Learning to drive software? (Not theory)

oceanclub

About to arrange some driving lessons but I'm wondering is there any software out there that teaches driving via simulation as well? Not the theory part, but an actually 3D sim featuring gear changing, etc.

P.

kippy

oceanclub wrote: »

About to arrange some driving lessons but I'm wondering is there any software out there that teaches driving via simulation as well? Not the theory part, but an actually 3D sim featuring gear changing, etc.

P.

It'll never be anywhere near as good as an actual lesson in a "real" car.

JOKE ANSWER: Some might suggest, Gran Turismo, GTA etc etc

oceanclub

kippy wrote: »

It'll never be anywhere near as good as an actual lesson in a "real" car.

JOKE ANSWER: Some might suggest, Gran Turismo, GTA etc etc

Well, obviously this would be supplementary rather than instead of.

P.

kippy

oceanclub wrote: »

Well, obviously this would be supplementary rather than instead of.

P.

I think if there were something available it would be no where near as good as a real lesson, and as such a waste of time and money.
There's probably plenty Youtube vids up there as well.
So my point is, while there MAY be something out there, its not anywhere close to being as good as a real lesson, supplementary or not.

Del2005

oceanclub wrote: »

Well, obviously this would be supplementary rather than instead of.

P.

The dynamics of driving are completely different to playing a computer game, see Clarkson's driving Laguna Seca in a car v's PS3.

Unless you're sitting in a seat with gears it'll be useless and the costs of setting up something to reasonably simulate driving would cost more than lessons, which you'll still need.

Cedrus

In theory it's not impossible, pilots (air and sea) train on simulators but it's the hardware that makes the difference and it's expensive.

Software alone cannot ever simulate the feel of a clutch, a gear change, the terror of stalling in a long line of rush hour traffic or the joy of getting it all right.

Craftylee

Try out YouTube - there's lots of channels about driving. Even entire lesson PoV's

kerry4sam

oceanclub wrote: »

About to arrange some driving lessons but I'm wondering is there any software out there that teaches driving via simulation as well? Not the theory part, but an actually 3D sim featuring gear changing, etc.

P.

This reminds me of the episode of the BigBangTheory when Sheldon was learning to drive "ooooh, not the pet-store!". They created a fantastic simulation, but never seen anything like that IRL myself.

Perhaps contact a few different instructor company's and ask them? They may have contacts with someone who has a simulator.

Good Luck with your Driving,
kerry4sam

socco

oceanclub wrote: »

About to arrange some driving lessons but I'm wondering is there any software out there that teaches driving via simulation as well? Not the theory part, but an actually 3D sim featuring gear changing, etc.

P.

Not quite what you're asking for but nearest thing I could think of which is more theory (I know you said you didn't want theory).... is ISM sell a dvd "Guide how to pass your test" found here -> http://www.ism.ie/shop


Note: I've no idea how good or bad this is but it claims to be a Step-by-step guide of exactly what the tester will be looking for.

B00056718

Friend of mine was struggling to learn years ago. Taking off in particular. She kept stalling at the lights.

I gave her a lesson of whats happening inside the car when she's releasing the clutch pedal and how the car works in general.

Then we went to a remote place where I made her to start moving the car without touching the accelerator pedal. Half an hour later she had no problem, once the radio was off.

So maybe a general idea of how the car actually works might be helpful.

Qualitymark

Google:
There's apparently one made by Toyota called TeenDrive 365, but it's not clear whether this is for schools only or also for individuals

http://www.teendrive365inschool.com

These may also help:

http://learndrivingin3d.co.uk/?page_id=31

http://learndrivingin3d.co.uk/?page_id=31
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/aa-hazard-perception-test/id372188108?mt=8

http://blog.midrive.com/learn-to-drive-with-3d-app/

Reviews:

http://www.whatcar.com/car-news/learn-drive/1206286

oceanclub

Cedrus wrote: »

In theory it's not impossible, pilots (air and sea) train on simulators but it's the hardware that makes the difference and it's expensive.

Software alone cannot ever simulate the feel of a clutch, a gear change, the terror of stalling in a long line of rush hour traffic or the joy of getting it all right.

Oh, absolutely. But as you say, even professional pilots supplement their training with sims, it's strange it's not a bigger deal for road driving.

P.

kippy

oceanclub wrote: »

Oh, absolutely. But as you say, even professional pilots supplement their training with sims, it's strange it's not a bigger deal for road driving.

P.

Id suggest the reason professional pilots supplement training with physical simulators is simply a matter of:

1. Cost - Flight time in a real airplane costs a significant amount of money.
2. Licensing requirements - I assume pilots have to display what they would do in any amount of situations, some of which are probably not that easy to generate in a real plane.
2. Health and Safety - As above, physical plan simulators that pilots use for training are almost identical to the "real thing" - easy and safe to implement any number of scenarios in them that wouldn't be easy in a real plane.

It's a bigger deal for road driving because of:
1. The licensing requirements not being anywhere near as strict.
2. The cost of time in a car being a hell of a lot cheaper than cost in a plane for training.

hmmm

Perhaps this is worth a try (Russian, wrong side of road etc etc).
http://citycardriving.com/

I haven't used it however.

jimgoose

You can't learn to drive properly via a computer simulation, but City Car Driving from Forward Development is quite good for what it is, and you might find it somewhat useful:

http://citycardriving.com/

Qualitymark

It's an interesting approach, though - after all, pilots do a good deal of learning using virtual reality before they lay hands on a plane at all.