NorthwestJuly 10, 2008

According to Rob Lohrmeyer, Lewis-Clark State College's new Motor Safety Training Center will be more grip than slip.

"It's not about losing control; it's about maintaining control," the dean of LCSC's professional-technical programs said of the North Lewiston training facility to be built this summer.

The college is fielding bids for the construction of a 17,000-square-foot asphalt skid pad for a custom-built International crew cab tractor.

The tractor will be equipped with an extra set of shopping-cart-like wheels. The SkidTruck device allows an instructor to train students for various slick driving conditions.

A $695,000 Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration grant will pay for the facility, which will be built on land LCSC leases from the Port of Lewiston.

LCSC has been trying to build a skid pad for four years. It was initially designed as a $1.6 million, concrete pad on Warner Avenue with a complex water pumping system that could flood a large area, allowing for skid training on any vehicle.

But when the grant the college was seeking fell through, it was redesigned to use a SkidTruck, eliminating the need for the pumping system and reducing the cost.

Lohrmeyer said the SkidTruck system just uses the International tractor to accurately simulate real-world driving conditions, making it safer than the original design.

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"You don't need the trailer behind you to get the same impact," he said. "It becomes a safety issue so you're not pulling all that weight around."

Basic truck driving skills will not be a part of the safety training program. Those who complete the half-day course will probably be awarded some kind of certificate they can use when job searching.

A more likely scenario would be companies with large vehicle fleets sending their drivers through the course for insurance purposes, Lohrmeyer said.

"Insurance companies are very responsive to rate reductions with that additional type of training," he said. "So that's where the real payoff is, in terms of documentation."

The curriculum and cost of the safety course is still being developed, he said. The skid pad is scheduled for completion in October.

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Mills may be contacted at jmills@lmtribune.com or (208) 883-0564.

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