Montana DOT Trains Snowplow Drivers With Simulators

Montana in the winter is not for the faint of heart. There’s ice, wind, black ice, and snowdrifts that are as high as your truck. That’s why the Montana Department of Transportation is amping things up this year with some hardcore tech. According to KPAX, the MDT is now using elaborate new computerized simulators to train new snowplow drivers before they ever go out on the actual road.

Not Just a Game

These $600,000 simulators have the look and feel of the real thing. They can recreate ice-covered highways, blowouts, and even drunk drivers swerving into your lane. Aspiring members can crash out without seriously damaging a real plow. It’s 80 to 90 percent accurate right down to the steering wheel and buttons. That’s quicker training, less downtime, and safer winter roads for the rest of us.

Better Training Means Better Roads

This is the first year MDT has deployed this type of technology, and it’s a game-changer. It gives new drivers the confidence needed to join real highways with some actual practice under their belts. If they make it through the simulation, they work their way into a hands-on training in the trucks that keep Montana moving when the snow is piled high.

Why This Matters to Us

Anyone who has been bottlenosed behind a wreck on I-90 or waiting for a plow in a snowstorm knows how essential these drivers are. The more skilled drivers on the road, the fewer icy surprises for the rest of us. And if I’m honest, the simulators look like a REALLY FUN game.