Montreal, 5th December 2018, Santa Claus completes his annual driver training at Virage Simulation.

Santa Claus driving Virage’s new VS600M simulator

Santa Claus had just completed his recurrent driver-training program on the Virage Simulation VS600M truck simulator when he met with our reporter to share his experiences.

“You know, as a seasonal worker who only gets out once a year, my skills get rusty. I need some refresher training to prepare for those big deliveries.” Snowplow operators have this in common with Santa. After the long summer and fall, they need to prepare for winter but there is no snow to plow. When the snow arrives, it`s too late. Ready or not, they need to get out there to clear the roads. Luckily, Virage has a solution.

Santa continues, “I have trained on the Virage Simulation VS600M truck simulator for years. Virage has excellent, complete training programs for different rigs, from my traditional sleigh for the city to dual and triple sleighs for the long haul. Virage Simulation has all the configurations, some customized just for me, with matching loads and centers of gravity, and all the virtual environments. Backing a semi-sleight with nine reindeers on ice can be a challenge. Let me tell you, these guys at Virage know how to simulate winter and slippery roads.”

When asked about critical events like skidding and jackknifing, Santa told our reporter that he really appreciated Virage’s focus on prevention. “If a reindeer loses traction, by the time I can react, it may be too late. Virage trained me to anticipate hazards, adjust my speed and leave enough room to smoothly maneuver my rig around obstacles. Icy roads are here every winter. Annual training for adverse road conditions is a great gift idea for any driver.“

“Following distance is not really a concern for me”, Santa said. “You know, traffic is still not bad up there and Rudolph is now fully equipped with all the latest technology with LIDAR and scanners to lead the way. Fatigue is more of a concern. I was surprised to see how Virage Simulation addresses that issue. At the end of the day, what I retained is that a good night's sleep just before the trip is pretty much the only thing that works.”

When asked about trip planning, Santa became evasive. “I can’t say much about that but I do travel from east to west to gain some time.” When questioned about Hours of Service, Santa went totally silent.

“Got to go now. Thanks to Virage Simulation and its VS600M big rig simulator.”

Have a good one, Santa.