A serious game for traffic accident investigators

In Dubai, traffic accidents kill one person every 37 hours and injure one person every 3 hours. Novice traffic accident investigators in the Dubai police force are expected to 'learn by doing' in this intense environment. Currently, they use no alternative to the real world in order to practice. This paper argues for the use of an alternative learning environment, where the novice investigator can feel safe in exploring different investigative routes without fear for the consequences. The paper describes a game-based learning environment that has been built using a game engine. The effectiveness of this environment in improving the performance of traffic accident investigators is also presented. Fifty-six policemen took part in an experiment involving a virtual traffic accident scenario. They were divided into two groups: novices (0 to 2 years experience) and experienced personnel (with more than 2 years experience). The experiment revealed significant performance improvements in both groups, with the improvement reported in novices significantly higher than the one reported in experienced personnel. Both groups showed significant differences in navigational patterns (e.g. distances travelled and time utilization) between the two training sessions.