ECA Group unveils emergency driving simulators at Milipol 2017.

EF Emergency, a new range of simulators from ECA Group that increases the proficiency of emergency response drivers and riders. A versatile and modular training tool for professional use, the software is adapted to three occupational categories: Defence,Police and Ambulance.

Even if the legislation does not impose any obligation for driving training in emergency situations, many advantages have already won over numerous customers in France and around the world, such as Australian firefighters, the national gendarmerie of Algeria and several French fire and rescue services.

Urgent interventions are the daily life of police, military personnel, firefighters and ambulance drivers. They often repeat the same action: from the police station, barracks or hospital, they must reach their destination as quickly as possible while guaranteeing the safety of the crew and the vehicle. For the drivers of these priority vehicles, this is a delicate task. On the road, they need to be able to deal with mission stress, the unexpected, speed, the countless obstacles that can arise or block the road, traffic hazards, the behaviour of other road users and many other constraints. They must also have a perfect command of the procedures and vehicles used.

ECA Group, a specialist in simulators, has taken up the challenge of developing a complete range of emergency driving simulators to provide a high level of performance and thus help companies provide post-license training for drivers and assess them. While previous generations of simulators simply simulate the vehicle, environment and virtual driving, ECA Group's EF Emergency goes further by offering a rich educational content, with a comprehensive series of lessons in images and explanatory diagrams, followed by simulations based on real-life scenarios and assessment exams.

Using a touchscreen tablet, the instructor adapts each student's program to his or her needs. To test the student's skills, he can at any time vary the difficulties and modify the environment: traffic density, the type of areas (urban, peri-urban, rural, off-road, dirt tracks), weather conditions, time of day or night, the "competent, incompetent or hostile" social behaviour of road users. It is even possible to trigger accidents and test vehicle dynamics.

ECA Group provides software that makes it possible to simulate a two-person driving team with a choice of over a dozen different types of vehicles: logistics trucks, lightweight non protected vehicles, rescue and victim-assistance vehicles, forestry tanker trucks, and various fire engines including pumper and turntable ladder trucks. Moreover, several EF Emergency simulators can be networked together to share the same environment and train for escort, convoy or multi-team missions.