The Northern Regional Police Department, which covers several municipalities in northern Allegheny County, plans to purchase a driving simulator with a recently awarded grant.

The simulator, according to Capt. Jeff Jones, will mainly be used as an educational tool to teach about impaired or distracted driving.

It will include several large screens, a steering wheel and a mock layout of a traditional car, he said. In addition to the simulator, Jones said users may wear goggles that imitate an impaired state.

The department received $236,000 from Allegheny County’s Gaming Economic Development Tourism Fund, which is mostly made up of gambling revenue. It will cover the cost of the simulator and the trailer to house it.

Jones said the simulator will try to make potential dangerous driving habits “hit home” and “more real life” as part of the outreach of the Impact Teen Drivers program. He said he is unsure whether it will have any instructional value for a new driver looking for low-stakes experience.

Though it could be used for adults or supplemental officer training, Jones said the department would mainly target students in the Pine-Richland and North Allegheny school districts.

“Certainly, educating students within our two districts, that’s important to us — that’s the primary focus,” Jones said.

Before important school events such as prom or homecoming, Jones said he hopes the department can have students use the simulator as a preventive tool against distracted or impaired driving.

The grant simulator is among a slew of recently announced awards throughout the county, most of which are focused on infrastructure.

State Rep. Jeremy Shaffer, R-Pine, who represents the 28th District where the department is located, said he is “very pleased” that Northern Regional Police received the grant.

“Anything we can do to keep our roadways safer and support the police, I’m strongly in favor of,” he said.

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