Innovations in low-cost simulation technology for the training and testing of "high risk" drivers

This paper discusses the development, application and validation of an affordable, moderately high fidelity simulator using appropriate technology for driver training, licensing and assessment, issues of increasing concern as roads become more crowded, vehicles more laden with complex technology (intentional and otherwise), and driving population older. It reports on a series of diverse, loosely coordinated research projects at several institutions in North America. These projects, taken individually, evaluated the viability of simulation for multiple applications. Despite this diversity, however, and despite the breadth of the organizations performing this research (including universities, hospitals, motor vehicle agencies, law enforcement training academies and standards-setting bodies), there is a common thread that binds these programs together. That is, they are each part of an integrated effort to develop, refine, test and validate a particular simulator technology, one which has the potential for widespread application.