With a $6.6 million federal grant, the new Carnegie Mellon Driver Training and Safety Institute will use technology to help train nearly 1,000 drivers, mostly truckers, to drive more safely.

The school, based in Dunbar, PA, will use high-tech tools such as virtual-reality driving simulators and specially outfitted trucks that will monitor things like speed, brake reaction time, driver drowsiness and lane departures.
The institute plans to least eight trucks and trailers for the three-year program. They expect to train 450 inexperienced truck drivers, 450 veteran truckers and another 90 drivers of emergency vehicles.
The Carnegie Mellon Research Institute has been doing research on truck driver training simulators in light of the driver shortage.