Taking a driving safety course online has become one of the most popular ways to take a traffic school or a defensive driving course. Taking an online driver safety course not only improves your driving skills and refreshes your knowledge of current driving laws, but in many cases can help you avoid costly traffic fines and points on your driving record. Plus, if you take a defensive driving course, you may discover that your auto insurance provider will give you a discount.
Attractive Site Design
Online driver safety courses should not only provide information, they should also be interesting enough to keep your attention. The best online courses integrate animated illustrations along with the text. Another feature that you should look for is chapters or lessons broken down into easy to learn segments.
Quizzes and Tests
The best online driver safety courses include chapter reviews in the form of short quizzes. Quizzes can be for each chapter and include cumulative information as the student progresses through the course, or be limited to the chapter or lesson just completed. When the course is completed, a final cumulative test is usually given to review all of the information in the course.
Course Pacing
Finally, one of the most desirable features of the best online driver safety courses allows students to work on the course at their own pace. Students should be able to log on and off and return to where they left off the next time they log on. Also, the course should allow students to review information or lessons they have already completed, so that they can review.
State Approval
One of the most important factors when choosing an online driver safety course is understanding state approval laws. Many states have approved online driver courses for tickets and traffic citations. However, if you are planning on taking an online course, make sure that the online course you are planning on taking is approved by your state. If your state does not allow online driver courses then an online course may help you improve your driving skills, but it will not help you with your ticket.
If you are taking an online driver safety course for an auto insurance discount, make sure you have a list of approved online providers before you sign up for a course and understand the documentation requirements that may be needed from your insurance company.
Recommended Online Courses
Among recommended online courses, the National Traffic Safety Institute has one of the most impressive reputations (http://www.ntsi.com/). NTSI not only provides driver safety courses for the general public, but also for police and fire departments around the United States. Additionally, they have developed safety programs for the US Army and other national agencies.
Another excellent online driver safety course is the one offered by the American Association for Retired Persons (AARP). This online course (http://www.aarp.org/families/driver_safety/driver_safety_online_course.html) offers older students the opportunity to brush up on their driving skills and knowledge and also educates about naturally occurring changes for older drivers.
If you plan on taking a driver safety course online, make sure that the course is state approved or approved by your auto insurance company. Excellent driver safety courses should include features such as interactive information, the ability to work at your own pace and quizzes and tests that allow you to review completed lessons. Two of the most recommended courses are offered by the National Traffic Safety Institute and AARP.