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(Cedar Rapids, IA) -- Iowa snowplow operators are using some pretty high tech equipment to prepare for the winter. Advanced simulators are offering plow drivers a hands-on virtual training experience.
Beau Weimar, IDOT Highway Maintenance Supervisor tells Iowa's News Now that the simulators are almost like a high-tech video game. "You start the truck, it vibrates when you hit the brakes, the seat moves around, the steering wheel has some feedback to it. When you put the plow down you kind of feel a little vibration and stuff."
He says the equipment can simulate a variety of scenarios plow drivers may encounter like pedestrians, cars, accidents, animals, bad weather, low visibility, nighttime, headlights.
The mobile simulator trailer is currently travelling around the state getting drivers ready for the coming snows.
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