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I would not use the game for any specifics related to real life trucking.
I wouldn't even recommend that because it is not realistic in the game. As I said in my post...it will give you a generalized idea. You will know which way to turn the wheel and where to look at but that is about it.
A trailer in real life turns quite a bit quicker than what happens in the game. There is a huge difference actually in my opinion.
Yes, yes, whole different kettle of fish, but the basic concepts of which way to turn, mirrors to watch, reference points on your trailer, all came in handy. Pushed it backwards through a narrow gate and got the wheels perfectly onto the two small paving slabs on my in-laws’ property, all in one maneuver. Showed my mouthy MIL (who had apparently claimed I didn’t know what I was doing), that’s for darn sure.
After all, this feller, who knows his onions, tells his probies to buy a toy truck and practice to understand the concepts:
https://youtu.be/udwquuBwCkk
Personally I've been driving OTR trucking in a 52' dry van/ sleeper cab for the past 12 years. And this game will give you a general vibe of what trucking is, but it will never show you the small things. Like how sensitive a trucks steering wheel is, or all the potholes that drop unsecured items above you onto your head, or the bone chilling winds of Wyoming in the winter where many a fine trucker dies in the ditch every year. The soul numbing boredom, breath taking beauty, and pants ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ terror don't really come across in a game.
Even though I have a Eaton Fuller style shifter on my setup and know how to drive a stick in a standard real life car/truck It took me a bit to learn how to shift a semi. The game will get you to understand the concept of shifting if using a shifter with a range and splitter and clutch etc but it is not the same as in a real truck. Though I did pick it up faster then most other students in the class unless that had some prior experience. The people who took the longest had never driven a stick shift.
The only other thing truck driving school really teaches you besides driving and backing a semi is the pre-trip. All the loading, sliding tandems for weight distribution. E-log and other load paperwork. tie down etc is generally taught by the company you work for.
Trucking school is just a base to get you started but there is still a lot to learn once you graduate.
Absolutely NOT. This is a video game, programmed to give you entertainment and joy ... Trucking is a Job, or career, and this GAME does not in any-way simulate the real-world experience of being a Company Driver (If you have zero experience, I doubt you will be going out and spending 200 thousand dollars on a brand new big-rig, you are gonna go drive for Werner, or Schneider, JB Hunt or Prime, or god forbid, Western Express)
This GAME in no way simulates having your one or TWO co-drivers stinking up the cab, or sharing a bed with a second person. It in no way simulates having an up-tight Dispatcher badger you over being 3 hours away from your drop-off, when you only have 2 hours of legal hours left to drive. It in no way simulates the stress of being responsible for 80,000 pounds, and the lives it could take if you get careless in your driving. Those meningless fender-benders that send cars flying across your game screen will cost you MILLIONS in damages in real life, possibly prison time, if you end up killing someone.
Never rely on ANY video game to decide if a career is for you. If you seriously think you want to be a Trucker, go talk to an Instructor at a vocational school, or go talk to some drivers at the local Truck Stop.
And given that we've had more than one person come onto the forums to say that they did, in fact, get inspiration from this (or ETS2) game and then went on to get their license and begin a career in trucking, I would have to say to the OP, "Yes, this game could help you decide." ;)
Having been in the trucking industry since 1973, and owning my own trucking company through the 80's and 90's, I respectfully disagree with you. I would be curious to hear from those people who claim that this game gave them the inspiration to become truckers, and how they feel now, or how they ended up, if they are still driving, or if they moved on.
And, again, respectfully, the Game is called American TRUCK Simulator, not American Trucking Simulator ... It simulates the TRUCK, and the driving of the Truck. Being a Truck Driver is far MORE than just driving a truck.