Elizabeth A. Baker, Ph.D.

NHTSA’s Assessment program provides technical assistance to State Highway Safety Offices, Emergency Medical Services Offices and/or other state agencies. A team of outside experts conducts a comprehensive assessment of the highway safety program using an organized, objective approach with well-defined procedures.

 Provides an overview of the program’s current status (compared to pre-established standards)  Notes the programs strengths and weaknesses  Provides recommendations for improvement

 EMS  Impaired Driving  Occupant Protection  Occupant Protection for children  Traffic Records  Motorcycle Safety  Standardized Field Sobriety Testing  Pedestrian Safety  Driver Education

 Initial contact  Pre-assessment site visit  Plan and conduct the assessment  Final report  Follow-up (by Regional Staff)

 Provided to the State within 14 days  Assessment team’s product  NHTSA encourages the State to use the report’s recommendations in their strategic planning

 Facilitates open, non-threatening dialogue between the host office and its customers  Assists with long-range planning  Assists with resource allocation  Identifies strengths, weaknesses and opportunities for improvement  Generates administrative and political support for program improvements  Serves as a benchmark for future comparisons

 Use of known, unbiased experts  Develops aggregated Regional and National information  Assists individual states with programmatic improvements

 Cooperative effort among:  NHTSA  State Highway Safety Office  Department of Motor Vehicles  Department of Education  Department of Public Safety  Department of Transportation

 Provides states with a tool to use over time to review their driver education program, note strengths, accomplishments and where improvements can be made  Based on the recommendations in Novice Teen Driver Education and Training Administrative Standards

 Overall program administration  Education/training  Instructor qualifications  Parent involvement  Coordination with driver licensing

 NHTSA serves as a facilitator by assembling a team of individuals who have demonstrated expertise in driver education program development and implementation  Selection of team members is also based on needs and experiences identified by the State in a pre-assessment site visit

 Maryland –2010  Oregon For more information on the Driver Education Assessment process, contact Jim or visit: