Simulator slides into virtual retirement as young drivers hit streets

Skrrt Skrrt! West is finally pumping the brakes on the historical driving simulator. Decades of ditzy driving in the classic worn-down seats has met its dead end as the school waves a final farewell. Retired Driver’s Ed teacher Scott Morrison has been teaching lessons using the simulator since 1996. 

“There has been a simulation lab at West for over 50 years. The state requirements for Behind the Wheel allows us to substitute four hours of simulation for each hour of on-street driving,” he said. “It allows new drivers to gain experience in a safe environment while reinforcing critical driving habits and covering many situations that students will not necessarily encounter in Oshkosh during driving lessons, like driving on the freeway system in Los Angeles.”

Morrison relied on the driving simulators as a tool to teach students to stay safe on the roads. 

“The biggest advantage is that the simulation curriculum provides consistent defensive driving experiences for students,” he said. 

Current Driver’s Ed teacher Stacie Brethouwer broke down the shifts in time allotted for driving practice. 

“The State of Wisconsin requirement is when a student gets their temporary license, they have to do six hours of driving and six hours of observation with a Driver’s Ed instructor,” she said. “The simulator gave us two of those hours, instead of six hours in the car. We would have four hours in the car because students go through the simulator.”

Spanish teacher Richard Webster looks at the change as an opportunity for improvement. 

“I think, like anything else, the simulator is good practice, all practice is good practice but I don't think they are super realistic,” he said. “It's like exercising on a treadmill versus jogging outside; it's practice but not the real thing.” 

Health teacher Shannon Goers was a fan of the extra experience for students. 

“The simulators help students practice what it is like to be driving on the road,” she said. “I believe it helps students practice situations that may occur while out on the road.”

Brethouwer understands the financial challenges that come alongside the technology. 

“There is really no way to keep upgrading and updating the lab without getting a brand new one, which is very, very costly,” she said. “We decided that we were just going to move entirely to on-street driving, which is what the vast majority of everybody else in the state of Wisconsin does.”

Principal Erin Kohl acknowledges the challenges that came with the lack of updates reflected in the simulators. 

“The simulators aren’t even designed the way modern cars drive, from the steering to the shifting, all of that has changed so much over time,” she said. “It really doesn’t simulate what it is like to drive most cars.” 

Brethouwer is planning on adding more staff to Behind the Wheel to help offset time crunches. 

“We will have at least one more Driver’s Ed teacher that we’re adding this summer; he is going through his student teaching for Driver’s Ed right now,” she said. “We are looking for teachers who have their Driver’s Ed certification that can come and drive with students.”

Some students, like sophomore Maddison Houle, have had their fair share of struggles with the old machinery.

“I did not enjoy it,” she said. “One of the mirrors on the actual machine was broken and it caused me to form incorrect habits when I went behind the wheel.” 

Freshman Hunter Nguyen agrees with Houle about the machines being faulty.

“There was nothing too special about the machines themselves; most of the time they malfunctioned, I remember the computer completely crashed and we couldn't continue with the lesson,” he said. “The accelerator on the car I used didn't work until I pressed on it around two to three times.”

For freshman Jack Gonzalez, there were two sides to driving using the simulator. 

“They are a good way to give new drivers a way to gain experience driving without having to actually drive on the road in a real car,” he said. “However, there are flaws with the driver interface; the speedometer and the pressure on the pedals wouldn’t work and the drives were not always accurate.”

Freshman Hollie Dobyns, on the other hand, thinks that the simulator was a beneficial way to get students ready to drive, make mistakes, and learn from them. 

“I really liked the simulator lab because I felt like it gave us a really good first step into driving and it allowed us to make mistakes and learn without hurting anyone out on the road,” she said. “I think that the simulator was really beneficial for learning the basics of driving, so when we went into the car outside we were all well prepared.”

Kohl is ready to make the change and supports the update. 

“I think it’s a good decision, and it’s a good time to make this decision,” she said. “Brethouwer has done a really great job of updating the drivers education classroom and updating the processes and procedures.” 

Goers finds the actual driving experience to be more beneficial than using a machine.

“The students are working with a certified instructor behind the wheel and getting the same feedback and situations that they would get behind a simulator,” she said. “The act of driving a real car rather than using a simulator is very important; you learn a lot when you have actual driving experiences.” 

The financial trade off is not worth it to Webster. 

“If West is not looking to buy new simulators and they don’t need repair, then I would say to keep them and keep letting kids have practice,” he said. “But if we’re talking millions of dollars in spending to get the software updated, then it's probably not worth it.”

Houle thinks that since her driving simulator experience led to faulty driving habits, she wouldn’t want the same thing to happen to others.

“It is good that the simulator is being taken out so more students get a feel for what it is actually like to drive right away rather than an inaccurate simulation,” she said.

Brethouwer hopes the new change will allow students to develop critical skills needed for the road. 

“When the students will be in the car, they will be more focused, they feel that sense of responsibility,” she said. “In the simulator lab, some students lose focus because they feel like it’s not a big deal and nothing is going to happen because it's just a simulator.”

Kohl wants the curriculum to meet the particular needs of all. 

“By increasing the amount of times that students do Behind the Wheel in a real vehicle with an instructor,” she said. “It is going to better prepare our students to be safe drivers.”

by: Jazbia Farooq

Published on May 22, 2023

Oshkosh West Index volume 119 issue VIII