Traffic simulators are a widespread tool used in Driver Education. Their function in the learning process has changed with the passage of time, and they are now conceived of as a device to assist in the development of procedural and human function responses.

The concept of driving has undergone changes also, from the concept that driving was strictly a manipulative, motor skill, to the emerging concept that driving is a mental and social task as well as a physical one that requires extended supervised time.

The main objective of our simulation lab is that students can be taught specific procedural and mental skills which should facilitate learning in the Driver Education car on the street. If on-street instruction is not aided by the lessons in the simulator lab, then the simulator instruction must be constantly modified and changed so it complements the efforts in the car.

The best replication of parts of the driving task in the simulator lab are those involving the human functions of perception, judgment and decision-making. The varied and constantly changing traffic scenes presented in the films we utilize at Lake Park allow students to make almost the same responses as they would in the Driver Education car.