Published: May 27, 2008 11:10 pm         

Gas prices driving Autry Tech to think ... well, inside the box

Faced with rising fuel costs, several area transportation businesses are looking toward alternative methods for training drivers. On Tuesday, they got a look at one possible solution.

MPRI, a Virginia-based professional services provider, demonstrated its driver-training simulator at James W. Strate Center for Business Development at Autry Technology Center.

“We’d looked at the simulator (earlier) for the Enid CEO network,” said Teri Holle, director of business and industry at Autry.

After checking it out, Holle said Autry officials decided to bring it to Enid for various businesses to peruse.

The simulator, comprised of a three-panel plasma screen, dashboard, clutch, brake and gas pedal, is geared toward experienced drivers, trainer Brian Walker said.

“It feels like you’re in a truck,” Holle said.

The simulator software can create several driving conditions, Walker said, including rain, snow, ice and fog, and in a variety of settings, including rural, metro, suburban or mountain.

“If you can think it, we can put it on the machine,” he said.

A feature Greg Hodgen, Groendyke Transport president and CEO, liked was the slosh simulation.

Slosh can affect a trucker’s braking and turning when the liquid inside the tanker moves, or sloshes around.

“It’s pretty realistic,” Hodgen said after stepping out of the simulator. “Other simulators didn’t include slosh. It’s an investment we’re considering.”

If purchased, Autry would facilitate the simulator’s use for participating businesses.

“It reduces fuel costs and increases driver safety,” Holle said.

It also can be repurposed for other vehicles, including school buses, fire trucks and police cars.

The initial investment would be $100,000, according to Holle, and the whole package comes with a $300,000 price tag.

The next step, she said, is finding funding.

Other businesses interested in the simulator include Mid-America Wholesale, Computer Sciences Corp., Paul Transportation, Advance Food Co. and Triangle Industries.