Chris
Sonny JFrequently Asked Questions for Washington’s Defensive Driving 8-Hour Course
Course Information
- Is this course approved?
- Which defensive driving courses do you offer in Washington?
- Can I get my traffic ticket dismissed?
- I'm not sure if I'm eligible to take Washington defensive driving. How do I find out?
- How often can I take defensive driving for ticket deferral?
- How long will this course take?
- What types of things will I study?
- Do I have to take a final exam?
- What is the testing and grading policy?
- Is there any way I can fail the course?
- Why does this course have timers?
- Is there a time limit to complete this course?
- Can I earn an insurance discount?
Course Information
Yes! Our Washington defensive driving courses are approved by individual courts throughout the state for ticket deferral. You may also qualify to earn an insurance discount by completing the voluntary driver improvement course.
We offer 3 courses to meet the needs of every driver:
The Level 1 Washington 4-Hour Defensive Driving course — For drivers who have received a traffic ticket, and have been referred by the court to take a basic 4-hour course.
The Level 2 Washington 8-Hour Defensive Driving course — For drivers who have received a traffic ticket, and have already taken a 4-hour course; or for habitual traffic offenders who have received a court-order for an 8-hour course.
The Washington Voluntary Driver Improvement course — For drivers who wish to improve their safe driving skills, or earn an insurance discount by completing a defensive driving course.
The state of Washington does not dismiss traffic tickets, but with your court’s permission, you may defer your ticket and prevent your citation from being reported to the Department of Licensing by taking a Washington defensive driving course. This would prevent your insurance rates from rising.
To be eligible for a defensive driving course for ticket deferral, typically you must meet the following requirements:
- Your ticket must be for a minor moving violation
- You may NOT have deferred a previous ticket within the last 7 years
- You do NOT have any other citations pending
There are no requirements for your voluntary driver improvement course.
We also have all of the eligibility requirements and steps to take for the Washington defensive driving courses listed on our How It Works page.
The state of Washington only allows you to defer your ticket once every 7 years.
The Level 1 defensive driving course meets the state-required length of 4 hours. The Level 2 and voluntary driver improvement courses both meet the time requirement of 8 hours.
You may work through these courses all in one day, or spread them out over a longer period of time. So the amount of time you take to complete your course is entirely up to you!
Each course is broken down into 8 chapters that focus on a single topic pertaining to Washington driving and traffic laws. These topics include:
- Highway safety
- Alcohol- and drug-impaired driving
- State traffic laws
- Driving emergencies
- Vehicle maintenance
Each course is broken down into 8 chapters that focus on a single topic pertaining to Washington driving and traffic laws. These topics include:
- Highway safety
- Alcohol- and drug-impaired driving
- State traffic laws
- Driving emergencies
- Vehicle maintenance
Each chapter contains a quiz that reviews important content from that chapter. There are 10 questions per quiz, and you must score an 80% or higher to move onto the next chapter. You will be provided with feedback on any incorrect answers, and you may retake your quizzes an unlimited amount of times.
You will then take your final exam at the end of your course. You will need to score an 80% or higher, and you may retake the exam again if you do not pass on your first try.
Absolutely not! You have unlimited retakes on your chapter quizzes and final exam, so if you fail to achieve a passing score on your first try, you may simply take it again.
This course is required by Washington law to span 4 or 8 hours in length, depending upon your reason for completing the course. To comply with this law, we (and all other online defensive driving schools) are required to place timers on each page of the course. We realize that some students may read faster than the timer will permit you to advance, but state regulations prohibit us from changing this function. The timers cannot be disabled for any reason.
Deadlines are typically determined by the Washington courts. While we allow you 180 days to complete your course, the court may require you to finish your course much sooner than that. Make sure to determine your court’s deadline before beginning the course.
Regardless of court deadlines, you MUST complete the course within 180 days of registration. Any student who has not successfully completed the course within 180 days will have their account terminated without notice and will not be eligible for a refund.
Many insurance providers in Washington will reward drivers who voluntarily complete a traffic school course by reducing their insurance premium for a certain amount of time! By taking our voluntary driver improvement course, you could save as much as 10% on your insurance rate.
