Truck Simulator in the eyes of the expert - Maciej Zwada, Fleet Development Manager

The ability to drive on various road types, in different weather conditions and through rapidly changing landscapes. Options for manoeuvring in car parks, terminals or near ramps. Add to that a pair of VR goggles replicating the authentic truck interior, the original seat and steering wheel - all of this makes the Truck Simulator a great tool for driver training and improving professional skills.

It is a great honour and pleasure to participate in the innovative Truck Simulator project, which has been accomplished with the participation of many dedicated Raben Group experts. The aim of this project is to improve the driving techniques of drivers in our company.

Two aspects are key here:

1. Improving road safety by improving driving techniques.
2. Care for the environment - by improving the habits of our drivers we can significantly reduce CO₂ emissions into the atmosphere.

The process of final implementation required making multi-stage preparations. It was important to adapt and calibrate the simulator itself, which was related to selecting the optimum road conditions and taking into account the laws of physics resulting from the behaviour of a 40-tonne truck on the road. We had to take into account the driving conditions on motorways, national roads, in mountainous terrain and the possibility of manoeuvring at terminals or car parks, so that they reflected the working environment of our drivers as much as possible.

The VR goggle technology we used which shows a three-dimensional image of the truck's interior, the moving platform together with the integrated original seat and steering wheel - identical to one of the models we use - ensure that the physics of driving the simulator is as close as possible to the actual driving conditions of the truck.

Above all, the use of the simulator gives us the opportunity to effectively onboard new drivers, even those with no experience of driving a combination vehicle. Further benefits of the simulator include: 

1. training in driving techniques,
2. verifying road behaviours,
3. opportunity to practise difficult manoeuvres for some drivers, such as reversing in congested car parks, driving up to loading ramps at terminals, etc.

For more experienced drivers who have already mastered the driving and manoeuvring issues, training in the simulator takes a different course. In this case, we use the device to observe specific driving behaviours. We can verify the correctness of drivers' use of truck driving efficiency solutions, i.e. the use of cruise control on national roads, mountain roads, motorways, and also in built-up areas. We also plan to improve brake use, e.g. whether drivers make adequate use of the engine brake instead of the service (foot) brake, as well as situations of heavy traffic where the principle of moving the vehicle and making as few stops as possible is applied.

All the described elements are designed to increase the awareness of our drivers by improving their driving techniques. The simulator seems to be a great tool for one-to-one work between the instructor and the driver. Training will be provided on a regular basis by the Training Department at Raben Transport.