History of Defensive Driving Schools in Arizona
If you've ever received a traffic ticket in Arizona, or simply know someone that has, chances are you've heard about the many defensive driving schools in Arizona. Maybe you've even completed one in past years. While the process is very streamlined now, it took quite awhile to get to where it is now. Let's take a look at the journey of defensive driving schools in Arizona.
Traditional Classroom Courses
Driving to a classroom is the oldest way for people to attend defensive driving school. AZ courses have been around for more than 30 years. The process behind attending one of these courses for traffic ticket purposes was unorganized for most of the 1980's. It wasn't until 1989 that Supreme Court Chief Justice Frank X. Gordon Jr. voiced a call for action in the defensive driving world. One of his suggested changes included "Allowing the Supreme Court and the state Motor Vehicles Division to verse defensive-driving schools, which primarily are privately run, to eliminate uncertified instructors and to create uniform curriculum and costs. The state also would determine who could use the schools to avoid bad driving records and resulting insurance-rate hikes." Gordon's suggestions made sense, and later that same month, an Arizona traffic-school bill passed, giving the Arizona Supreme Court control over defense driving schools. That same year the specifics were settled and the modern Arizona defensive driving world was born.
The early defensive driving schools in Arizona are much of what you would expect. They involved traveling to an indoor area where an instructor, usually a retired cop or aspiring comedian, would instruct you in Arizona traffic laws and defensive driving techniques. This refresher in driving skills and rules would take you about half a day and would result in a dismissed ticket. This meant that you wouldn't receive points on your driving record and your auto insurance rates would not increase. While much of this is still true a modern defensive driving school, AZ has made quite a few changes to the process.
Online Defensive Driving Schools in Arizona
With the technological boom in the early 21st century came a new way to attend an AZ driving school: online. Following in the footsteps of other states like California, Arizona drivers craved an easier, more convenient way to dismiss their traffic tickets. After a couple years of deliberation and implementation, in April 2003, the first online defensive driving course opened for business. This new format made taking the course much easier, especially for those with busy schedules. Students could read at their own pace and answer questions with the help of the reading material. Once they completed their 5½ hour course reading requirement they could verify their identity online or drive to a test site to take their final exam. Drivers in Arizona were happy to welcome this new educational format.
Since then, there have been many changes to the AZ driving school online format that made it much more flexible and readily available for drivers in the entire state. First, in 2006, an Arizona legislator got a speeding ticket and opted to complete his defensive driving course online. In experiencing it first hand, he decided that he had wasted a lot of time and suggested that the required course time be changed from 5½ hours to 4½ hours. In March 2006, House Bill 2322 passed, shortening the length of defensive driving schools in Arizona by an hour, a time requirement that is still in place today. 2007 also brought forth a measure to allow drivers in any part of the state to attend any AZ driving school online. The measure would go into effect in 2009.
Modern Defensive Driving Online
In 2008, ArizonaDriver.com got its approval from the Arizona Supreme Court and we have been helping drivers like you keep their driving records clean ever since. To make things even better, in 2011 the online defensive driving process got even easier when a bill was passed eliminating the need to verify identity online or take the final exam at a test site. Now that every part of the program can be completed online the course is as easy and convenient as can be. Defensive driving schools in Arizona have really come a long way and we can't wait to see what's next!
If you are an Arizona driver that has recently received a traffic citation, visit our Arizona Defensive Driving School to see how we can help you get your ticket dismissed.
