Simulator training in driver education—potential gains and challenges

Abstract

Norway is currently ranked as one of the top nations in regard to road safety. However, continued efforts are applied as we stretch towards a goal of zero deaths and serious injuries in road traffic accidents. In this paper we explore if Norwegian driver education could benefit from simulator training. Possible advantages are cost effectiveness, environmentally friendly training, repeatability, accessibility to different scenarios (accident scenarios and dangerous situations, darkness and snow outside of winter, difficult weather conditions and extreme road traffic density), the possibility to make errors in a safe environment, and interaction with new technology such as advanced driver assistant systems. However, there are challenges such as how to increase the number of simulators in Norway, and legal obstacles as current legislations require all mandatory parts of the Norwegian driver education to be conducted on the road. Our overall impression is that the driver education in Norway could have advantages in applying a more systematic approach to simulator training.

Supplemental Instruction. Volume 1: Digital Technologies

“…There are benefits and challenges regarding the use of simulators in driver training (Saetren et al, 2018). The advantages of simulator driver training include repeatability, reproducibility, and standardization of training programs.…”

“…The ability to make errors in a safe environment makes simulator training a much different learning context than real-life traffic. More general advantages include cost-effectiveness and environmentally friendly training (de Winter et al, 2012;Hirsch & Bellavance, 2016;Saetren et al, 2018).…”

“…Simulation-based education can provide safe and effective learning environments (Ziv et al, 2003). However, simulators are seldomly used in driving instructor and driver training education in Norway (Saetren et al, 2018). Road traffic is a complex system in a potentially hazardous environment where human error can cause injury and death.…”

“…In the surgical field, for example, a typical stress intervention training consists of didactic learning, simulation-based exercises, and individualized and specific feedback on technical and non-technical aspects of performance (Sonal et al, 2016). In Norwegian driver training, however, the use of simulators is rare, and it is estimated that between five and ten driving schools out of Norway's existing 1,056 (NPRA, 2020) have a simulator (Saetren et al, 2018).…”

“…This study is a part of a four-year project exploring if and how driving simulators can improve driving instructor education and driver training, which is called the SitT-project (Simulation in Driver Education; Saetren et al, 2018Saetren et al, , 2019aSaetren et al, , 2019bSaetren et al, , 2020a.…”