The anticipation and early recognition of potentially dangerous traffic situations as well as clear communication of the driver's intentions to other road users re critical skills for safe emergency driving. The emergence of high capacity driving simulators enables a focus on the training of high-level danger cognition processes by presenting trainees with complex traffic scenarios without putting other road users at risk. A simulator-based training programme for emergency vehicle driving that was developed as part of a comprehensive training programme for the Bavarian Police Force is described. The training objectives and selection of training scenarios, their implementation in the simulator, and the two-day training curriculum are outlined. Data from instructors, observers and 44 police trainees were obtained. Mean instructor ratings of driving performance showed improvements in choosing speed, overtaking, teamwork, lane keeping, communicating driving intention, keeping distance, negotiating right of way, using irregular lanes, and clearing traffic. Simulator sickness had an incidence of 15-20%. Further studies are required to ascertain the transfer effectiveness of the simulator training to real emergency driving. For the covering abstract see ITRD E157496
Samenvatting