By Jeff Wiehe
Doron 550LE is the official name of the Fort Wayne Police and Fire departments new driving simulator, but it looks like a high-tech version of Pole Position taken straight from an arcade.
It’s a big video game, that’s what it is, police spokesman Mike Joyner said before Wednesdays unveiling.
The simulator, bought with government grants totaling $136,322 and an $8,640 payment from the city, is designed to train police officers and firefighters for almost every scenario behind the wheel. With a steering wheel, gas and brake pedals, and three video screens one for the front windshield and two for the side windows the simulator can mimic the movements and feel of a normal-sized squad car as well as a full- blown fire engine. If you hit a curb on the street, the simulator makes sure you feel it. It even comes with heating and air conditioning.
Instructors control the situation the driver faces. They can change the environment from day to night, from sunny to rainy, and turn a normal traffic stop into a chase.
We can take a routine procedure, we can direct you to drive from Sesame Street to Smith Street, and evaluate whether the officer stays in lanes, stops at lights, Joyner said. Or it can be a pursuit situation.
The ability to train officers for chase situations with zero liability excites the department.
We can use it to determine an officers judgment, whether they shouldve called off the pursuit or continued, Joyner said. It helps get rid of tunnel vision, which typically happens in a pursuit situation, and forces the officer to scan and see the whole picture.
Though the simulator will be used frequently, especially for new recruits who only get a few days behind the wheel before going out on active duty, real cars used in training won’t be abandoned altogether. The police department currently practices chase situations on a course at North American Van Lines on U.S. 30.
I’m sure well put the rubber to the road when possible, Joyner said. If the opportunity presents itself, that side-to-side feel of the car moving there’s nothing that can completely replace that.
The simulator, manufactured by Doron Precision Systems Inc. of Birmingham, N.Y., will be kept at the police academy on St. Marys Avenue until the new Regional Public Safety Academy at Southtown Centre opens in late 2007.
Fort Wayne News Sentinel (http://www.fortwayne.com/)