Q: In New Jersey, If you take a New Jersey defensive driving course and lose 2 points, will the insurance still rise if they have not checked your record? Can they see that you gained and lost 2 points?

A: In New Jersey, any driver who is convicted of a moving violation is assessed points for each conviction in accordance with the NJ SA point schedule. These points are considered motor vehicle points and are placed on your New Jersey driving record, along with the conviction for the violation, by the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission.

Once a driver is convicted of a violation NJ insurance companies can assign points and assess surcharges. These points are known as insurance points or insurance eligibility points. Generally they are the same as the points imposed for motor vehicle points; however several serious violations that do not have motor vehicle points assigned to them will result in an assessment of points by the insurance company. These insurance points are used by insurance carriers to determine the rate of premiums that an insured will pay for coverage.
The New Jersey Motor Vehicle Points can be reduced. Two points can be subtracted every 5 years for taking the defensive driving in New Jersey course. According to the New Jersey MVC, points cannot be taken away to reduce your insurance surcharge. So even if your insurance company does not see that you gained and lost 2 points, they will be able to still see the violation on your record, the next time they check your MVR, that originally gave you the motor vehicle points.

When your insurer does see the violation they may assign you insurance points and it may affect your rates depending upon your insurance company's rating system. To find out about your insurance company's rating system, contact your insurance agent.

New Jersey Violation Point Schedule (effective 1/2009)

Participation in New Jersey Defensive Driving will remove 2 points off your driving record. If you've received a citation recently, taking this defensive driving can help remove some of the points, if not all of them associated with that citation. Please review the violation and point schedule below to see how this New Jersey Defensive Driving course will help you.

NJSA Section	Offense	Points
NJSA Section	Offense	Points
New Jersey Turnpike, Garden State Parkway and Atlantic City Expressway
27:23–29	Moving against traffic	2
27:23–29	Improper passing	4
27:23–29	Unlawful use of median strip	2
All roads and highways
39:3–20	Operating constructor vehicle in excess of 45 mph	3
39:4–14.3	Operating motorized bicycle on a restricted highway	2
39:4–14.3d	More than one person on a motorized bicycle	2
39:4–35	Failure to yield to pedestrian in crosswalk	2
39:4–36	Failure to yield to pedestrian in crosswalk; passing a vehicle yielding to pedestrian in crosswalk	2
39:4– 41	Driving through safety zone	2
39:4–52	Racing on highway	5
39:4–55	Improper action or omission on grades and curves	2
39:4–57	Failure to observe direction of officer	2
39:4–66	Failure to stop vehicle before crossing sidewalk	2
39:4–66.1	Failure to yield to pedestrians or vehicles while entering or leaving highway	2
39:4–66.2	Driving on public or private property to avoid a traffic sign or signal	2
39:4–71	Operating a motor vehicle on a sidewalk	2
39:4–80	Failure to obey direction of officer	2
39:4–81	Failure to observe traffic signals	2
39:4–82	Failure to keep right	2
39:4–82.1	Improper operating of vehicle on divided highway or divider	2
39:4–83	Failure to keep right at intersection	2
39:4–84	Failure to pass to right of vehicle proceeding in opposite direction	5
39:4–85	Improper passing on right or off roadway	4
39:4–85.1	Wrong way on a one-way street	2
39:4–86	Improper passing in no passing zone	4
39:4–87	Failure to yield to overtaking vehicle	2
39:4–88	Failure to observe traffic lanes	2
39:4–89	Tailgating	5
39:4–90	Failure to yield at intersection	2
39:4–90.1	Failure to use proper entrances to limited access highways	2
39:4–91–92	Failure to yield to emergency vehicles	2
39:4–96	Reckless driving	5
39:4–97	Careless driving	2
39:4–97a	Destruction of agricultural or recreational property	2
39:4–97.1	Slow speed blocking traffic	2
39:4–97.2	Driving in an unsafe manner (points only for third or subsequent offense within five years of most recent 39:4-97.2 conviction)	4
39:4–98	Exceeding maximum speed 1-14 mph over limit	2
	Exceeding maximum speed 15-29 mph over limit	4
	Exceeding maximum speed 30 mph or more over limit	5
39:4–105	Failure to stop for traffic light	2
39:4–115	Improper turn at traffic light	3
39:4–119	Failure to stop at flashing red signal	2
39:4–122	Failure to stop for police whistle	2
39:4–123	Improper right or left turn	3
39:4–124	Improper turn from approved turning course	3
39:4–125	Improper u-turn	3
39:4–126	Failure to give proper signal	2
39:4–127	Improper backing or turning in street	2
39:4–127.1	Improper crossing of railroad grade crossing	2
39:4–127.2	Improper crossing of bridge	2
39:4–128	Improper crossing of railroad grade crossing by certain vehicles	2
39:4–128.1	Improper passing of school bus	5
39:4–128.4	Improper passing of frozen dessert truck	4
39:4–129	Leaving the scene of an accident – no personal injury	2
39:4–129	Personal injury	8
39:4–144	Failure to observe stop or yield signs	2
39:5C–1	Racing on highway	5
39:5D–4	Moving violation committed out-of-state	2

New Jersey Point Reduction

Summer Defensive Driving Techniques

Defensive driving -This concept is the hallmark of safe driving, whether you're on a summer excursion or just taking a short jaunt to the grocery store. Always drive defensively: Expect the unexpected.

Like any time of year, safe driving practices are the best way to deal with increased traffic. It can get hectic out there, so try to stay calm. Drive at a safe speed and be courteous to other drivers. Speeding, tailgating, weaving in and out of traffic and not yielding the right-of-way can lead to collisions.

If you're tired at the wheel, stop at a safe rest area, or take a break and treat yourself to a coffee or an ice cream. You'll feel rejuvenated and more alert.

Keep on the Lookout

In addition to the number of cars driving on the road, cyclists and motorcyclists come out of hibernation in the summer and can be hard to spot.

There is also increased activity close to the road. Once school is out, more children are playing outside. There are rollerbladers, skateboarders and scooters on sidewalks and streets, and all-terrain vehicles can appear unexpectedly by the side of the road.

Remember, as the traffic flow increases during the summer, so does New Jersey trooper patrols. If you have received a NJ ticket of citation, we specialize in New Jersey Point removals.