pilot project to help truck drivers to improve their driving skills. Project manager Jolene Boulton said it was aimed at dealing with pertinent issues that affected truck drivers.
The stages
The initial phase is to help drivers through e-learning sessions on a computer. “The first part of the course includes checking the vehicle before it is driven, what issues might be wrong with the vehicle if certain signals appear and how to resolve them.” It helped to give the drivers an extra edge, she said.
The drivers then begin a truck-driving simulation. The computer changes the situations that face the driver, such as pedestrians on the road, night and day, and extreme weather such as heavy rain or snow.
Creation
The simulator was built by TMI Dynamatics, a company specialising in the creation of hardware and software for car and plane simulators. It features KwaZulu-Natal’s high-accident zones on Van Reenen’s Pass, Town Hill and the M13 at Fields Hill.
“We built the simulator to give an exact feel of what the truck is like,” said Wouter Roos, TMI Dynamatics’ developer.
This was part of the solution to save lives on the road, Boulton added. “Employers will even be able to verify this assessment with drivers and we are encouraging trucking companies to allow their drivers to do this assessment,” she said.
Transport Month
October Transport Month is currently taking place under the theme of “Together we move South Africa forward”. The month focuses on infrastructure projects that have major socio-economic spin-offs, for all modes of transport such as road, aviation, maritime, rail and public transport.
The focus areas are:
- Jobs created through infrastructure and other service delivery programmes;
- Major infrastructure developments and improvements, and links to local economic developments;
- Special programmes aimed at youth and women; and,
- Rallying all sectors of society to improve road safety with an opportunity to market programmes to be implemented by the Road Safety Advisory Council.
Source: News24Wire and SouthAfrica.info reporter
