FAAC Commercial News

As we’ve discussed in the past, one key to the effectiveness of public transport simulation training is “presence“—i.e., the trainee’s convincing subjective experience of being in an actual vehicle. As Rob Raheb (an internationally published author and expert in simulation and driver training) has noted: “The more realistic the simulation is, the more ‘buy-in’ from … Continued

Few derailments rise to the level of what happened in East Palestine, Ohio in February 2023. That said, train derailments themselves are quite common in the United States. According to the Federal Railroad Administration, the U.S. averages more than three derailments per day. There were a total of 1,164 derailments in 2022—which is actually an … Continued

Staff retention problems continue to grow for almost every transit agency in the United States and Canada. According to the latest report from the American Public Transportation Association, more than 90% of all agencies surveyed faced transit operator shortages. And 84% of those agencies reported that staffing shortages were preventing them from providing full service. … Continued

FAAC is looking forward to attending the Fire Department International Conference this year (April 27-29, 2023, Indiana Convention Center & Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, IN) and introducing new developments in high-fidelity simulation-based fire service training, especially for pump operations. FDIC International is North America’s Leading Firefighter Conference and the world’s largest fire service event. It … Continued

The federal government is going all-in on a battery-powered future for mass transit—but transit agencies themselves aren’t so sure. Last year Vice President Harris announced a collection of new federal initiatives to cut carbon emissions from buses and trucks. These initiatives include “$1.1 billion in new funding to help cities and states purchase electric buses … Continued

The post-pandemic period is making it increasingly clear that situational awareness training is more important than ever for law enforcement, especially behind the wheel. Traffic accidents have long been among the leading causes of on-duty law officer fatalities. During the pandemic, traffic deaths rose 7% nationwide—and jumped 44% for police officers. Every law enforcement agency … Continued

Wildland fires are becoming more frequent and more severe. For example, the eight largest wildfires in California history all happened in the last five years. In that time, wildland fires burned 10+ million acres in the state, killed hundreds of Californians, and destroyed at least 32,000 homes. As a nation, we are desperately short of … Continued

  In one week of August 2022 alone, three dangerous petrochemical fires raged all around North America and brought attention to the serious challenges facing first responders fighting hazmat accidents, spills, and crimes—not to mention the ordinary incidents arising from the prevalence of everyday hazardous materials in industry and our communities.  On August 6, a … Continued

An increasing number of community colleges are using immersive driving simulators as part of their EMT training programs. FAAC lead specialist Chuck Deakins has worked with several community colleges to integrate simulation-based training into their programs. He’s glad to see more training programs adopting simulation tools, which can be so effective at increasing student engagement … Continued

Fire training is always stressful and risky. But ARFF (aircraft rescue and firefighting) training is especially challenging. It’s not simply that this is higher stakes training that must cover a broad range of topics: response, hazard mitigation, evacuation, possible rescue of aircraft passengers or personnel, and coordination with civilian and other authorities in an airport … Continued