TRAINING TRANSFORMED

Empathy at the Intersection, a project with the Connecticut Department of Transportation, has received a 2025 AASHTO President’s Transportation Award. The immersive experience combines behavioral research and storytelling to elevate lived experiences in roadway safety, demonstrating how empathy-driven design can inform better transportation decisions nationwide.

When it comes to training professional drivers, we focus heavily on the technical pre-trip inspections, mirror checks, maneuvering, and defensive driving. But the reality is, some of the most difficult challenges our drivers face aren’t mechanical—they’re verbal . Dealing with frustrated passengers, impatient motorists, or even just stressed-out colleagues requires just as much skill as navigating a tight corner. That’s where Verbal Judo  comes in. A cartoon image showing a p

Transit operators face growing challenges on the job, from fare disputes to rider conflicts. At Drivers of Tomorrow, we provide immersive de-escalation training designed from the driver’s perspective. Using realistic VR scenarios and interactive tools like our Google Forms Quizzer, we help staff build confidence, improve safety, and reduce harm on board. Our approach supports federal grant goals while fostering empathy and trust across transit systems.

An overview of DoT's empathy experiences at AASHTO

Experience the future of transit training with DoT’s immersive, empathy-driven demos at AASHTO!

Transforming a driving simulator into an empathy tool, we let TRB attendees experience life as bus drivers.