ALBANY, N.Y.—The Point and Insurance Reduction Program (PIRP), approved by the Department of Motor Vehicles, is available through private companies or corporations, called “course sponsors,” throughout New York State. Each qualifying course must meet strict standards set by the DMV for the safe driving information presented and program effectiveness.

The idea is simple; it is supposed that, if you complete an approved PIRP course:

• It will help refresh your driving knowledge with a review of time-tested safe driving tips and an overview of today’s vehicle and traffic laws; and

• You may be eligible to reduce as many as four (4) points on your driving record. The DMV computer will automatically note your eligibility to receive the reduction.

• If you are the principal operator of a motor vehicle, you will receive a minimum 10% reduction in the base rate of your automobile and motor- cycle liability and collision insurance premiums each year for three years,” according to the Department of Motor Vehicles.

A five year internet pilot program began in May 18, 2009 and ends May 18, 2014. Beginning in 2009, there have been two options for completing the PIRP course. The options are the traditional classroom method which was implemented in 1980 and amended and added to the V&T in 1998. Or an Alternate Delivery Method (ADM), such as the Internet or other DMV approved method. Regardless of the delivery method, each course is at least six hours long. (Note: The motorcycle safety/accident prevention courses take substantially longer and are only available in a classroom setting.) Essential information about traffic safety issues such as driver attitude and behavior, defensive driving techniques, and the Vehicle and Traffic Law must be presented in each course. For both the classroom and ADM methods, additional content, approach, materials, and fees vary from one sponsor to the next.

The classroom course is presented in one or more sessions and attendance is mandatory. No formal testing is required to complete the course. Online courses or ADM course must be a minimum of 320 minutes. Once you register with a sponsor, you have up to 30 days to complete the course. During the course, you will be asked to identify yourself with information given at registration. To ensure that you are taking the course, you will also be asked questions regarding the con- tent. It is possible that you will be asked to register in person and/or take an exam at the end to once again ensure you are the one who completed the course.

“Each sponsor’s method is different, so you should contact the sponsor to deter- mine which course bets fits your needs,” according to the DMV spokesman Nick Cantiello.

To receive the point reduction after the completion of the PIRP course the sponsor will notify the DMV within ten weeks after the completion of the course. A notice will then be entered on your driving record and the DMV computer will automatically reduce your active point total by up to four points. Completion of a course under the “Point and Insurance Reduction Program” does not remove, delete, subtract, or erase any violations, convictions, or notice or original number of points from your driving record. Even after you complete the course, most violations, conviction, and points assessed will continue to show on your driving record for up to four years. Violations and convictions involving drugs or alcohol will remain on your driving record for ten years. “Point reduction” means the DMV will not count up to four points on your driving record toward license revocation or suspension.

Point reduction applies only to points assessed for violations that occurred within eighteen months immediately before course completion. It does not affect points for earlier violations, and cannot be used as “credit” against future violations or points. Point reduction cannot reduce your point total lower than zero. If your license has already been revoked or suspended, or if a violation hearing has already been scheduled, point reduction will not affect that action. Point reduction does not prevent or cancel a mandatory revocation or suspension for violations such as DWI, DWAI, or three speeding violations within eighteen months. Points may be reduced only once in any eighteen month period. The DMV point system and insurance company “point” systems are separate and not related. Point reduction on your driving record does not affect points assigned by your insurance company for violations and accidents. Some license revocation and suspensions are mandatory and do not depend on points. These include three speeding violations within eighteen months, and convictions involving alcohol or drugs.

“After the completion of the PIRP course the course sponsor should mail you a completion certificate within 45 days after you complete the course,” said Nick Cantiello. If you present your certificate to your insurance company or agent within 90 days after your completion, your liability and collision premium reduction will begin immediately, retroactive to the date you completed the course. “If you present your certificate more than 90 days after course completion, the insurer may issue the premium dis- count effective from the date presented. Drivers may take the course once every 36 months to maintain insurance reduction benefits,” Cantiello said.

Insurance reduction does not pre- vent general premium increases, or premium increases due to violations or accidents. It provides a 10% reduction for three years, from the base of your cur- rent liability, no-fault and collision premiums. “If one or more person is named on a policy completed the PIRP course the insurance premium reduction applies to all motor vehicles principally operated by the motorist who completed the course. The reduction can be applied to only one driver for each covered vehicle,” said Cantiello. Youthful operators and drivers participating in assigned risk pool can receive the insurance premium discount. Any insurance driver who is the principal operator and completes a PIRP course will receive the reduction. If a youthful operator is already receiving a driver education reduction the PIRP discount could apply how- ever, you must check with your insurance company or agent to find out if both reductions will be given at the same time.

