Photo by Erica Jones

Fred Stamey, coordinator and lead instructor of the Truck Driver Training Program at Sampson Community College, simulates a driving exercise on the newly implemented TranSim Truck Driving Simulator.

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Sampson Community College has expanded its truck driving fleet once again. This time, the college has implemented a state-of-the-art truck driving simulator in hopes to enhance the current curriculum and to meet the needs of students. This innovative equipment is exclusive to SCC and is already in operation to create real-life truck driving scenarios right in the classroom.

“We’re thrilled to have this equipment,” says Fred Stamey, truck driving coordinator and lead instructor. “With the overwhelming success of the Truck Driver Training Program, this new addition will allow us to enhance students’ driving skills and give them valuable one-on-one training that they can take from the classroom out onto the highway.”

In just five years since the inception of this program, enrollment continues to climb, and this is one reason Stamey says it was critical to obtain the equipment. “Currently, SCC offers seven classes per year; four weekday and three weekend, with eighteen students in each class. With training around the clock, seven days a week, this is literally a full-time job!”

The TranSim Truck Driving Simulator looks exactly like the inside cab of a real tractor trailer with a real instrument panel which is realistic to what the students drive out in the field. “One of the amazing aspects of this simulator is the concept of re-creating specific scenarios where our students can experience a wide-range of real-time highway situations,” adds Stamey.

In addition to providing additional training for students, Stamey says that the simulator is also beneficial in other ways as well. “We’re hoping to eliminate wear and tear on our actual tractor trailers, because students will be able to use the simulator to work out issues they sometimes face on trucks out in the field.”

One example is transmission trouble, points out Stamey. “Truck Drivers have to work with a variety of transmissions and gear patterns, and learning them on the simulator will save a lot of us a lot of money and time.”

This versatile training tool may soon make it mobile and impact truck drivers outside of the classroom as well, according to Stamey. “We’re hoping to take the simulator to other areas of eastern North Carolina where we can train drivers for trucking companies. Not only will this be beneficial for us, but for the industries we partner with.”

With the TranSim Simulator well under way at SCC, the Truck Driving Program is attracting an excited and eager student population. For more information about joining this expanding program, contact Stamey at 592-7176 or visit www.sampsoncc.edu.