Driver Improvement Course

The main reason most people take Driver Improvement Course online is for diversion of a traffic ticket. In other words, it’s a part of a plea with the court with the incentive of reducing their traffic ticket fine or not reporting it to the DMV (thus helping to keep insurance premium rates lower) by completing an approved Driver Improvement Course. Incentives vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction but the concept is the same. All Driver Improvement Courses are private entities and charge a fee. Courses range from four to eight hours and, depending on jurisdiction and local rules, can be taken online or in the classroom. Who Regulates Online Driver Improvement Course Courses? Again, depending on the local jurisdiction, Driver Improvement Courses can be regulated by a local court or be a part of a state-wide program. Some of the larger state-wide Driver Improvement Course programs are:

• Arizona Defensive Driving Program - Arizona Supreme Court - Ticket dismissal
• California Traffic Violator School Program (TVS) - California DMV - Ticket dismissal and point masking
• Florida Basic Driver Improvement Course Program (BDI) - Florida DMV - Ticket dismissal and point masking
• Idaho Traffic Safety Program - Idaho DMV - Negligent Drivers with multiple traffic tickets
• New Jersey Defensive Driver Program - NJ DMV - Point and Insurance Reduction
• New York Defensive Driving Program - NY DMV - Point and Insurance Reduction Program (PIRP)
• Texas Defensive Driving Course - Texas Education Agency (TEA) - Ticket dismissal, insurance reduction and point masking

Other than the obvious, all programs must follow the same rules and guidelines, and are very similar. Most of the online Driver Improvement Course courses contain a combination of text, audio and video and require a short exit quiz at the end of the course.

The type of presentation and difficulty will vary from school to school. However, required course time and passing score requirements are dictated by the licensing authority and are the same for all Driver Improvement Courses. The difference between Driver Improvement Course online and a classroom Driver Improvement Course basically comes down to convenience. For example, you can complete the course at your convenience rather than all in one sitting because the online course allows you to complete the course in segments by simply logging in and out as your time permits. As an added bonus, Improv Driver Improvement Course also provides free VIP tickets to the Improv Comedy Club upon completion of the online course. What are the typical subjects covered in Driver Improvement Course? A typical Driver Improvement Course is designed to be a refresher driving course for an experienced driver and stresses the importance of basic driving rules and techniques. Examples of such topics include:

• State Driving Rules
• Defensive Driving Techniques
• Accident Prevention Techniques
• Consequences of Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol or Drugs
• Coping with Aggressive Driving and Road Rage

My, how things have changed. While common sense driving and basic driving rules probably have not changed much since you got your first driver license, there are certain issues that are specific to certain decades. For example, if you got your license 20 years ago or more, cell phone use wasn’t as big of an issue as it is currently since most drivers now have one. Distracted driving is an ever-growing problem which has eclipsed driving under the influence of alcohol. The latest statistics show that over 400,000 auto crashes were caused by distracted drivers using their cell phones. Also, every year state and local legislatures pass a myriad of new traffic laws that can affect your driving privileges. So as you can see, Driver Improvement Courses may have many positive benefits.