How the online course works is the sponsors use telephone user identity validation. For example, if you decide to sign up for a course you have to decide which phone you are going to use. You can’t switch phones. If you decide to use your cell phone it has to come from there. Seven times during the six hour online course it will prompt you to call a phone number. You have 45 seconds to call. If you don’t call you have to go back to the beginning of the class. The law states you have thirty days to finish the course. A user is able to log in and out at any time.

Bill Bonds, President of the Empire Safety Council expressed his opinion about the problems of telephone user identity validation. “Here is what it doesn’t do, which is what it is supposed to do: user identity validation. So you are validating who the user is. You could start the course on your cell phone and give the cell phone to somebody else and have them finish it. This user identity validation method was not originally what the DMV had on their list of what they wanted as user identity validation, but because this is a pilot program the law said they could consider other new technologies.”

“Everybody uses this telephone user identity validation because it doesn’t really prove who the user is and as long as they call in they don’t have to speak or say any- thing. It just makes a connection and you hang up. So this is a problem. Imagine the amount of fraud in this program?” explained Bill Bonds. “One person in the family is doing it all. Taxicab drivers they take it online and the company could have people taking it online for the drivers. By the way the taxicab drivers are mandated to take this. There are people who are mandated to take it. If you are mandated to take it then you beat the system and then you are a little more guilty then other people,” continued Bill Bonds.

Another problem is “You have to go back to the beginning of the course and that is the law no matter what happened, no matter how legitimate – we had some problems and because of the law people lost money because of that. A snow storm comes and you have two weeks left to finish your course, but you have no electric for two weeks,” explained Bonds.

Michael Barrett, Legislative Representative for the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of New York (IIABNY) said “I talked to two people over at the IIABNY’s office over in Syracuse where they are based. I said generally ‘what do you hear?’ and they said we don’t hear a word. No complaining. Nobody says anything which tells me there is no problem. Generally, with the IIABNY things will percolate. I will hear lots of things, legislative regulatory issues or what’s going on in the market, or the people in the Syracuse office will hear different things about different issues. Not one word comes up on this. Nothing.”

“I guess it’s a good sign there is not a problem. We got one person who, in theory, is creating a scenario that might be a problem, but I am just not hearing it from our folks,” said Michael Barrett.

The New York Insurance Association President Ellen Melchionni said “Point and insurance reduction courses may be well intentioned, but many companies have found that a person taking this type of course, in a classroom or online, has not necessarily resulted in the individual being a safer driver. The 10% discount that is mandatory, for these courses is often not justified. In fact, the reduction of points on a person’s license masks the individual’s actual driving record, which often leads to good drivers subsidizing the rates of bad drivers. It is not clear at this point whether online courses are less effective than classroom courses. While customers appreciate the opportunity to take these courses to be eligible for a dis- count, statistics demonstrate that the cours- es are not effective in improving driving behavior and the discount is simply unwanted.”

Classroom Course Providers Approved by the DMV are:

• American Safety Council

• Driver Training Associates

• Empire Safety Council

• I DRIVE SAFELY

• National Point and Insurance Reduction Course

• Traffic Safety Consultants, Inc (TSC)

• National Safety Council

• National Traffic Safety Institute

• New York Safety Program

• NYDDCC LLC, DBA Defensive Drivers Discount

• USA Training Company

• AARP

• American Automobile Association (AAA)

• American Safety

The following organizations provide approved course for their employees and members only. If you are an employee or member, contact the organization directly:

• Nassau County Police Department

• NYC Fire Department EVOC Unit, Bureau of EMS

• NYC Police Department, Driver Education and Training Unit

• NYS Education Department c/o Eastern Suffolk BOCES

• NYS Department of Transportation

• New York State Police Academy • Suffolk County Police Department

Internet courses and other alternative delivery method course providers approved by the DMV are:

• I DRIVE SAFELY

• National Safety Council

• National Traffic Safety Institute (NTSI)

• New York Safety Program (NYSP)

• USA Training Company

• AARP

• American Safety

• American Safety Council (available in English and Spanish)

• An Online Defensive Driving Course by Improv

• Driver Training Associates • Empire Safety Council

All the different sponsors who are approved to deliver PIRP courses have their own courses. The Empire Safety Council’s course is called the Accident Prevention Workshop. Bill Bonds, President of the Empire Safety Council said “classroom sponsors, prior to four years ago, had proof of course completion research studies, to the satisfaction of the DMV that they are effective in reducing accidents and repeat traffic offenses. Four or five years ago the Legislature approved internet courses. The DMV had a problem in implementing approvals because the course had no proof of effectiveness.”

