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State Police and Onondaga County Sheriffs Deputies got a look at a pair of cars set up in Syracuse's OnCenter, that could help make learning to drive a safer proposition.
Undersheriff Warren Darby says the computer program, which allows a driver equipped with goggles to sit in the cars and 'drive' through several scenarios, could be the first step in getting new police recruits to understand how to handle a patrol car in difficult situations. Darby says the same program could also help new, teen drivers learn how to react, before really getting behind the wheel.
The basic program costs $20-thousand dollars. Darby says one patrol car costs $25-thousand, and that's before figuring costs from injuries in a crash. Staying safe is the big benefit, says Darby, but 'you do the math' on the simulator.