Moultrie Tech Tifton Truck Driving Program to Receive USDA Grant
TIFTON , GA. U.S. Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) will be on hand with United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Georgia State Director for Rural Development Stone Workman and local dignitaries at the Moultrie Technical College (MTC) Tifton Campus Wednesday, August 13, at 9:30 a.m.
MTC faculty, administration and students will celebrate as the College’s Commercial Truck Driving program receives a $70,000 grant check from the USDA to purchase a high-tech truck driving training simulator.
The USDA Rural Business Enterprise Grant (RBEG) will cover the majority of the cost of the simulator. The College will cover the remaining $25,000 for the purchase. This is in addition to the more than $950,000 in matching funds the College has already invested in the Commercial Truck Driving program over the past four years.
On average, 25 students graduate from the program during each 10-week class session. Graduates go on to test for their Commercial Drivers License (CDL).
According to MTC Commercial Truck Driving instructor Richard Tucker, to date the College boasts a 100 percent pass rate on the CDL test. The simulator will serve to solidify that number.
Tucker says with the help of the new simulator, students will be “so far advanced” when they enter the cab of an actual truck for the 12 hours of required driving.
Features included in the Doron 550 Truck Driving Simulator System are a 10-speed manual transmission, the TrueSteer digital steering system, three plasma flat screen displays with 190 degree field of view, an instructor console, a dispatch radio system, and pre-recorded audio scenario descriptions as well as CDL scenarios.
