Dump truck simulator teaches big driving skills
Have you ever pictured yourself behind the wheel of one of those giant dump trucks with massive wheels, driving around a mine site?
TAFE students in Menindee in far west NSW are learning how to do just that, as part of a course to help get more indigenous people jobs in the resource sector.
The students practice their truck-handling skills in a real-life simulator that replicates the inside of the vehicle complete with bumps, tilts and huge video projection screens.
Teacher Terry Patteson at TAFE Western says it's an effective way to hone new drivers' skills in the 5-metre tall, 90-tonne work horse.
"This is the first step; the console is the exact way a seat and instruments would be on a Caterpillar 777D haul truck."
"There's a screen in front and two screens on each side. They (students) get a feel of the instruments and a feel of the gages, the mirror and the brakes plus how it might look when they are actually driving a truck."
"After that they would then be put in a haul truck with an experienced driver and then after a week or two it's then their turn to be in the seat."