License to Learn

Not everyone has access to a safe, reliable car. And even those who do sometimes need a little help feeling comfortable behind the wheel. That’s why, in July 2024, Anne Arundel County (Md.) Public Library introduced a free driving simulator at its Michael E. Busch Annapolis Library (MEBAL).

“If you have anxiety, you can build your worst-case [driving] scenario and then play through it as many times as you need to realize that you have power over that scenario,” says Gabriella Norton, a librarian at MEBAL who helped bring the technology to the library. “What could you do if, God forbid, an actual deer jumps out at your car when you’re going down into the rural parts of Maryland, you know?”

In a growing number of public libraries, virtual driving simulators let users practice everything from parallel parking to driving at night in a safe, low-pressure environment. Anyone with limited access to traditional driver’s education can benefit, whether they’re a teen preparing for licensure, an older adult whose driving skills need sharpening, a stroke survivor who is recovering their skills, or a formerly incarcerated person trying to get back on the road.

“We’re happy to help anyone who wants to learn how to drive,” says MEBAL Manager Diane Benner, who points out that in Maryland, fulfilling state requirements for new drivers (30 hours of classroom learning and six hours of behind-the-wheel training) can cost hundreds of dollars. While a driving simulator doesn’t let users accrue state-mandated driving hours, “it gives them that extra practice.”

Shifting gears

Driver education was once a standard part of high school curricula across the country, supported by state-level staff and public funding. Today, many programs have been outsourced to for-profit providers instead. To address that gap, libraries are stepping in to provide accessible, no-cost tools for learning the rules of the road.

MEBAL’s grant-funded simulator has quickly drawn attention for its ability to model freeway merges, slippery roads, and even DUI scenarios in a safe, low-stakes environment. (In the DUI setting, users experience delayed response times, such as shorter braking distances.)

“You can actually change your car type, too,” Norton says. “It can do a standard sedan, a truck, an SUV. You’re going to need a lot more space merging” in the SUV versus a smaller car, she points out.

Fayetteville (Ark.) Public Library (FPL) introduced its driving simulator in 2021 after learning that the local public school system had no driver’s education classes, says Melissa Taylor, manager of FPL’s Center for Innovation, a hybrid makerspace focused on technology, artistic endeavors, and career exploration.

“In addition to young people and teenagers, we also have a big community of refugees and immigrants who are moving here and who need to get their driver’s licenses,” Taylor says. The library has also partnered with a local cycling organization to offer distracted-driving awareness programs that emphasize pedestrian and cyclist safety.

FPL differs from other libraries that offer driving simulators in that it also offers simulators for operating airplanes, semitrailer trucks, and heavy equipment such as backhoes and forklifts. But the most popular is the car simulator, which receives between 50 and 60 reservations a month.

One of those belonged to “a younger kid who came in with his family—I think he was 11 or 12,” Taylor recalls. “He needed to practice driving so he could drive a work truck on the family’s ranch. That turned into him practicing on the hydraulic excavator simulator, because they had just bought an excavator.” (Arkansas law allows the operation of vehicles on private property without a driver’s license.)

Maintaining the machines

The driving simulator at Orange County (Fla.) Library System’s (OCLS) Dorothy Lumley Melrose Center for Technology, Innovation, and Creativity has been around since the center opened in 2014. That gives Department Head Jim Myers the street cred to point out that this technology isn’t maintenance-free—especially since OCLS saw about 250 reservations on it last year alone.

“After 10 years of reservations, the seat starts to not adjust, those types of things,” he says. Last year, OCLS updated the simulator’s software and replaced its motherboard at a cost of about $5,000.

To minimize expenses like those, prevent misuse, and ensure a safe learning environment, libraries with driving simulators typically set firm boundaries on their use. Most have minimum-age requirements, mandate users to undergo orientation sessions or staff supervision, and set time limits on equipment use to ensure equitable access.

“It’s not a videogame car,” Taylor says of FPL’s simulator. “You have to be using it for its intended purpose. We don’t want to hear people gunning it and racing it and trying to flip the car. It has hydraulic parts; it has motorized pieces. The more wear and tear those receive, that’s where we’re doing the majority of our maintenance. I’ve had to tell adults not to do doughnuts. But most people are very respectful.”

To help keep the simulator in good shape, she also calibrates it weekly and occasionally replaces parts like gear shifters. “That’s one of those things you don’t really prepare for in library school—how to disassemble and repair an FAA-approved flight simulator or a student driving simulator when the bearings are falling out of the shifter,” she says. “It’s actually really fun.”