We are often asked the question, does teaching this class really help reduce accidents? Well, 30 other states offer some type of Defensive Driving Course. Not all offer as many discounts as New York, in fact, most states offer point reduction OR an insurance discount and the insurance discount is rarely as high as it is in New York, or 10%. The State of New York realized almost thirty years ago, that drivers needed to drive more defensively. As an approved Sponsor, we are required to conduct research to support the effectiveness of our curriculum. The research we conducted supports a 3 percent reduction in accidents and moving violations, when compared to a control group. In many other states, similar research supports even greater reductions. However, when you stop and think about it, a 3 percent reduction is no small potatoes! In 2011, NYSDMV reports over 300,000 accidents with over 178,000 injuries or fatalities from those accidents. 3 percent fewer means these Defensive Driving graduates helped reduce the number of crashes by over 9,000, and helped avoid 5,400 needless injuries! We feel that is making a difference! Insurance Companies support this program as well, as you can imagine, that’s 9,000 fewer claims, lowering their expenses substantially.

What are the main reasons behind accidents in New York? Glad you asked! Almost 50,000 accidents in 2011 were attributed to “Driver Distraction”- texting, applying makeup, having a voice conversation, using GPS, changing radio station, eating, anything that would be considered “distracting”. Next is tailgating! Following too closely, accounted for over 42,000 accidents in 2011! If we could just eliminate that careless driving technique, we’d all be better off! Third, is Failure to yield to Right of Way. Yield means yield, but I guess that’s not so clear to almost 40,000 drivers that failed to yield in 2011. Next highest is unsafe speed, or speeding, responsible for 27,000 accidents in 2011. The defensive drivers course shows, and teaches the consequences for all of those wrongs.

Graduates of our course can proudly say they contributed to a reduction in accidents, and for that, we thank you!