Michigan Tickets, Points and the Basic Driver Improvement Course

The first thing to know: BDIC is not a dismissal

Michigan has no class that makes a ticket vanish. BDIC is the nearest thing. Pass it and the Department of State still records the ticket, but leaves the points off and keeps both the ticket and the points away from your insurance company.

That matters, because insurers set rates from what they can see. The violation is still on your state record, though, and you still owe the court its fine and costs.

Days 1 onward: responding to the citation

The Michigan Vehicle Code gives you until the date printed on the citation to respond. Your options are three. You can admit it, at the court, by post or through a representative. You can admit it but explain, and the court may take your explanation into account on the fine. Or you can deny it and get a hearing.

A denial gets you an informal hearing in front of a magistrate unless you specifically ask for a formal hearing in front of a judge. When the ticket already shows a hearing date and you prefer a judge, let the court know 10 or more days ahead. Each court sets its own deadlines and default fees, so read your citation and the court's website.

Days 1 onward: paying, contesting or missing it

Lots of district courts take payments on the state court ePay site, though only participating courts appear there. According to a court system notice, ePay courts now let you pay part of a civil infraction at a time. A payment through the site is treated as an admission, so contact the court instead if you want to explain or fight it.

At an informal hearing a district court magistrate hears the officer and any witnesses, and lawyers are not involved. A formal hearing in front of a judge brings in a prosecutor, and you can hire an attorney. Courts caution that a hearing request received after the deadline becomes a default judgment, and leaving a ticket unresolved can cost you your license.

After the court: who gets a BDIC letter

Only violations listed in state law qualify, and the letter is how you find out. On enrollment day your Michigan license must be valid and non-commercial. The state posts its list of eligible tickets on its BDIC page.

You are out if your record already had more than 2 points when you were ticketed, if the violation was criminal, if you were in a commercial vehicle, if the ticket came from another state, if you hold a CDL, or if your Michigan license is not valid.

• 2 points or fewer on your record at the time of the ticket
• A BDIC-eligible civil infraction, never a criminal one
• Issued in Michigan
• Not a CDL holder, and not behind the wheel of a commercial vehicle
• A valid, non-commercial Michigan license

When the letter arrives: 60 days, no extensions

Sixty days, counted from the letter, is all you get to sign up and pass. The Department of State says the statute does not let it stretch that. Miss it and the points and violation go on your record and are made available to your insurer.

Missing a deadline does not burn your one chance. Get another qualifying ticket later, receive a new letter, and you can take the course for that one. Pass it, though, and BDIC is closed to you for good.

When the letter arrives: online or classroom, and cost

You can do BDIC online or in a classroom. The state publishes two lists, approved online sponsors and approved classroom sponsors, and a course from anyone else is never reported.

Each sponsor sets its own price, but state law limits it to $100 a course. Some have their own retake rules for the course or the exam, so read the fine print first.

If you do not qualify: how points add up

MCL 257.320a sets point values. For speed, the scale climbs one point per band: 1 point for 5 mph over or less, then 2, 3 and 4 points as you pass 5, 10 and 15 over. Careless driving is 3, so is ignoring a signal or stop sign, causing an at-fault crash with a moving violation is 4, fleeing police or drunk driving is 6. When one incident produces several violations, only the highest counts.

Here is how it plays out. Say you are caught at 52 in a 40, which is 12 over, so 3 points if you cannot use BDIC. Add a careless driving finding the next spring and you are at 6. Two more 3 point tickets inside the same two years would put you at 12 and trigger a reexamination.

Reach 9 points and you may be called in for an interview, and skipping it adds 3 more. Hit 12 inside two years and a driver assessment reexamination follows. For points cases it is a review of your record, and the outcome can be restrictions, a suspension or a revocation.

• Up to 5 over: 1
• Over by 6 to 10: 2
• Over by 11 to 15: 3
• Over by more than 15: 4
• Careless driving, running a signal or stop sign: 3 points

If things get worse: reexaminations and probation

Twelve points is not the only route to a reexamination. A fatal crash can lead there, as can three negligent crashes inside two years, a restriction violation, or a conviction during probation. Since probation lasts three years or more, a newly licensed driver can be called in after a single ticket.

If you disagree with the outcome, you have 14 days to appeal to the Office of Hearings and Administrative Oversight, or 63 days to go to circuit court in your county. No course cancels a reexamination referral.

Before you pay for a course: what will not help

Paying for a course before the letter comes is wasted money as far as your record goes. The same is true of an unlisted sponsor, or of any course aimed at an out-of-state ticket.

Mature driver programs and insurance company safety classes are not BDIC. We could not find a state page that makes insurers give a discount for them; your company can tell you what it offers. For older drivers who want to stay safe behind the wheel, the Department of State publishes its Safe Drivers Smart Options resources.

Do not expect your state points to match your insurer's. State points come from the Michigan Vehicle Code; insurance points come from a different scheme in insurance law. Your agent can explain how a given ticket will be rated. A ticket from another state that corresponds to a Michigan offense generally posts here with points, and BDIC is never an option for it.

Special case: commercial drivers

Commercial license holders carry a federal obligation (49 CFR 383.31) to give the employer written notice of any traffic conviction, in whatever vehicle, inside 30 days. With BDIC unavailable to them, a CDL holder's real options are fighting the ticket or talking to a lawyer.