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8-hr driver improvement clinic vs. online course

2K views 9 replies 5 participants last post by  FooFighter94 
#1 ·
any difference? any experience with this? I got a DMV notice of requirements advising that I'm supposed to complete the 8-hr clinic and when I look at the lists of clinic providers on the virginia DMV site, I see them all offering online courses.

ps. hope all is well with you guys! long time no see...new job is nutso.

pps. have some serious driving escapades to tell you guys about...will wait until after all court stuff is over though :shhh: if anyone has any reliable traffic lawyers that have gotten you out of a reckless driving charge WITH a bad driving record, lemme know! :eeps: (at Arlington Court House)
 
#2 ·
personally, i haven't taken the online course, but i find the clinic can be beneficial sometimes. If you have an easy going proctor, the day goes by pretty quickly, you don't really have to pay attention, and the little "exam" at the end of the day is a cakewalk. With online stuff it's potentially shorter waste of time, but more frustrating.
The worst part about the clinics though is that (at least in my area) they meet only on saturdays at like 8 or 9am.
 
#7 · (Edited)
update on this...everything worked out fine, DMV accepted the test from the online course I did. I wrote it in person at a UPS store near my place on a Sunday, which was extremely convenient.

Question: how often can you take this course voluntarily in order to benefit from the 5-pt uptick on your record? I'm at an abysmal negative balance right now (lol) so I was wondering...I think I took the last one back in 2011; I should have taken it in 2012, too, but forgot to. I'm pretty sure 12 months have passed, but does the DMV limit the frequency of taking the voluntary course for the 5-pts to one per calendar year, or once in any 12-month period?

I've scoured Google and the DMV website and couldn't find an answer...will call them tomorrow morning...the online course customer service people (I called 2) had no idea, lol, other than their agreement that I was in exceptionally bad shape LOL.

EDIT:
"You may be awarded 5 safe driving points, once every 24 months, after you successfully complete a driver improvement clinic."
https://www.dmv.virginia.gov/drivers/#backonroad.asp

damn, I guess I may not be able to get the +5 if I already took a DMV-ordered course back in Dec/11. Let's see what they say...

and yes, I know, I need to slow down...which I have...definitely don't want to be labeled a habitual offender with 12 minor offenses in a 10-yr period :eek:
 
#8 ·
My Experience

"You may be awarded 5 safe driving points, once every 24 months, after you successfully complete a driver improvement clinic."
https://www.dmv.virginia.gov/drivers/#backonroad.asp
I recently had to do this as well (I just blindly did the 8-hour class) and the instructor told me that the court-ordered clinic does not count toward your "one per 24 months." So you can still take one for the +5 I think, but you have to do it all over which is why I didn't bother.

Hope it helps!:hi:
 
#9 ·
Thanks bud, I got this email from VA DMV...need to follow up because I think they got it wrong; they said that the DMV-ordered clinic (mine wasn't court-ordered) DOES count towards the "one per 24" which I think is wrong...let me know what you think!

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Virginia DMV <questions@dmv.virginia.gov>
To: XXXX XXXXXX <XXXXXX@XXXXX.com>
Sent: Wednesday, March 13, 2013 9:58:27 AM
Subject: Re: General Questions


Dear Mr. XXXXX,

Thank you for visiting www.dmvnow.com. You may only take a driver improvement clinic for points once every two years (24 months), and you are not eligible to take another clinic until 1.10.14 based on your clinic at Web Traffic School on 1.9.12. If you take your clinic on 1.10.14 it will reduce your point balance to -1 however, IF you wait until 3.31.14 to take your clinic and the point balance is 0 -- you will get the full five points for a balance of +5.

**If you need to respond to this email, please return to DMVnow.com and click on Contact Us. Your secure online form will be delivered and you will receive a delivery confirmation.**

Sincerely,
K. Baldwin
E-Correspondence Unit
Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles
PO Box 27412
However, I see their point that if I wait until all my demerit points are removed by this time next year, I can take the course to get to the maximum +5 points in one shot! might be better to do that perhaps...not sure though. Or leave it completely and let the +5 come naturally in five years, by 2019. I don't think there's any financial benefit because it's not like I'll have a sudden discount in insurance if I go from 0 to +5 in one shot...
 
#10 ·
Thanks bud, I got this email from VA DMV...need to follow up because I think they got it wrong; they said that the DMV-ordered clinic (mine wasn't court-ordered) DOES count towards the "one per 24" which I think is wrong...let me know what you think!
Yes I think this is incorrect, at least that was what I was told. As far as your insurance, I doubt the sudden jump to +5 points would make too much of a difference, you still drive a Convertible M3. :lmao:
 
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