Online defensive driving
Safer habits behind the wheel, and a discount worth asking your insurer about.
Defensive driving is a course you choose to take. It teaches you to spot trouble early and leave yourself room to avoid it, and some insurers give a discount to drivers who finish one.
Who it’s for
- Drivers who want to be safer on the road
- Drivers hoping for a discount on their car insurance
- Parents and older drivers who want a refresher
- People who drive for work and want sharper habits
What defensive driving is
Defensive driving is about staying out of crashes, including the ones other people start. A course covers how to scan the road ahead, keep a safe following distance, handle bad weather and night driving, and deal with distracted or aggressive drivers.
On this site, defensive driving means a course you take by choice: to drive better, or to ask your insurer for a discount. If you are here because of a ticket or a court order, traffic school is the page you want.
Defensive driving or traffic school?
States use the two names differently. In some places the class you take after a ticket is called defensive driving or driver improvement. In others it is called traffic school.
We keep it simple. Defensive driving is the course you take because you want to. Traffic school is the course you take because of a ticket, or because a court or the DMV told you to.
Insurance discounts
Some insurance companies lower your rate when you finish a defensive driving course. Not all of them do. Each insurer decides whether it gives a discount, which courses it accepts, how big the discount is and how long it lasts.
So ask before you sign up. Call your insurer or your agent with three questions: Do you give a discount for a defensive driving course? Which courses do you accept? How do I send you my certificate?
We will not promise you a discount, because that decision belongs to your insurer. What you get from us when you finish is a certificate of completion.
How an online course works
You sign in on your phone, tablet or computer and work through the lessons in order. Your progress saves automatically, so you can stop whenever you like and pick up later where you left off.
There is no class schedule and nobody to keep up with. When you finish the course, you get a certificate of completion.
Opening state by state
This course is not open yet
Every state approves driving courses separately. DriverOnline is building its courses one state at a time and lists a course for a state only when it can be taken there.
Tell me when my state opensWhat a course includes
- 100% online and self-paced
- Works on a phone, tablet or computer
- Progress saves automatically
- Certificate of completion when you finish
Questions? Call (833) 558-7233 on a weekday.
By state
Defensive Driving rules, state by state
Each page sets out what that state requires, with the official source for every fact.
- AlabamaMotor vehicle accident prevention course
- AlaskaMotor vehicle accident prevention course
- CaliforniaMature Driver Improvement Program
- ConnecticutAccident prevention course for operators aged 60 and over
- DelawareDefensive Driving Course (Motor Vehicle Accident Prevention Course): Basic and Refresher
- District of ColumbiaDC DMV approved Defensive Driving Course
- FloridaMature Driver (Senior Citizen) Discount Insurance course
- IllinoisMotor vehicle accident prevention course
- MaineMotor vehicle accident prevention course
- MinnesotaAccident prevention course for persons 55 and older
- NebraskaTwo-point credit
- New JerseyDefensive Driving Course
- North DakotaMotor vehicle crash prevention course
- OregonMotor vehicle crash prevention course
- PennsylvaniaMature Driver Improvement Course
- Rhode IslandMotor vehicle accident prevention course
- TennesseeMotor Vehicle Accident Prevention Course
- VirginiaMature driver motor vehicle crash prevention course
- WashingtonAccident (collision) prevention course for drivers 55 and older
Questions
Defensive Driving: common questions
Will a defensive driving course lower my insurance?
It might. Some insurers give a discount for finishing a course and some do not. Ask your insurer whether it gives one, and which courses it accepts, before you sign up.
Is defensive driving the same as traffic school?
Not on this site. States use the two names differently, so we split them by why you are here: defensive driving is the course you choose to take, and traffic school is the course you take because of a ticket, a court or the DMV.
Can I take defensive driving for a ticket?
If you have a ticket or a court order, start with traffic school. Your court or DMV decides whether you are eligible and which courses it accepts.
Go to traffic schoolIs DriverOnline’s defensive driving open in my state?
Not yet. We are building our courses state by state, and we list a course for a state only when it can be taken there. Tell us your state and we will email you when defensive driving opens.
Tell me when my state opensWhat do I get when I finish?
A certificate of completion, which you can send to your insurer if it asks for one.
