Excel is the only driving school in North Oakland County to offer a fully functioning, realistic driving simulator. We feel that for many students, especially those that have never been behind the wheel of a real car or are intimidated by driving, the driving simulator is the best way to start their driving career.

Our simulator is made by Simulator Systems Inc, a division of the Faros Group, which makes computerized simulators for marine, aviation, military and driving applications. Their driving simulators are used by colleges, universities, insurance groups, and driver rehabilitation centeers to test and study human driving performance and how to improve it. Our simulator features over 240 driving scenarios over a 30 lessons simulator is not a toy!

Simulator Systems International introduces the STARS fully-interactive driver rehabilitation training and assessment simulator. This driving simulator not only replicates the feel of driving a real car, but measures critical physical and cognitive skills including reaction time, driving and visual accuracy, form and color perception, memory recognition and strength capacities.

The STARS system offers a full 120-degree view of the virtual driving environment and realistic driving with full controls found in a typical car. Reporting capabilities providing documentation of driving performance, as well as realistic simulation enable the OT or CDRS to assess cognitive and physical skills in a safe and controlled environment.

Our concept involves performing two distinct tasks. We understand that first a therapist must assess critical driving skills and whether or not a client has the ability to operate a vehicle safely and effectively. Secondly, if rehabilitation is warranted, it is equally important to train clients how to drive again. We accomplish both goals by using specialized training and testing software. The STARS system includes assessment and evaluation modules designed to measure reaction time, form and color perception, driving accuracy, memory recognition and strength capacities.

It also offers comprehensive driver education and rehabilitation training specially designed to assist clients in re-learning “how to drive”. It offers a complete lesson plan and “hands-on” practice sessions covering everything from how to operate both automatic and manual transmissions, dashboard functions and hand / foot controls, steering, gear control, accelerating and braking, proper lane changes, intersections, merging and passing. We also instruct defensive driving techniques, scanning principles, how to identify hazards, avoid collisions and much more. Challenging “risky-situations”, as well as adverse driving conditions such as fog, night and rain are included to better evaluate your clients.

The STARS system offers fully-textured, high resolution, 3-dimensional graphics producing life-like images. It offers complex, unpredictable, multi-car traffic interaction, which exposes the client to the rigors of driving on challenging roadways. The STARS system incorporates realistic vehicle dynamics, which are designed to ensure the simulator's acceleration, braking and handling characteristics accurately mimic those of a real car.

The interactive curriculum is comprised of about 30 chapters, with anywhere from 1 to 5 lessons per chapter. The software package as a whole comprises a staggering 400+ exercises. It’s designed to utilize a building block approach, but also enables the instructor to select which lessons he/she wishes each student to master as part of his/her master lesson plan. Each one of these lessons has a number of possible scenarios for the student to drive. The chapters incorporate pre-tests and chapter tests to ensure the student is paying attention and mastering the material within each lesson. If the student doesn’t perform as they should, for example if they are speeding excessively or driving off the road, the exercise is terminated and the student fails the lesson. Documentation of their poor performance is recorded for the instructor. They must retake the lesson in order to achieve a passing score.

First of all, the student is instructed how to use the simulator. Next, the student is thoroughly taught the basics of car operation, everything from dashboard controls and functions, indicator lights, pre-drive checks, starting and stopping the engine, moving off using an automatic or manual transmission, maneuvering at slow speeds and much more.

The student is instructed how to make proper lane changes (entering/leaving a lane), rules of intersections, turning left and right, merging and more. Each one of these chapters is taught without the use of traffic interaction. The student is given the opportunity to first learn the concepts before traffic complexity is added to complicate the experience.

This offers adverse weather conditions, a number of collision avoidance and hazardous scenarios, driving while impaired, reaction time testing and a complete chapter on how to properly maintain your vehicle.