La. Admin. Code tit. 55 § I-2901

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, September 20, 2024

Section I-2901 - Defensive Driving Course Approval Process

A. Authority

1. Act 169 of the 2001 Regular Legislative Session amended R.S. 22:1404, authorizing the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, Public Safety Services, Office of State Police to approve and certify defensive driving courses.

2. Act 1093 of the 2003 Regular Legislative Session amended R.S. 22:1404, authorizing the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, Public Safety Services, Office of State Police (department) to promulgate rules and regulations to establish criteria and standards for the approval and certification of defensive driving courses. The expenses of the approval and certification process by the department shall be funded through an interagency agreement with the Department of Insurance, contingent upon the appropriation of funds by the legislature.

3. These rules shall apply to any person, business, or entity producing defensive driving courses and seeking department approval and certification of their defensive driving course.

4. The department shall not incur an unfunded mandate and if funds are not available, the department shall not be required to certify defensive driving courses.

5. These rules are promulgated in accordance with R.S. 22:1404.

B. Defensive Driving Course Objectives

1. How to identify and avoid unsafe driving conditions and behaviors that may cause a licensed driver to be involved in or cause a traffic crash which may result in the loss of life, bodily injury, or damage to property.

2. Educate drivers on proper defensive driving techniques and identifying and avoiding traffic hazards that may lead to vehicle crashes.

3. How to identify aggressive driver behavior patterns along with alternatives to avoid confrontations and stressful driving situations.

C. Defensive Driving Course; Application, Curriculum and Certification

1. A business, individual, or Louisiana state agency applying for department certification of a defensive driving course must make application and submit all course materials to the department to obtain approval and certification. Any certification fraudulently obtained or issued shall be revoked by the department.

2. A business, individual, or agency seeking approval of their course must be domiciled within Louisiana and submit the following information and documents to the department prior to consideration:

a. notarized application. The application shall be a completed affidavit including, but not limited to, the following:

i. the business name, address and phone number of the company or entity producing the course. The business trade name must be registered with the Louisiana Secretary of State;

ii. name of the owner(s), or if a corporation, names of all corporate officers and registered agent(s) for service of process;

iii. actual name of the defensive driving course to be considered for approval;

iv. a statement substantially as follows:

"Under oath, I affirm and attest, under penalty of law, that the information submitted in this application is true and accurate and I agree to abide by all applicable laws, rules and regulations governing the license, certification and business operations for which this application is made and that I am the responsible party having authority to enter into binding obligations on behalf of this company or the above named entity";

v. date of application; and

vi. notarized signature(s) of the applicant or authorized company officers;

b. specific and complete course guide and curriculum;

c. a description of the testing process and procedures, including a copy of the final examination;

d. electronic or computer based courses must be submitted to the department for viewing on a compact disc or similar electronic format;

e. uniform certificate of completion shall be legible and on a form of certification determined and approved by the Louisiana Insurance Rating Commission; and

f. any additional information required by the department.

3. In addition to basic curriculum, the following topics of instruction shall be included in the defensive driving course curriculum:

a. sharing the road with:

i. tractor trailer trucks, motor coaches and other commercial motor vehicles;

ii. motorcycles;

iii. school buses;

iv. emergency vehicles, including yielding to stopped emergency vehicles and yielding to emergency vehicles in pursuit or responding to calls;

b. training on railroad and highway grade crossing safety;

c. operating vehicles in inclement weather and at night;

d. sleep deprivation;

e. aggressive driving;

f. vehicle safety features, i.e., seat belts, air bags, anti-lock brakes;

g. how alcohol and drugs effect driving ability; and

h. Louisiana's traffic laws, especially those violations that are leading causes of traffic crashes, such as: careless operation, failure to yield, following too closely and disregarding traffic controls.

4. The course shall be divided into five specific parts to facilitate the learning process. A student must participate in each part. The defensive driving course shall be divided into the following parts:

a. sharing the road with other vehicles:

i. tractor trailer trucks, motor coaches and other commercial motor vehicles;

ii. motorcycles;

iii. school buses;

iv. emergency vehicles, including yielding to stopped emergency vehicles and yielding to emergency vehicles in pursuit or responding to calls;

b. traffic laws:

i. Louisiana's traffic safety laws, specifically, but not limited to, those violations that are leading causes of traffic crashes, namely:

(a). careless operation;

(b). failure to yield;

(c). following too closely; and

(d). disregarding traffic controls;

ii. training on railroad and highway grade crossing safety;

c. dangers of impaired drivers;

i. how alcohol and drugs affect driving ability;

ii. sleep deprivation;

d. aggressive driving and exceeding safe speed limits; and

e. vehicle safety features and road hazards:

i. seat belts, air bags, anti-lock brakes;

ii. operating vehicles in inclement weather and at night.

