Truck driver assessments are a required process for both carriers and drivers. They aren’t just about a driver’s current performance but about the skills they have or need to develop.
When experienced drivers need to sharpen their skills, you can’t train them like you would a new driver. They would get bored. Instead, they need customized training for their specific needs.
Keep reading to learn how a driving simulator addresses this specific problem.
Why are truck driver assessments important?
Carriers must continuously evaluate their drivers to see where they are performance-wise and where their skills can improve. This process should be completed at least once per year to ensure the safety of drivers, passengers, and cargo.
Drivers of all experience levels need to be assessed. Just because a driver is good at their job doesn’t mean they have no areas for improvement.
What should an assessment entail?
A truck driver skill assessment should test skills both at the office and on the road. A comprehensive truck driver assessment test provides a complete view of all the skills drivers need to perform their jobs safely. These skills include:
- Decision-making
- Pre-shift inspections
- Safe cargo loading procedures
- Safe driving practices
- Using safety equipment properly
- Vehicle maintenance
How to customize training to address individual driver skill needs
After completing assessments, company leaders need to address any low-skill areas within their fleet. The safety of your drivers, cargo, and reputation can be affected if you fail to do so. The challenge is that different drivers have different needs, making training more difficult to implement. Carriers also don’t want to tie up most of their fleet in training, leading to declining productivity.
A driving simulator can solve that problem. More specifically, a Driver Training Solutions driving simulator.
A Driver Training Solutions simulator has customizable features and functionality, making it an ideal solution for necessary training after truck driver assessments. Trainers can change various parts of established scenarios on the simulator or create new situations when needed.
Some factors that you can change within a scenario include:
- Number of pedestrians
- Number of vehicles and driver behaviors
- Time of day
- Type of environment
- Type of road
- Type of weather
Changing these factors can tailor a scenario to each driver’s needs. For example, if a driver is good at driving on highways but not as good in cities, your team can focus the training on city-based scenarios. Driver Training Solutions simulators have pre-programmed scenarios that feature city driving, so you don’t need to take the extra time to make a new experience.
However, you can also create a scenario. You can use a city as the environment and add additional pedestrians and vehicles to increase the busyness of the streets.
Providing immersive training
It’s also important to note that a simulator offers an immersive experience. Because you don’t have to use real vehicles, there’s no need to tie up your fleet while training. Carriers can focus on training a few drivers while the rest operate as usual.
The simulators deliver real-time physical feedback within the steering column, so it feels like the user is driving a commercial vehicle. Each simulator also features a six-channel surround sound system and 180-degree screens.
Addressing driving skill and behavior gaps improves profits
While some carriers may be hesitant to invest so much time in improving the skills of their already well-performing drivers, there are many benefits to doing so. Addressing these skill gaps can improve the following areas:
- Decision-making skills
- Interactions with clients
- Operations
- Timeliness
Additionally, drivers can experience fewer accidents with less vehicle damage. All these enhancements will lead to a better reputation as a carrier.
Keep your fleet’s skills sharp with Driver Training Solutions
Maintaining your fleet’s skills doesn’t have to be a painstaking process. Using a Driving Training Solutions simulator can make training easy without sacrificing operations. After performing truck driver assessments, you can create training scenarios for your drivers to address their unique skill gaps.
Have some drivers improve themselves while others deliver cargo as usual. Custom scenarios for each driver allow your business to maximize teaching while minimizing time spent on the effort. Once everyone’s needs have been met, you’ll see the change throughout your company.
Contact us for more information
About the author
The Driver Training Solutions Team
Driver Training Solutions offers highly customizable products and services to support effective delivery of content and management of training effectiveness. Our services include professional grade driving simulators, driver training services, training programs, performance assessment engines and computer-based training.
