Driven by a need, Danville Community College unveils new CDL truck simulator

DCC officials unveiled the simulator during an event at the Regional Center for Advanced Technology and Training on Monday.

“It’s about as close as driving a real truck as you can get without actually driving one,” said Jason Edwards, program director for DCC’s commercial driver’s license training program.

Using a computer, Edwards can generate different driving scenarios with a variety of trucks and terrain, from urban to suburban to rural to mountainous.

Users can operate a tractor-trailer truck, dump truck, school bus, fire truck and countless others.

Driving situations can be switched from an automatic to a manual vehicle, with the operator traveling in snowy and slippery nighttime conditions, high winds or sunny and clear weather.

Traffic can be sparse or heavy, with the driver unexpectedly encountering stopped vehicles or a wreck.

The new, state-of-the-art simulator cost $100,000 and was paid for with donations of $40,000 each from Danville and Pittsylvania County. The remaining $20,000 was covered by DCC.

“The partnership between Danville Community College, the city of Danville and Pittsylvania County is second to none,” Toshia Martin Waller, chair of the DCC Advisory Board, said during remarks at the event attended by DCC, city and county officials and other community leaders. “Our community is better because of this collaboration.”

Danville Community College President Jerry Wallace pointed to the need for training for CDL drivers.

“We are so grateful for the help and assistance,” Wallace said during his remarks. “This will go a long way.”

Donations from the city and county were driven by a shortage of CDL drivers across the region and nation.

“Industry speaks loud in our community,” Shannon Hair, DCC vice president of institutional advancement development, told the Danville Register & Bee. “This is an opportunity to respond to that need.”

Mark Funkey, vice president of workforce services for DCC, called the simulator a “game changer for us and the workforce services department and for our CDL program.”

“It really gives us a lot more functionality and expands the breadth of programming we can offer through this simulator and other means,” Funkey said during his remarks at the event.

DCC launched its CDL training program in partnership with Ancora Education in March. The program has so far produced 19 licensed CDL drivers.

“We’re being very successful and hopefully, we’ll continue that 100% success rate,” Funkey said.

To earn a commercial driver’s license at DCC, students must receive 160 hours of training in the program, Edwards told the Danville Register & Bee.

“It’s [the simulator] very fun to learn and it’s really good for students to get practice on,” Funkey said. “We’ll be starting hopefully this week.”

The simulator unveiling is “another example of the collaboration between the city of Danville, Pittsylvania County and Danville Community College,” Danville Mayor Alonzo Jones said in a prepared statement. “The city council has said before, and I will say it again, we are going to continue to invest in education in our community and today’s event demonstrates that investment.”

During his remarks, Jones pointed to improving education as the city’s No. 1 goal.

Darrell Dalton, chairman of the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors, expressed appreciation for Danville City Council’s contribution to the simulator.

“We are thankful to members of Danville City Council for also believing in this project as much as we did,” Dalton said during his remarks.