“There is no research provided to the DMV by any internet sponsors. ‘Proof of effectiveness was as good as or better than the National Safety Council’ was the wording in the law,” continued Bonds. “Our council had the highest overall effective rate among the approved sponsors when we begin in 1990. So, all the class- room providers prior to the internet courses had all proved their effectiveness. In our case, it was 19% reduction in accidents and almost 60% reduction in repeat traffic offenses.”

“I am a New York provider. Most of these other sponsors, 90% of them are from out of state and they do internet courses and they do classroom course as well. Like there is one, he must do 125,000 courses on the internet and only 500 in the classroom. You have to do 500 in the classroom in order to be in business,” explained Bonds. “Somehow they have a rule you have to do 500 in the classroom and then you can have the inter- net. That is what these out of state people do. Now, these out of state people they are in a lot of different states as well. Like we are in New Jersey and you know New Jersey has different rules.”

“So if you take a National Safety Council teen course for four hours you are going to get a certificate that says National Safety Council on it. Now it may say some other stuff and it is going to look almost like the New York Certificate so how would an insurance company know whether that’s an avatar, an unapproved course or legitimate?” said Bill Bonds. “There certificates all look the same because it has their name on it.”

“Now, if it is an unapproved course it’s in violation of 2336 of the insurance law. The insurance law says that it has to be approved by motor vehicles, it has to be six hours, DMV regulations say there has to be proof of effectiveness, but not anymore,” explained Bonds. “Not any- more because they are saying nobody has effectiveness; which I really object to. We have research that proves that we had the highest overall effect rate.”

With all these different companies and some coming from out of state there is no uniform testing. Bonds said “Now you are the insurance company and somebody goes online and they take a $15.00 accident prevention course from National Safety Council for two hours and some other course. They get a certificate in the mail and they give it to the insurance company and what does the insurance company know? They just give them the dis- count.”

“The way you can be aware of this is when it says on these websites ‘check with your insurance carrier’ so they are hoping you are going to call up your insurance carrier and say ‘Hey listen is National Insurance Council approved by you?’ and they ‘Yes’ because it is. National Safety council approved course in New York is, but not their unapproved courses,” said Bonds. “I am not just blaming National Safety Council. They all do it. I am the only sponsor that has on his certificate this course is approved by the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles in twelve point bold type at the top of the certificate.”

There is a high percentage of people who sign up for the online PIRP course who do not finish the course. “They lose their money. They obviously would have been better off going to a classroom. Overall, we have been against this course from the very beginning,” said Bonds. “My Council three years ago had 149,900 students. We were one quarter of the entire market. About 600,000 people took the course every year. So we were close to a quarter of the entire market among fourteen to fifteen sponsors.”

“Then the internet came in and now the totals are up to 700,000, but we only do maybe 121,000 now. We have out of state companies with internet courses that have no proof of effectiveness and admittedly have no proof of effectiveness because they can’t submit any proof of effectiveness. DMV in order to get them in had to do a study proving that the class- room people had no proof of effectiveness. It’s a sick thing,” Bond said.

“These other courses are national boring lecture programs. Now why do I say they are boring lecture programs? Because ours is state specific, the most state specific. Our class is based on participation and interaction. It is the same methodologies recommended by the State Education Department and every single school district in New York for more than 25 years. When you have a national type program it’s a lecture program. You don’t have state specific laws in it,” explained Bonds. “We have a lot of partners in education in school districts, libraries, fire houses, and big and small businesses. They sponsor the classes. Instructors show up there and teach. Some sponsors have their own classrooms so it varies.”

“At least being in the classroom those courses are effective even though DMV says they are not. Remember everybody did prove to the satisfaction of the DMV when they got approved that they were effective,” explained Bonds. “We have a situation now. Our classrooms are seeing fewer and fewer people because of the internet. So we have loss of incomes among our instructors, we have fewer classrooms as a result, and unemployment of instructors dropping out of the pro- gram.”

“Now here is a point that cannot be overlooked: what is the consequence of allowing internet courses in New York State? The consequence is that people are getting a discount who are not safer drivers so everyone else has to pay for their dis- count. There is no question about it. It’s going to cost everyone else more money to give someone a discount who is not going to be a safer driver. That is the bad consequence. That’s why it’s bad policy as we call it,” continued Bonds.

Julio Calcano, Tech Support with the National Traffic Safety Institute (NTSI) in Staten Island, New York addressed the issue with user identity validation and the possibility of fraudulent course takers. “That is something really the DMV has to take care of. Everything we do, has to go through them. I am sure that is something they have thought about because technically online courses are supposed to be in a trial period and we haven’t heard any- thing from them yet. I am sure they have people who have tested that theory before. There is really no way around that to be honest if you want to be online.”

