• Our Mission
• Course Philosophy

DTA was the first company to emphasize the important role that attitude and emotions play in a person's driving.

Building upon Dr. Eric Berne's concepts of Transactional Analysis, Driver Training Associates has developed defensive driving programs that cause students to think about what motivates their decision-making process behind the wheel.

Our Defensive Driving Course Philosophy

Our courses teach that every driver has three Attitude States controlling his or her behavior at all times: we call these Parent, Adult, and Child (or "PAC").

The Adult Attitude State is the logical, rational decision maker – the most desirable state for driving. The irrational urge to punish other drivers comes from the Parent Attitude State. The Child Attitude State is responsible for reckless and impulsive behaviors such as aggressive driving, tailgating, and speeding.

DTA's courses teach students to recognize their Parent and Child attitude states so that they will not allow them to control their driving.

The IPDE Defensive Driving Strategy

Rounding out this innovative approach to driver improvement is our IPDE defensive driving strategy, which trains students to identify potential hazards, predict what they are likely to do, decide on the best possible maneuver, and execute it safely. The IPDE strategy is supplemented by DTA's proprietary techniques of isolate and stabilize, separate and compromise. All of these defensive driving concepts are taught and reinforced through the use of videos, exercises, and colorful, easy to understand graphics.

By thinking outside of the traditional "driver improvement box," DTA has designed traffic school courses that every driver can benefit from, regardless of background or driving experience.

Driver Improvement That Really Works

While the world is full of defensive driving courses that claim to be effective, we can actually prove that our courses transform driving behavior. Florida, Texas, New York, and Illinois have conducted numerous studies to determine the effectiveness of traffic school courses offered in those states.

DTA's courses have consistently been shown to reduce the number of repeat violations and crashes among course participants. Click here to read the results of these defensive driving program effectiveness studies.

If you're ready to get started, click on the register button and select your state to see all available courses.

• Our Mission
• Course Philosophy