5. The duration of the course shall be at least four hours of instruction and testing in a traditional classroom setting, or as an alternative, a minimum of 60 minutes of instruction in a computer-based, electronic medium designed to allow students to progress and test at his/her own pace, which may include written instructions, narratives supplemented with video clips, etc.

6. Written evidence of successful completion of the defensive driving course by a student shall be part of the course curriculum and be provided by the course administrators or instructors to the student on a form approved by the Insurance Rating Commission.

7. All students shall have adequate access to course instructors, and if computer based courses, to technical support personnel throughout the duration of the training. In no event shall a student have to wait longer than five minutes for personal interaction by an instructor or if computer based, a way to contact technical support personnel.

8. Course providers shall be able to provide documentation proving all requirements have been met.

9. Submitted applications and supporting documents shall be reviewed for accuracy and content by the department to determine if the defensive driving course meets all the requirements listed within these rules. Once a determination is made by the department the company shall be notified in writing of the decision to certify or reject the defensive driving course.

10. A company or entity shall be required to reapply for certification if there is a change in the defensive driving course curriculum.

11. Any certification fraudulently obtained or issued shall be revoked by the department.

D. Defensive Driving Testing and Student Identity Certification

1. The final examination shall be a minimum of 25 questions, selected randomly from a question pool of no less than 125 questions, based on actual course material, and composed to test the student's knowledge of the course's content and what the student has learned.

2. The final examination shall be administered at the conclusion of the course and be divided into the course's five parts. A student must successfully complete the exam by scoring at least 80 percent on the examination. A student not achieving the minimum 80 percent on the final examination shall be advised of the correct answer and required to review the deficient part(s) and retest on the deficient parts subject matter with different randomly selected questions.

3. The course content shall advise students of the prohibition on cheating, advise them that they will not be allowed to continue the course if they are found cheating and action may be taken against them by the Department of Insurance or the Insurance Rating Commission.

4. Each student enrolled in a defensive driving course shall be required to present his driver's license as proof of identity or if computer based, enter their driver's license number in to the computer, which shall be printed on the certificate of completion.

5. Course providers shall develop and deploy a means to authenticate the identity of a student throughout the duration of the course, with added emphasis during the final examination.

E. Defensive Driving Course; Prohibitions

1. Companies shall not reference "Department of Public Safety and Corrections" or "Louisiana State Police" in any advertisements or imply that the defensive driving course is recommended, supervised or endorsed by the department or the state of Louisiana.

2. Course providers are prohibited from issuing a certificate of completion to any person who has not enrolled in its defensive driving course and met all of the requirements for course completion.

3. Course providers shall adhere to all federal and state laws and shall not engage in any form of unlawful discrimination or other illegal activities.

4. This defensive driving course shall not be utilized in lieu of the requirements of the "driver education course" or the "pre-licensing training course" (6 or 36 hour commercial driving schools) authorized in R.S. 32:402.1.

5. This defensive driving course shall not be utilized in lieu of the requirements of the "driver improvement program for remediation" authorized in R.S. 32:402.2.

6. No company operating a defensive driving course, its agents, responsible parties, or other persons shall release or provide relevant data, answers to examinations, or otherwise compromise the integrity of a defensive driving course.

7. No company, employees, instructors, or agents shall violate the Federal Driver's Privacy Protection Act of 1994, R.S. 32:401 et seq., or any other privacy or security laws or regulations.

F. Administrative Penalties for Noncompliance

1. Any person, business, or entity failing to comply with any provision of these rules shall be subject to an administrative civil penalty. Each day's failure to comply with these administrative rules shall constitute a separate offense. The penalties may include a warning, monetary fine, suspension of the department's certification of the defensive driving course or a combination of these penalties.

2. In accordance with these rules and regulations adopted pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act, an administrative penalty may be assessed by the Department of Public Safety and Corrections and shall be payable to the Louisiana Towing and Storage Fund.

3. If the department determines to revoke a course's certification, the company or individual shall be notified in writing of the intent to revoke its certification in 30 days. The company or individual shall have 30 days from the date of the written notice of intent to show cause as to why the department should not revoke its certification. If a company fails to respond within the 30 days, the revocation shall be final. The department shall notify the Department of Insurance of the effective date of such revocation.

La. Admin. Code tit. 55, § I-2901

Promulgated by the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, Public Safety Services, Office of State Police, LR 31:2953 (November 2005).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 22:1404.