The NTSI was founded in 1974 by Jeffrey M. Chase, Ph.D., a former fire- fighter who saw the results of poor driving. Since its beginning, NYSI has trained more than 100 million problem drivers to be safer. They have regional centers and certified instructors across the country. The NTSI’s website describes the company’s objectives. “We offer both defensive driving as well as DMV traffic school online. We have easy registration for the NY Online Defensive Driving Course with 24-Hour access. There are no finals on the NY Online Defensive Driving Course, but you are welcome to select and attend one of our classroom courses.”

The NTSI’s caters their New York Defensive Driving course to the individual who:

• Wants to reduce the number of points on their license through our approved NY Defensive Driving Course/Point Reduction Course;

• Wants to receive a discount on their insurance by taking our approved NY Defensive Driving Course/Insurance Discount Course;

• Needs to take the class as required by an employer; and

• Wishes to increase their driving knowledge.

NTSI and the Empire State College in Saratoga Springs, New York are partnering up to offer Defensive Driving to students and alumni.

I DRIVE SAFELY have offices in Yonkers, New York. On their website they give helpful information on understanding a drivers driving record. The website informs readers that errors on your driving record can cost you. When you receive your driving record, make sure that information is current and accurate. If your record has inaccuracies, you could:

• Overpay on your car insurance;

• Receive a high fine for a traffic violation; and

• Be denied employment based on items on your drivers record.

According to the I DRIVE SAFELY program studies confirm by “the Insurance Research Council, 22% of driving records contain mistakes due to clerical errors, dis- missed tickets that still appear, and other reasons. If you let them go unchecked, they can cost you every single year by paying too much for car insurance. The only way to protect yourself is to examine your driving record. Ordering your record is easy. First, complete the online form. Second, select your shipping method, and three pay via our encrypted server.”

The I DRIVE SAFELY program details what a driver should closely scrutinize when they receive their driver’s record, including:

• Fines you have paid that are still listed as “outstanding;”

• You receive credit for all dismissed tickets;

• There are not citations that you don’t recognize; and

• All your personal information is current.

The I DRIVE SAFELY program explains to the consumer why there are timers during the course. “The course is required by New York law to span six hours in length. 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.”

Driver Training Associates (DTA) has offices in Saratoga Springs, New York and has been a traffic safety industry leader since 1977. The DTA’s website explains with “financial belts getting tighter, every- one is looking for quick and simple ways to save significant money. DTA’s online defensive driving New York course is one of the easier ways for you to save money on your auto insurance premiums.

• “DTA’s program has an “easy to use format – Our course is simple for anyone to use, including people who have never taken an online class before;

• Clear, simple language-This accident prevention course is written in plain language that’s easy to understand and is not loaded down with statistics;

• Video and animations – Helpful videos and animations bring the course to life;

• Study at your own pace – Log in and out of the course as many times as you like. We keep track of your course activity; and

• U.S. based customer support – Our professional, U.S. based customer support team is ready to help if you need assistance.”

The course is available 24 hours, 7 days a week, and can be accessed from any computer connected to the Internet. “Imagine the convenience of taking the course from the comfort of your home or at your favorite Wi-Fi hot spot,” DTA explains on their website. DTA’s courses are approved by the Texas Education Agency, New York DMV, Florida DHSMV, and Virginia DMV.

The American Safety Council has offices in Malone, New York. The company is 100% online. Like other online PIRP course there is no final exam in order for the participant to receive their certificate. The American Safety Council on their website explains how a participant may verify their course completion. They offer “a service for you to pull your driving record at a nominal fee. If you need to verify the defensive driving course completion is on your record at this time, you may request a copy of your driving record from the DMV.”

After the completion of American Safety Council’s course they will send a certificate of completion. “If you present this certificate of completion to your insurance company or agent within 90 days after course completion, your liability and collision premium reduction will begin immediately. This reduction will actually be retroactively applied to the date you completed the course. However, if you present your certificate more than 90 days after the course completion, your insurer could issue the premium discount effective from the date presented.”

The revenue comparison for both class- room students who pay $2.00 and the I- PIRP students who pay $8.00 per online course has grown over the past three years. The revenue comparison for 2009-2010 was $597,376.00 for classroom students, while the internet students were $87,947.00. In fiscal year 2010-2011 revenue for class- room students was $526,430.00, while the internet students were $144,700.00. For fiscal year 2011-2012 the classroom students’ revenue was $570,303.00, while the internet students’ revenue was $188, 364.00. According to the Department of Motor Vehicles 20% of the students equals 50% of the revenue while the internet participation has increased each of the past three years there has been some trade-offs with a 4.5% drop in classroom participation during the same period.

“Overall program attendance is up and that is the true objective of I-PIRP,” said Nick Cantiello.

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