Perhaps, instead of a standard test, once the virtual driving system is set up, it could be arranged as an open facility much as a game situation so that if a participant has trained sufficiently on the facility to react properly he or she could get a printout of the successful score to indicate driving competence.

Great idea. Simmulators are already used at many driving schools. Inertia will no doubt delay adoption by state testing facilities, but I expect simulators will be adopted eventually.

I sort-of think a simulator is really overkill for the simple act of driving. And having used aviation simulators, I think unless you're in one of those million-dollar ones (which I've also used), it's kind of a joke. Most of our kids have been driving cars in video games for years, but yes, a video game is not a driving simulator. But if you get one that has a chair, a real steering wheel, a set of pedals, etc, you're spending more than the price of my beater I drive to work.

I always make them drive the riding mower for a couple of summers before they can test. It's a real-world vehicle that requires real hand-eye coordination and real-time judgement. Then I put them in a beater on a country road for a bit. But I really believe the current 40-hour log book kids have to do with their safety driver (parent) is the best idea for learning the road and learning the rules.

Driver's ed class logs about five hours total for each student. Not sufficient.

Actually, just like in aviation, the act of controlling the vehicle is only a small part--I have more difficulty following the rules for both planes and cars.

As for what you'll do when a deer shows up, I've met-with two of them in the last eight years and neither time was there anything I could do. One came out from under the car in front of me, and the other actually crashed into the side of my car, I didn't hit him.

Nothing can simulate the real-world.