SC State launches VR training lab to improve truck driver safety

ORANGEBURG, S.C. (WIS) - South Carolina State University is using virtual reality to help make the roads safer for commercial truck drivers.

The university’s College of Engineering unveiled a new commercial driver simulation lab funded through a U.S. Department of Transportation High Priority–Commercial Motor Vehicle grant. The technology allows students and licensed drivers to practice real-world road scenarios before operating a truck on the highway.

The VR system replicates traffic patterns, blind spots, stoplights and pedestrians crossing the roadway — all inside a controlled classroom environment.

Graduate student Steven Paul, who is studying transportation engineering, said the simulator feels like driving an actual truck. He also says the training is personal for him after his br