Simulation used to be the exclusive realm of the military and large corporations. The U.S. military is still the largest user of simulation training, spending over $5 billion annually, but simulation is now affordable enough for organizations of any size. We recently expanded our commercial operations to service the increasing demand by founding a wholly owned subsidiary. Virtual Driver Interactive, LLC, headquartered in San Ramon, CA, is Raydon's sales and distribution group.

Novice Driver Training
Raydon has been training novice drivers throughout the United States for nearly a decade. With the release of the first interactive novice driving simulation system in 1997, Raydon presented a new low-cost option to public secondary school systems to improve their driver education standards. In 2001, Raydon partnered with the American Driver and Traffic Safety Education Association (ADTSEA) to develop STREETReady™, a national driver education curriculum. Secondary school systems are seeing a direct benefit in both safety and cost from utilizing a RVD as part of their driver education and training curriculum. The RVD provides students with an active learning environment with unlimited flexibility in which they can excel at becoming skilled and responsible highway users.

The RVD is an affordable, fully interactive driving simulator, which reduces non-productive student and instructor time while boosting student retention because of its full sensory experience. Students are active participants in this learning experience. They must interact constantly and are challenged with examination of driving skills similar to what would be experienced in "real life" driving on our roadways.

Driver Improvement
In 2003, Raydon expanded its focus to include the driver improvement segment of the marketplace. Raydon teamed with the National Safety Council (NSC) to develop the Virtual Defensive Driving Course™ bringing the first authorized driving improvement course in the nation to life in simulation.

In the corporate market, traffic safety programs are an alternative to reduce health care expenses to employers without reducing the benefits offered to employees. One such safety training program, high fidelity fleet driving simulation, typically falls within most organizations' training budgets, measures individual driver's performance, and provides an environment of increased training retention. (See our subsidiary, VDI, in the News)

Driver Assessment
In 2005, Raydon once again expanded its focus to become the only company to offer a low-cost method to provide an objective, scientifically validated assessment of drivers, the Functional Driving Assessment™ (FDA™). Raydon teamed with the Eastern Virginia Medical School where a team of researchers developed and validated an objective driving assessment for mature drivers. Raydon and EVMS have adapted this assessment to apply to any driver regardless of age and operate on the RVD. This assessment of drivers can be used by motor vehicle departments, rehabilitation centers, hospitals, and self-evaluation senior centers. The FDA™ curriculum will be released Spring 2007.

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