Shown above in front of the new Commercial Truck Driving Simulator at South Georgia Tech are: SGTC President Sparky Reeves, Commercial Truck Driving Instructor Hugh Little, USDA Area Director Nigel Parrish, USDA Area Specialist Patricia Simmons, SGTC Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Robbie Latimore, SGTC Commercial Truck Driving Instructors Scooter Alford and Sherry L. Mathews, and SGTC Dean of Instruction over Transportation Raymond Holt.

SGTC Commercial Truck Driving Instructor Hugh Little is shown driving in the new simulator.

SGTC Commercial Truck Driving Instructor Sherry Mathews (is shown above dictating the road conditions for the simulator from a separate computer.

South Georgia Tech Receives New Commercial Truck Driving Simulator
Friday May 1, 2009
Need a job? Enjoy driving? South Georgia Technical College just may have the perfect career opportunity for you.

South Georgia Technical College received a new commercial truck driving simulator recently which will allow the college to expand its existing commercial truck driving program and provide the transportation industry with more qualified employees.

The new commercial truck driving simulator was purchased partially with a $75,000 Rural Business Enterprise grant from the United States Department of Agriculture and is expected to allow the college to help create 15 new jobs in the transportation industry in this area.

Senator Saxby Chambliss and F. Stone Workman, state director of USDA Rural Development, presented South Georgia Technical College with a ceremonial big check for $75,000 to purchase the simulator during a special ceremony a few months earlier. Nigel Parrish, area director for the USDA, and Patricia Simmons, area specialist with USDA, returned to SGTC recently for a demonstration of the newly installed simulator.

The simulator was installed in the Commercial Truck Driving classroom on the South Georgia Technical College campus and students are already receiving training to supplement the existing curriculum of classroom work and driving training.

“The commercial truck driving simulator is a tremendous asset for South Georgia Technical College. The simulator will allow us to expand the program as well as provide students with an additional opportunity to gain valuable skills. It should also be more economical. The college will be able to train more students while reducing the amount of money we are spending on diesel fuel, tires, and repair and maintenance for this particular program,” said Reeves.

A Truck Driving Simulator provides many hours of realistic instruction with varied scenarios to help prepare students for the open road. In order to graduate, students must complete a minimum of 750 documented driving miles. The simulator will allow students to record a portion of those documented driving miles in the classroom.

“This new simulator will allow us to introduce our new students to the look and feel of the experience of driving an 18-wheeler in a safe, controlled environment before they even get in the cab of a truck,” said Hugh Little, one of SGTC’s Commercial Truck Driving Instructors. “The simulator is controlled by a computer that allows the instructors to change scenarios to include rain, wind, snow, heavy traffic, mountains, and hazards. The instructors can also switch between trucks with an automatic or manual transmission.”

There is also a scenario that mirrors the existing commercial truck driving range on the college campus which allows more students to get hands on training during classes. “We can have several students practicing on the range in our physical cabs and trailers and then we can have other students doing the same exercises on the simulator,” explained Scooter Alford, another SGTC commercial truck driving instructor.

Currently South Georgia Tech has over 20 students enrolled in the commercial truck driving course which can be completed in one quarter. “We offer day and evening classes in an effort to help students who are working and going to school,” explained Instructor Little. “We basically have to rebuild our program every quarter. But the positive side of that is that we are helping students to be able to secure a good paying job after only one quarter.”

South Georgia Tech serves Crisp, Macon, Marion, Schley, Sumter and Webster counties and there is a high demand for licensed commercial truck drivers in these areas.
The $75,000 grant funds used to help purchase the simulator are from the Rural Business Enterprise Grant program, which funds projects in rural communities that enhance the economy and create or save jobs.

For more information on Rural Development programs, visit http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/ga.

For more information about the commercial truck driving program at South Georgia Technical College, contact instructors Hugh Little or Scooter Alford at 229.931.2975 or visit the college website at www.southgatech.edu. SGTC offers Commercial Truck Driving on both the Americus and Crisp County campus.

Registration for summer quarter at South Georgia Tech begins June 5th. SGTC offers over 90 degree, diploma, and technical certifcate of credit opportunities. Students may apply now.