The odds are one out of four that you will be involved in a crash during your lifetime. To reduce these odds, the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles has created a different kind of crash course. Our Driver Improvement Program rewards safe drivers and warns potentially unsafe drivers in advance. It helps educate drivers who have developed risky driving practices and it takes dangerous drivers off the road. Here’s how it works.
What does the point system say about you?
DMV uses a point system to rate drivers. You receive demerit points for unsafe driving. Safe driving points are awarded for good driving.
Safe Driving Points
Safe driving points are assigned for each full calendar year that you hold a valid Virginia driver’s license and drive without any violations or suspensions. In some cases, you may also earn safe driving points by completing a driver improvement clinic. You can accumulate a total of five safe driving points. These points are used to offset demerit points for convictions with the chronologically earliest offense date.
Driver Improvement Clinics
When you satisfactorily complete a driver improvement course clinic, you’ll learn defensive driving techniques that can help you avoid and prevent crashes. These eight-hour online sessions cost no more than your lunch meal and are offered at sites around the state and as a computer-based course on the Internet.
If DMV requires you to attend a clinic, you must complete the entire eight-hour course.
If you fail to satisfactorily complete the clinic within 90 days, your driving privilege will be suspended until you meet this requirement. If you are attending college outside of Virginia or you are a member of the military or a military dependent and stationed outside of Virginia, you may be eligible for an extension of the 90-day requirement. The extension will be granted only if you are in an area where no approved clinics are offered. The extension will last until a break in your schedule.
If you are age 18 or older, you may be awarded five safe driving points after you successfully complete a driver improvement clinic. If a court requires you to complete a clinic, the court will determine if you will be awarded safe driving points.
Commercial Drivers
If you hold a commercial driver’s license (CDL) or committed an offense while operating a commercial motor vehicle, and you are required by DMV to attend a driver improvement clinic, you must satisfactorily complete a driver improvement clinic designed specifically for commercial drivers.
Insurance Discounts
Insurance companies may offer premium discounts to policyholders 55 years and older who complete a classroom or online crash prevention course for mature drivers. Check with your agent to see if your insurance company offers this benefit.
If you take a driver improvement clinic to reduce your insurance premium, you will not be eligible to receive safe driving points. If a court assigns you to complete a clinic, you will not be eligible to receive the insurance premium reduction.
