How effective is today’s driver skills exam in identifying high-risk drivers before they drive alone? TRB will host a webinar on Friday, February 27, 2026 from 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM Eastern that will examine the extent to which current driver skills exams identify high-risk drivers before they begin driving independently. This webinar will explore findings from BTSCRP Research Report 16: Predicting High-Risk Driver: Skills Examination and Scoring Guidelines, which evaluated the driver skills test used in Washington State. The study investigates how current road test scoring captures, or fails to capture, key behavioral indicators linked to crash risk. Presenters will discuss the implications of these findings for improving driver assessment practices and share insights relevant to policymakers, state officials, and traffic safety researchers.
This webinar is sponsored by TRB’s Behavioral Traffic Safety Cooperative Research Program.
The registration fee is $100. Purchase a webinar package for discounted pricing. Complimentary registration is available for employees of TRB sponsors, standing technical committee chairs, involved CRP panel members, media, congressional staff, and TRB or National Academies staff. Visit MyTRB.org for details.
A recording will be sent to all registrants after the webinar.
 
Webinar agenda and presenters

• Introduction – Dan Cooke, Washington Department of Licensing
• Study overview, findings, and implications – Johnathon Ehsani, Johns Hopkins University
• Study methods and findings – Michelle Duren, Johns Hopkins University
• Question and answer session moderated by Dan Cooke, Washington Department of Licensing

The first 60 minutes of the webinar will be for presentations and the final 30 minutes will be reserved for audience questions.
 
Learning Objectives
At the end of this webinar, participants will be able to:

• Identify limitations in current driver skills examination and scoring practices
• Explain evidence-based methods to improve driver skills testing and scoring for identifying high-risk drivers prior to licensure

 
Professional Development Hours
Professional engineers (PEs) who register and attend the entire webinar as an individual will be awarded 1.5 Professional Development Hours (PDHs). TRB’s webinar program awards PDH credits only to the registered individual, and not to other members of a group that view the webinar together. To be eligible for the credits, individuals must remain signed in for the entire webinar, including for any question and answer session following the presentations.
This webinar will be delivered as a scheduled – e-learning live event and is categorized within RCEP as Technical, Health and Safety.
Please check with your licensing board to ensure that TRB webinar PDHs are approved by your board.
TRB will report credits earned to the Registered Continuing Education Program (RCEP). Complaints about registered providers may be sent to RCEP, 1015 15th Street, NW, 8th Floor, Washington, D.C., 20005.
 
Pre-registration is required. Once the webinar starts, you will be unable to register. Individuals that are registered for a webinar but do not receive their confirmation emails due to their organization’s internal firewalls should contact TRB Helpdesk for assistance in signing in.
View our FAQ page for more information.
Registration questions? Contact TRB webinar program.