| How
many drivers can I train with SAFE•Sim?
With the
SAFE•Sim Test
Drive (only $99), you can train as many drivers as you'd like
for the 30-day test drive period. After that time, the software will be
de-activated (the steering wheel and pedals are yours to keep). If you
decide to continue to use SAFE•Sim after the 30 days,
your $99 test drive payment will be applied to the surprisingly affordable
full purchase price of only $2,495. Once purchased, there's no limit to
the number of drivers you can train with your SAFE•Sim
program.
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What
types of driving environments, hazards, and emergencies does SAFE•Sim
simulate?
The SAFE•Sim
Truck Driving Simulator provides you with a safe, effective way
to put drivers through real-world driving environments and hazards. This
type of high-risk training would be far too expensive and dangerous to
conduct with real trucks on real roads. Each driving hazard can be specifically
pre-selected by the trainer. The types of driving environments and hazards
include:
- City
- Interstate/freeway
- Country
- Mountains
- Construction
work zones
- Night
driving
- Rain
- Ice
- Fog
- Heavy
traffic
The program
also simulates many different high-risk or emergency situations, including:
- Aggressive
motorists
- Vehicle
entering or blocking roadway
- Sliding
on ice
- Animals
entering roadway
- Hard braking
and/or riding brakes in mountains
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What
driving skills does SAFE•Sim help develop?
With the
SAFE•Sim Truck Driving Simulator, you can conduct
high-energy training that will sharpen critical accident-reducing driving
skills, including:
- Hazard
perception - seeing hazards
- Defensive
driving
- Situational
awareness
- Crash
avoidance
- Speed
and space management
- Braking
- Use of
mirrors
- Cornering
- Emergency
maneuvers
- Skid control
and recovery
SAFE•Sim
challenges your drivers to deliver a load within a certain time while
operating the vehicle safely ... and in a variety of trainer-selected
conditions. The simulator also records driver errors so that trainers
and drivers can review them later to assess driver deficiencies and determine
if additional training is required. Companies can also use the playback
and infraction report features to measure performance against traffic
laws and company-specific safety standards, and to screen potential drivers
during the hiring process.
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What
are the system operating requirements?
- CPU: 2.5
GHz ir better Intel® Pentium® 4 processor with USB Port OR AMD® Athlon® XP - 2500+ better
- XP Home or Professional, 2000 Professional (Service Pack 4 or later)
- RAM:
1 gigabyte (GB) system memory or more
- Video
Card:
128, 256 or 512 MB - ATI Pro recommended, nVidia Ultra compatible
- Hard drive
space: 1 GB Free Hard Drive Space
- CD-ROM
drive required
- Sound
system: Sound Card, Stereo System with speakers or headphones
- Mouse:
Required
- Keyboard:
Required
- Monitor:
Required,
19” Flat CRT or 18” LCD or larger
- Included
with the product: Force Feedback Steering Wheel and Foot Pedals
If
you have questions on SAFE•Sim's
system operating requirements, contact Keller's
Technical Support Specialists:
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| Will
SAFE•Sim work on a laptop?
Yes, SAFE•Sim
will run on some newer high-performance laptops. However, there are some
tradeoffs for the portability gained by training with SAFE•Sim
on a laptop. The cost of a high-end laptop is considerably more than a
desktop computer. The screen is smaller, and may be more difficult to
see when placed behind the steering wheel unit. To address this you may
want to "borrow" a full size monitor at your remote training
locations or project the screen image using a projector designed to work
with your computer.
Keep in mind that
the use of a laptop limits the amount of unsupervised self-paced training
you can do. And if you plan to carry the laptop to multiple locations,
you'll also need to carry the steering wheel and pedals, or ensure that
they're available at the location you plan to visit.
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What
types of vehicles does SAFE•Sim
allow drivers to operate?
With SAFE•Sim,
drivers can operate:
- Tractors
(long nose, short nose and cab over)
- Trailers
(dry van, tanker, and flatbed)
- Non-Articulated
Vehicles (straight trucks)
In addition
to choosing a vehicle type, you can also select:
- Load
(full, partial or empty)
- Transmission
(manual, automatic)
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How
does a driver actually "drive" the simulator?
The driver
sits in front of the PC; hands on steering wheel and foot on pedals. An
on-screen image responds to wheel and pedal movements, and the driver
actually experiences the same sensations as on the road — wheel
vibration, engine noise, etc.
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| What
types of controls does the driver see/use with SAFE•Sim?
The driver
controls wipers, lights, turn signals, shifting, mirror and side views.
Pedals include accelerator and brake; "functioning" gauges include
speedometer and tachometer.
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What
kinds of skills will my drivers learn or improve by using the simulator?
SAFE•Sim
lets drivers practice hazard perception, speed and space management, braking,
using mirrors, cornering, emergency maneuvers and skid control. Drivers
will also learn how to drive safely in emergency situations, including
handling objects in the roadway, sliding on ice, aggressive motorists,
and hard braking and/or riding brakes.
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How
can I see what SAFE•Sim
actually looks like?
A 30-day
Test Drive, including fully-functional software, an instructor's guide,
steering wheel and pedals, costs $99. To order your Test Drive, click
here.
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What
types of recordkeeping/documentation does the software include?
SAFE•Sim
will allow you to track driver results and training records. Data can
be shared via the internet with other locations.
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Are
custom versions of SAFE•Sim
available?
