Why take a Delaware defensive driving course? Maybe you want to erase a ticket from your driving record. Maybe you are only interested in a discount on your auto insurance rates. Maybe you drive a company car and your employer is requesting that you sign up for a defensive driving course in Colorado. No matter what your reason, traffic school can save you a lot of money, time and stress headaches in the long run.

Defensive driving school in Delaware comes with a lot of perks. Drivers can lower their insurance or restore points to their license, or they can take court-ordered courses to avoid stiff penalties for traffic violations. Further, the 28 licensed traffic school providers in Delaware make their classes available in person or online to suit the student’s preference. Plus, no joke, some of the courses are even taught by comedians.


Who can attend traffic school in Delaware?

You do not need a court order to attend a defensive driving class in Delaware. The voluntary courses are available to any Delaware drivers license holder. o enroll in a voluntary course, select one of Delaware’s 28 traffic schools and complete the enrollment process on the company website.

Furthermore, certain providers may ask you for your license number. If you enroll in a driver improvement course because of a traffic violation, you are eligible if you were provided a court order.

Types of Defensive Driving Courses in Delaware

Delaware driving safety courses are required to be six hours long at minimum. However, some specialty courses like the aggressive driver courses, may be as long as eight hours. There are four common kinds of DMV traffic schools in Delaware:

  • Defensive Driving – a voluntary or court-ordered course for minor traffic infractions.
  • Delaware Insurance Discount Course – a voluntary course to lower your insurance.
  • Advanced Defensive Driving – a voluntary refresher course that can be taken every three years.
  • Aggressive Driving – a court-ordered course for aggressive driving infractions.

Classroom vs. Online Traffic School in Delaware

While most busy people would probably find a defensive driving course online to be more convenient, there is some appeal to attending a classroom course in person. For example, attending one six-hour course over the weekend lets the driver finish the course all at once instead of working it into the schedule over many days. However, others find the long day and video instructions grueling and would prefer to finish their course at home. Some other differences between the classes are:

Classroom Traffic School Online Traffic School
One day on a weekend Can be completed on your timeline
Can ask instructor questions No instructor, but 24/7 customer support
Primarily video Available as audio, video or text
Only 7 courses in Delaware Almost 20 course options
In a classroom Wherever you want

Although defensive driving online has been a popular and legitimate way to attend defensive driving training for more than a decade, some people still have reservations about online training in general or certain specific providers. If you have ever asked a question like, “Is iDriveSafely legit?” have no worries. IDriveSafely and its online peers are all state-approved and perfectly legitimate.

How to Enroll in a Delaware Defensive Driving School

Before you enroll in a Delaware driver improvement program, you will need to decide the kind of course you would like to take. The Delaware DMV provides a full list of the 28 approved defensive driving courses in the state. Seven of these courses are taught in-person, 20 are available online and last course is defensive driving for motorcycles.

Drivers enroll to the DMV-approved traffic school of their choice individually but must be sure that they give themselves enough time to complete the class before their time window closes. For the refresher course, this is six months before the three-year expiration of the initial defensive driving course. For the aggressive driving course, this is 90 days after the court order.

For narrow time windows, a DMV traffic school online may be a convenient option. Courses on iDriveSafely.com can be completed the same day as enrollment, and the company will send your certificate to the DMV within 24 hours. In comparison, a classroom course must be scheduled far in advance to find an open time.

Benefits of Completing Traffic School in Delaware

  • Three-year reduction on auto insurance
  • Three-point credit added to your license
  • Prevent a license suspension
  • Avoid auto insurance increases
  • Fulfill court order
  • Become a better driver

Remove Points From Your Driving Record

In Delaware, all defensive driving courses are point reduction classes. Drivers who recently received a ticket or have more than eight points on their license may complete driving classes to remove points from a record. However, the three-point credit is awarded at the discretion of the DMV.

Avoid Increases on Your Auto Insurance Premiums

A defensive driving insurance reduction course can provide the dual benefit of removing points from your license and earning you an insurance discount. If you recently earned a ticket or were cited for a traffic misdemeanor, avoid hiked insurance premiums by attending a traffic school.

Obtain a Car Insurance Discount

Delaware state law mandates driver safety course insurance discounts. Students can receive a 10 percent auto liability insurance reduction for the first class. Additionally, drivers may claim a 15 percent reduction if they take the 3-year refresher program

Fulfill a Court Order

Some drivers may be court-ordered to complete a traffic school course. This is common in cases of aggressive driving or mandated traffic school for speeding tickets. In extreme cases, a traffic court may order attendance at such a school when the driver is at risk of a license suspension.

Prevent a Drivers License Suspension

The aggressive driving course in Delaware is a mandated traffic school for tickets. This is an option provided by the traffic court for drivers who are at risk of a license suspension to maintain their driving privileges.

Learn Safe Driving Knowledge and Skills

For all of the benefits offered, the main purpose of a driver improvement course online is to educate better drivers. If you don’t have a ticket, keep it that way and take a course to remind yourself of safe driving habits.

Delaware Defensive Driving Class Curriculum Details

For traffic court purposes, driving improvement schools in Delaware are six to eight hours long. For insurance purposes, a course may be four hours to six hours. Each traffic school provider is given the option to use that time to form their own curriculums.

However, there are some standard measures that a DMV defensive driving course must include in order to be state-licensed. Generally, you can expect a defensive driving curriculum to include:

  • Unit quizzes on each section.
  • Safe driving habits and an overview of the Delaware road laws.
  • Alcohol abuse.
  • Highway safety.
  • Vehicle maintenance.

On iDriveSafely.com, students are guaranteed to pass the course curriculum because they are given endless attempts on each unit quiz.

Delaware Defensive Driving Certificates

Defensive driving certificates are offered by a traffic school as verification that the student finished his or her safe driving class. Each driving course company issues its own certificate at course completion. An online may provide the file in an email or as a possible download, and classroom courses provide either paper or digital certificates depending on the course.

While you are provided a copy of your defensive driving training certificate, you do not need to worry about submitting it to the Delaware DMV. Licensed providers will upload the notice electronically within 48 of your course completion. As long as you have earned your certificate before the 180 day time window closes, it will be automatically added to your driving record.

Delaware Traffic School vs. Drivers Education

When enrolling in a state traffic school, it is important to distinguish between defensive driving classes and drivers education. Where the best Delaware traffic school have courses intended for licensed drivers, drivers education courses are specifically for drivers who have or are applying for a learners permit.

Drivers education schools are intended to teach young and new drivers how to drive and attending one will not come with any of the benefits that are available from a traffic school course. Students can find a legitimate traffic school on the DMV traffic school list.

Delaware Defensive Driving Course Fees

To find the lowest price traffic school in Delaware, students have to shop around. Delaware does not have a state-standard defensive driving course. Instead, state-approved courses are offered by licensed third-party companies. As such, each company has a different fee.

Last updated on Wednesday, October 14 2020.