If you need to take a Florida 12 hour online traffic school (also called the Advanced Driver Improvement Course or ADI), that means you either screwed up in a pretty big way or you’re getting the shaft from our criminal justice system. Either way, I’m not here to judge, I’m just here to make sure you are able to complete your legal obligation in the cheapest, fastest, and most pain-free way.
It honestly doesn’t really matter which 12 hour online traffic school you sign up for in Florida… It’s going to suck. Spending 12 hours of your time studying traffic laws and learning about the dangers of drunk driving isn’t an ideal way to spend your time. However, if you sign up with one of the online traffic schools I mention below, your journey will be far less painful.
Florida’s Basic Driver Improvement (BDI) vs Florida’s Advanced Driver Improvement (ADI)
If you’ve got a driving citation for speeding or any other minor traffic infraction, Florida allows you to take a Basic Driver Improvement class to eliminate the assessment of points on your license.
There’s a clear procedure to follow when taking the class. For example, drivers must voluntarily select this option within 30 days from the date of the citation. Once decided, they must inform the court handle in the county where the citation was issued about their decision before signing up to any class.
You will be asked to pay the requisite fees to the clerk of court in the county – this is different from the course fee that you need to pay to the traffic school when you sign up for their Basic Driver Improvement course.
Once you receive the go signal from your court to take the course, you’ll have 30 days from the date of your citation to pass the course. If you think you’ll need an extension to complete the course, be sure to inform your court immediately as your traffic school can’t extend the deadline for you. If you fail to complete the course within the given deadline, you’re no longer allowed to take the course.
Not all drivers are allowed to take the Basic Driver Improvement (BDI) course in Florida. If you meet any of the following descriptions, you will not be allowed to take the course:
- If you’ve already attended a BDI course in the last 12 months, you’re not allowed to take the course again.
- If you’ve taken a BDI course five times in your lifetime. Florida figures they’ve given you plenty of chances at basic driver improvement already, and another one won’t help.
- If you hold a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL).
- If you were cited for going faster than 30 mph over the posted speed limit, that’s reckless and Florida doesn’t think an eight-hour class is going to help much. (For that matter, neither do we!)
So for drivers who find themselves in even hotter water than just a minor ticket, Florida offers the Advanced Driver Improvement Course (ADI). Similar to the Basic Driver Improvement (BDI) course, the ADI is administered by an approved list of third-party providers, but there are significantly fewer of those providers than those of the BDI courses.
A List Of The Best Florida 12 Hour Online Traffic School Courses
Who am I to recommend these courses? I’m a CDL-A certified driving instructor and have quite a bit of experience creating online courses for truck drivers. I am also very familiar with these online traffic schools from both my professional career and through my online traffic school reviews on this site, which I’ve been doing for years. You should of course do your own research, but these are the state approved Florida 12 hour online traffic school courses that will make life a little bit easier for you.
iDriveSafely
This online traffic school is almost always my top recommendation whether it’s for simple traffic school, drivers ed, insurance reduction, or any other type of online driving course. Not only have they been in business for more than 20 years with 5,000,000+ “graduates”, but I have personally visited their corporate offices and have seen first hand their U.S. based 24/7/365 customer support teams, the individuals who work on improving the course, etc. I can also tell you that these people know you aren’t doing this by choice. They offer their course in the most pain-free way possible. For example, you can log into and out of the course whenever you want, they include some optional videos to help keep things a bit more interesting, it’s the fastest course allowed by Florida state law, and if you need to reach someone you can do so via phone, live chat, or email 365 days per year. Heck, you can even take this course from your phone or tablet. It’s definitely the best choice.
GoToTrafficSchool
Here is another online traffic school that has been around for 20+ years. Just like iDriveSafely, they have an A+ Better Business Bureau rating even though literally millions of people have gone through their course. You also get 24hr live chat, phone, or email support every day of the year. The course can be completed from virtually any internet connected device (phone, tablet, desktop, etc.) and they will keep track of your place, so you can finish it all over time if you would prefer. While you will need to pass a final exam with a score of 80% of higher, you are allowed 5 chances to pass. Also, if for whatever reason you aren’t satisfied with the course, you can get a 100% money-back refund. Also be aware that this course is offered in both English and Spanish, so if you are predominantly a Spanish speaking individual, it will be that much easier.
American Safety Council
The American Safety Council is a private company (not a government agency), but is a well recognized name in educational safety. This is yet another online traffic school that has existed for a long time, but their record isn’t quite as squeaky clean as the first two. They are an accredited Better Business Bureau company, but have been downgraded from an A+ rating to an ‘A’ rating. With this in mind, they still have a very good reputation and feedback from the vast majority of students is positive. Their pricing is in-line with where it should be, the course is kept updated, they offer quality customer support, and all the factors of a good online traffic school are there.
While there are other options available, those are the Florida online 12hr traffic school courses I would recommend with my knowledge of the industry.
Is Taking The 12 Hour Traffic School Really Better Online?
In most cases, you will have the option to complete your 12 hour traffic school online or in a classroom. So, is taking the course online really that much better?
Quite frankly, yes. It really is that much better. Unless, of course, you enjoy sitting in a stuffy classroom for 6 hours on a perfectly good Saturday with a bunch of other people who don’t want to be there…. And then do another 6 hours after that. I’m assuming that’s not what you want to do.
By taking your Florida 12 hour traffic school online, you can split it up over a 30 day period if you want to. Just throw on some PJ’s, get a bowl of popcorn, and do it from the comfort of your living room. How can you beat that? Heck, the clothing is even optional!
So, if you’re trying to decide between a classroom based course or an online course, trust me, go with the online course. It’s really not as bad as you might think, especially if you go with one of the online traffic schools I suggested above.
Best of luck!