DRIVING SIMULATOR AS A PEDAGOGICAL TOOL IN POLICE TRAINING

Abstract

Traffic is the most dangerous environment for police officers to work in, both in terms of numbers who lose their lives in the line of duty and injuries to both people and vehicles. In addition, driver training is an important part of police training at basic level and in continuing education. However, such training is resource-intensive and certain driver tasks cannot be practiced. In order to create an effective, safe, and secure educational environment, driving simulators were tested as part of the driver training at the Police Program at Malmö University. 83 students who completed the second and then third semester participated in a study where groups that received different types of training and then performed the same examination were compared regarding low-speed maneuvering and driving on country roads. The results show that there are no significant differences in how the students perform on the practical examination depending on whether they trained in the simulator, both in the simulator and in the police car or only in the police car. Implications of the results and future research are discussed.