AVERY COUNTY, N.C. — The North Carolina Department of Transportation is utilizing a driving simulator to train road crews for icy conditions as they prepare for potential frozen precipitation in the mountains and northern Foothills.
The simulator, which is sent to every NCDOT division in the state, offers 300 different scenarios for various vehicles. Over 20,000 people have already trained on this equipment, which is designed to help workers experience what it’s like to plow roads in icy conditions.
NCDOT’s Michael Woodruff said it helps drivers feel more comfortable in adverse conditions.
The simulator is meant to challenge employees, including Kelly Nichols.
“You’re going over railroad tracks and you feel that,” Nichols said. “You have people parked on the side and that’s definitely going to happen when you get out there and are pushing for real, so it’s a good experience.”
The NCDOT says the simulators are vital to help new drivers as others retire and the trailer allows them to move it around the state.
The goal is to keep employees safe along with other drivers who venture out during a storm.
“You get behind a wheel of a truck that’s going down the road, and the capacity that we drive and with no experience, and that can get pretty scary out on the road,” Woodruff said.
Watauga County alone, there will be two dozen trucks with plows and salt spreaders Monday night.
NCDOT plans to implement 12-hour shifts starting at 6 p.m. Monday. Some crews will be equipped with chainsaws due to the potential for ice.
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