CASTLEGAR, B.C. — Mountain Transport Institute recently purchased a full-motion simulator to train professional drivers in the Lower Mainland, throughout B.C. and the American Northwest.

The B.C.-based driver training institute will use the Mark III Full Motion-Based Driver Training Simulator to train operators of a variety of trucks, motor coaches, emergency response vehicles as well as most other types of vehicles.

Simulation has been proven vital and beneficial in many industry sectors. It has long been used for training astronauts, the military and airline pilots.

Although the primary focus of a simulator is training and safety enhancement, it has also proven to increase profitability by reducing accidents, fuel usage and training time.

Major carriers, such as J.B. Hunt, Schneider National, Swift Transportation, and Bison Transport, have heavily invested in simulator training in recent years. This endeavor by Mountain Transport aims to allow smaller carriers, bus lines and commercial fleet owners to take advantage of the same level of sophistication in simulator training.

Mountain Transport has also entered into a partnership with Coastal Pacific Xpress, which initiated the creation of the training institutes new Professional Driver Development Division located in Surrey, B.C.

We are both pleased and privileged, said Andy Roberts, president and CEO of Mountain Transport. To have entered into a partnership agreement with Coastal Pacific Xpress, one of Canadas most progressive and safety conscious carriers. This initiative will allow us to provide a superior quality professional driver development service not only to CPx but to other commercial enterprises throughout the greater Vancouver area as well.

The Professional Driver Development Division has developed a series of Professional Driver Development Programs, which aim to alter the culture within the industry and prove to be financially rewarding to those who embrace them.

The centrepiece of the new endeavor is the Mark III Full Motion-Based Driver Training Simulator.

It has become evident in the industry today that the modern day professional driver requires a broader range of skills than ever before, noted Roberts. The industry now has an ever growing need to deal with issues like driver retention, fuel management, skills assessment and safety. The carriers that deal with those issues most effectively will be the survivors in the future.