Yes. Call
1-800-843-3174, ext. 2156 to inquire about customized versions that include
your vehicles, routes and driving conditions.
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How
does SAFE•Sim
compare to other driving simulation programs?
SAFE•Sim
is the only desktop driving safety simulator available. Other simulation
training is extremely costly, requires travel to a training location,
and focuses on the mechanical aspects of learning to drive, rather than
safe driving. At a cost of just $2,495 per SAFE•Sim
simulator, carriers can outfit each of their locations for less than the
cost of outside simulation training.
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Is
SAFE•Sim
only for new drivers?
SAFE•Sim
can benefit experienced drivers as well as novice drivers because
the trainer can control the difficulty of the driving experience. Training
can be tailored to the needs of the driver based on experience and accident
history, as well as skill deficiencies or strengths. SAFE•Sim
can also be used for post-accident training and even as a pre-employment
screening tool to identify unsafe driving behavior.
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How
can I customize my training with SAFE•Sim?
You can select
the routes you want your drivers to train on, and choose the environmental
conditions and hazards you want them to experience. You can compare results
by having all your drivers practice the same route, or you can set up
different routes for each driver. The length of routes, frequency of training
and degree of difficulty are all customizable. SAFE•Sim
offers unequaled training flexibility, especially when combined with traditional
on-the-road and classroom training.
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How
will my company benefit from training with SAFE•Sim?
Simulation
training is "experiential" training designed to help reduce
the frequency and seriousness of crashes. Crash reduction decreases operating
costs due to insurance claims/premiums, personal injury, liability/litigation,
vehicle repair and out-of-service vehicles. The bottom line: lower operating
costs mean higher profits.
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| If
I want to train multiple drivers at one time, do I need to purchase individual
SAFE•Sim units at $2,495 each?
For multiple-driver
training, you'll need to purchase several units. Discounts are available
for multiple-unit purchases. Call 1-877-564-2333 for details.
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| What
type of benchmarking or testing is included for trainees?
The software
produces a report that details the specific situations where the driver
made mistakes or poor choices during a trip (infractions). View
a sample Trip Report. You can develop performance benchmarks for your
drivers by establishing what you consider acceptable levels of performance
for any given trip.
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| What
are the minimum and maximum hours required to complete the training sessions?
The trips
vary in length, from about 10 to 15 miles. The time it takes to complete
a trip will depend on a variety of driving conditions affecting the vehicle's
average speed (traffic, weather, hazards, terrain, vehicle load, etc).
Consider a minimum training session 15 minutes in length. You can string
several trips together to create training sessions of any length.
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| Who
(carriers/schools) was part of the testing (piloting) of this program?
Nearly 100
small, mid-size, and large carriers, as well as private fleets, were consulted
during the development of SAFE•Sim. Truckload, L-T-L,
flatbed, tanker, and auto carrier operations have given their input. In
addition, a leading technical college has participated in the product
review. Out of respect for the privacy of these organizations, their names
will remain anonymous. However, many are nationally recognized companies.
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| Do
you have a simulator for cars, pickups and SUVs?
Our primary
mission is to teach safe driving skills to truck drivers, and that's why
SAFE•Sim was developed. We haven't ruled out the possibility
of an auto fleet version in the future. However, several customers have
commented that aside from certain physical aspects of the SAFE•Sim
driving experience, much of the simulator learning (such as hazard perception)
has broader application, to any type of vehicle on the road.
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| Can
this program be installed to a server and run on several PCs on a LAN
simultaneously?
No. We're
working on an install that will allow the data to be stored on a network
server for central administration and reporting, but driving the simulator
will not work over a network.
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|
Can I purchase the Test Drive, run it on my 512-MB RAM system, and
then upgrade my system to 1GB if I decide to buy?
We don't
recommend this. Although some of the shorter trips may run with this
configuration, most won't. A 512-MB RAM stick is inexpensive at many
retailers, and if you decided not to buy SAFE•Sim,
you'll certainly be able to use it for some other purpose.
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|
Does the simulator include dump trucks, garbage trucks, fire trucks
and buses?
SAFE•Sim
currently doesn't include any of these. However, all of these vehicles
have similar characteristics to straight trucks, which are included in
SAFE•Sim's vehicle options. Some of these specialized
vehicles may be available in a SAFE•Sim add-on module
in the future.
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|
Do you have routes for other states?
SAFE•Sim's
routes were chosen because they represent a sampling of the most
common types of roads, climate, terrain and geographical features in the
continental U.S. If you're interested in specific routes outside of these,
please contact our Custom Soltuions department at 1-800-843-3174, ext.
2156 for a quote on your requirements.
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Can I purchase the software separately, and use it with my own hardware?
The
SAFE•Sim CD is not sold separately. SAFE•Sim
is designed to work with the controllers included. Introducing other hardware
that hasn't been tested may or may not work, but will certainly have to
be reconfigured. The SAFE•Sim package, complete with
a steering wheel and pedals, offers the best results, and is reasonably
priced at $2,495.
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|
Is there a simulator in use in my area that I could look at before
buying?
The 30-day
Test Drive program, at $99, is intended to provide a low-cost way of sampling
SAFE•Sim's powerful capabilities right at your own
location. You'll need more than an overview to explore SAFE•Sim's
many features, and how they can fit with your current training
program. If you're still not convinced that the Test Drive program is
a good deal for you, call us at 1-877-564-2333, and we'll be happy to
discuss your specific situation.
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