FAAC wants to make sure that everyone who has a driving simulator—or has one on the way, or is simply considering their training options—has the support they need to get the most out of their simulation training tools from day one. This is especially the case for trainers who haven’t previously used immersive simulation, but have “inherited” a simulator with a new job and are unsure where to start.

Our new video series aims to provide the support you need in manageable portions. As FAAC Public Safety Business Manager Bill Martin explains, “our goal is that you’ll be able to take the fundamentals in these video lessons, apply them to your own program or use them to get a new program running, and make that program as successful as it can be.”

This series highlights the different aspects of how a driving simulator can be best applied to training and dispels the most common myths that get in the way of program success. The FAAC videos offer strategies for using simulation to complement and expand your established EVO or other behind-the-wheel training programs.

Focus on the Fundamentals

This video series is hosted by FAAC Training Group Lead and seasoned instructor Chuck Deakins.  Deakins served 28 years as a law enforcement officer in Santa Ana, CA, and has been involved with the CaPOST Regional Skills Training Centers programs since 1999, and serves as advisor on their curriculum development and simulation scenario development committees. He has personally instructed more than 1,300 students in driving simulators, drawing on his diverse array of simulator training strategies, tactics, techniques, and methods to provide effective cross-over training in all manner of vehicle operations.

“What we’ll cover in this series isn’t limited to my background in law enforcement,” Deakins says. “These simulation training fundamentals apply to any vehicle operations sim training situation. They’ve been used to train emergency responders, public service employees—even for large apparatus vehicles, whether it’s a fire truck, a snow plow, a semi-truck, or mass transit of all types. The principles of teaching on the driving simulator are the same across the board, even when the individual aspects of the mission or vehicle dynamics are very different.”

Videos in the series will cover fundamental applications of sim training, and how to use a vehicle simulator to reinforce core training values, break up tunnel vision, and make the most out of student-focused after-action review.

Learn How to Level Up Your Training Program With Simulation

As Deakins notes:

“I’ve come across very experienced instructors who are great in the classroom, but they’re not really experienced with simulators, and they’re just entirely unsure how to work this particular tool into their program. The beauty of the simulator is that it is so different from the classroom, so student centered, that it’s almost a perfect complement. That means the instructor has to shift positions, and adapt their training to give the trainee room to make those vital connections and put them into words. But once instructors grow accustomed to taking this different approach, they discover that adding the sim to the mix gives them this much more complete training opportunity.”

At FAAC, we know that the key to getting the best outcomes isn’t just throwing a simulator in front of students: It’s using the simulator to empower good instructors. That means giving trainers all the tools they need to plan lessons, put trainees through realistic driving situations, evaluate their performance, and keep them engaged.

This latest video series will help get you there.

Have questions? Want to learn more about how simulation can transform your training program? Feel free to contact us today. Our team of experts looks forward to speaking with you.