Mobile Classroom/Driver Simulator Holds Key to Safer Motorists; One-of-A-Kind Technology Premieres in Austin Next Week

AUSTIN, Texas, June 13 -- The Texas Motor Transportation Association will unveil its state-of-the-art Mobile Classroom/Driver simulator to the media and the public on Monday, June 17 in Austin. The full-motion simulator is built into a 53-foot trailer complete with a computer-based driver-training classroom.

The Mobile Classroom/Driver Simulator is designed to: 1) Train professional truck drivers to be better and safer on the road, and 2) Help the public understand what a truck driver experiences on the road.

"The advanced technology used makes this simulator one-of-a-kind in the world," said TMTA President Bill Webb. "In the simulator, you are literally sitting in the cab of a working truck. Several scenarios can be provided at the touch of a button, from tire blowouts to severe fog conditions."

The simulator, developed by GE Capital I-SIM of Salt Lake City, is the first full-motion mobile simulator ever assembled. A full-motion simulator provides more realistic situations and helps alleviate the problem of vertigo sometimes associated with sitting in a stationary simulator watching video of a moving road.

The approximately $1 million project is funded in part by a grant from the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). More than 350,000 individuals are expected to pass through the simulator over the next year.

The Mobile Classroom/Driver Simulator will leave Austin next week to begin traveling the state. Many trucking companies are already scheduled to have the simulator for driver training, and several public appearances are on the calendar. Please visit www.tmta.com to view a copy of the calendar.

Who: Texas Motor Transportation Association (TMTA) Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) Representatives from I-SIM Technology

What: Press Conference and unveiling ceremony for Mobile Classroom/Driver Simulator

When: 11 a.m. Monday, June 17, 2002

Where: TMTA offices 700 E. 11th St. (Directly across from the Marriott at the Capitol) Austin, Texas