Alaska Defensive Driving Courses, Points and Tickets

First things first: what a course does in Alaska

It reduces points. According to DMV, two things earn credit against your points: a stretch of driving with no violations, and finishing a defensive driver course. The course route is limited to once in 12 months.

What DMV's points page does not say is how many points one course removes. Phone DMV at (855) 269-5551 before you enroll to find out the size of the credit and whether it pulls you under a suspension threshold.

Before you take the class: pay the ticket

Drivers coming from other states are often surprised by this. DMV's advice: if you are not going to contest the ticket, pay it, and only then take the course. Take the course first and the credit may not touch the points that ticket adds.

The exception is a local dismissal program like the one in Fairbanks, where an early payment destroys your eligibility. Know which route you are on before you pay anything.

A worked example: you get a 4 point ticket in March and already have 4 points from last fall. Pay the March ticket, let it post, then take a course in April. Taking the course in February, before the ticket existed, could leave you at 8 with your credit already used for the year.

If you hoped a judge would dismiss it

On its traffic help page, the Alaska Court System says plainly that no citation is dismissed on the strength of a defensive driving course. It adds that the court cannot change the points DMV assigns, because the law has DMV apply them automatically.

A course can come up in court in one specific way. Drivers who cannot afford a fine may file Form TR-405 asking for credit against it. A judge who grants the request lets community work service or a defensive driving course pay down part of the amount. Miss the deadline for filing written proof that you finished, and you owe the full fine plus a surcharge.

If the ticket stands: Alaska point values

Alaska's top value is 10 points, given for each of these: racing, DUI, driving while suspended, eluding police, reckless driving and breath test refusal. Leaving the scene of a crash costs 9.

Driving with no insurance, negligent driving, passing a school bus illegally and not yielding to an emergency vehicle each cost 6. Tailgating, careless driving, and not stopping or yielding where required cost 4. The general run of other moving violations costs 2.

• 3 to 9 mph over: 2 points
• 10 to 19 mph over: 4 points
• 20 or more over: 6 points
• Any speeding in a school zone or a playground crosswalk: 6 points

When to act: the suspension thresholds

Reaching 12 points within 12 months, or 18 within 24 months, triggers a mandatory suspension or revocation. DMV mails a warning letter once you are halfway there.

DMV is explicit that you cannot get a limited work license during a point suspension. Treat the warning letter as your cue to take a course and ease off, before the suspension notice shows up.

If you are a provisional driver

The bar is lower for provisional licenses. Collect 6 points in one year or 9 in two, and you are required to finish a DMV approved driver improvement course, and skipping it can lead to suspension.

Think of it as an order, not an optional credit. Confirm with DMV that the course you pick satisfies the requirement, and hold on to the proof of completion.

If the ticket came from Fairbanks police

The City of Fairbanks backs a program for open citations written by its own police. You still owe the payment on the citation, but the ticket's points can be dismissed. The sequence is: finish an approved course, then pay the fine and surcharge.

Every condition has to be met, and the Defensive Driving Request Form has to be filled out in person at the City Clerk's Office, 800 Cushman Street, ahead of your court date. Wait for the city to accept your request before signing up for any course.

• You do not currently hold a CDL
• A clean two years with no moving violations
• Two years since any defensive driving course
• The citation is worth four points or fewer
• You give up eligibility if you contest the citation

Choosing a course: online, in person, and what does not count

On DMV's list you will find online providers next to classroom schools in places such as Wasilla, Bethel, Eagle River and Anchorage. Proctored test sites, DMV notes, are limited to remote areas and one military base, so check how a course handles testing before choosing it.

Not every course counts toward points. DMV flags the AARP four hour course as valid only for insurance reduction. When points are what you care about, stick to a course DMV lists under defensive driving, and double check before you pay.

Insurance, drivers 55 and older, and CDL holders

Certain insurers lower rates after an accident prevention class, and the AARP note on DMV's list shows insurance only courses are out there. Each insurer sets its own amount and rules, so ask about qualifying course names, the length of the discount, and what a crash or ticket would do to it.

Alaska writes a senior discount into regulation. Regulation 3 AAC 29.385 covers principal operators 55 and up. One who asks at renewal, has had no chargeable accidents or moving citations in three years, and completed a Department of Public Safety approved accident prevention course within three years qualifies for a premium reduction. Court ordered courses do not count, and the discount ends three years after the course.

For CDL holders, federal rules forbid states from masking or diverting a commercial driver's traffic conviction in any vehicle, so a course will not keep a ticket off a commercial record. That is also why Fairbanks bars current CDL holders from its program.