Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 12, March 22, 2024
A Provider that proposes to offer a motor vehicle accident
prevention course to the public for liability insurance premium reduction must
submit a completed application designating which modality they will use,
in-person, virtual, eLearning, or all three, for approval to conduct the course
on a form prescribed by the Secretary and receive approval from the Program
Administrator before the course can qualify for liability insurance premium
reduction.
a) In order to be approved,
a motor vehicle accident prevention course must:
1) have been given for at least two years and
research documentation showing evidence of effectiveness must be presented.
However, a course which has not been given for at least two years shall be
approved on a probationary basis for two years following a review of the course
curriculum and a review of an actual presentation of the course, with research
documentation showing evidence of effectiveness to be presented prior to
renewal of approval;
2) provide a
minimum of eight hours of in-person classroom instruction or a minimum of four
hours of virtual or e-learning instruction. It is recommended that the entire
course not be completed within a single day to allow time for adequate
comprehension of traffic safety concepts. Instruction, at a minimum, must
address the following subject areas:
A) the
concept of accident preventability including a discussion of the magnitude of
traffic accident problems;
B)
defensive driving techniques;
C)
alcohol, cannabis, and/or any other drug or medication, and aging process as
each affects safe driving ability;
D) the risk factors involved in errant driver
attitude and behavior such as speeding, reckless driving, improper lane use;
and
E) traffic laws in the State of
Illinois.
3) use course
materials that present accurate information clearly and logically and clearly
define the purpose, goals, and objectives of the program;
4) incorporate audio-visual aids, such as
videos and Power Point presentations, when appropriate. Videos must not exceed
an aggregate of one quarter of the total presentation time;
5) include, either throughout or at the
conclusion, a written or online examination, depending on the type of course
taken by the student, covering all subject areas addressed in the course
presentation;
6) be able to be
subjected to quality control procedures, such as unannounced on-site visits,
eLearning monitoring, or virtual monitoring acceptable to the Secretary in
order to ensure that the course continues to meet the standards set forth in
this Part. This will involve the periodic review of administrative procedures,
documentation of technical or program completions and program
monitoring;
7) provide to the
Program Administrator a copy of an instructor's manual, course participant's
manual, eLearning or virtual presentation deck, and a description of
audio-visual aids utilized in the presentation of the course;
8) for an e-learning or virtual course, upon
request, provide a log-in credential to the Program Administrator;
9) Provide the course and related program
materials using media which allows full access to the course by the deaf and
hard of hearing and others requiring accommodation under the Americans with
Disabilities Act.
10) Ensure design
of the course is suited for online training for persons with minimal
keyboarding skills or computer competencies;
11) Ensure that the curriculum design:
A) allows the student the ability to review
previous completed modules;
B)
allows the course to be taken in increments;
C) prohibits students from advancing to the
next section or to the end of the course without spending the required time on
each topic; and
12) Have
the ability to receive an electronic notification when the student has
successfully completed the course prior to the issuance of the certificate of
completion.
b) To be
approved, a Provider must:
1) provide an
instructor preparation course for in-person or virtual instructors of at least
eight hours of classroom instruction to ensure competency in delivering the
course;
2) provide each instructor
with an instructor's manual, instructional material (audio-visuals), and
provide student workbooks and/or manuals when necessary to follow and
participate in the course;
3) use
an instructor or instructors who are approved pursuant to Section
8000.40;
4) provide names and addresses of all
in-person course instructors who will be used by the Provider indicating those
instructors have been approved pursuant to Section
8000.40
and provide complete applications on all proposed instructors who have not yet
been approved;
5) provide the
address and description of the classroom facility. Maximum capacity must be
indicated. In-person and virtual classes may not exceed 50 students or the
maximum capacity of the accommodation, whichever is less. In-person classroom
facilities should provide adequate space, lighting, ventilation, and freedom
from distracting noises. If a Provider conducts an approved course at more than
one location, an address and description of each classroom facility must be
filed;
6) maintain employees or
volunteers in the State of Illinois if providing in-person presentations.
Sub-contracting in-person instruction to third parties is not
permitted;
7) establish and
maintain a record system compatible with the Secretary's requirements for
maintenance of records of certification of course completion and submission of
that information to the Program Administrator (see Sec.
8000.100)
and ensure that the certificate of completion is issued to the same person who
took the course;
8) designate an
individual as representative of the Provider, including postal address, email
address, and telephone number, who is responsible for all dealings with the
Secretary, Director, and/or Program Administrator in order to provide efficient
administration of the course;
9)
provide a postal address, email address, website, and telephone number that may
be disseminated to the public;
10)
Establish a help desk that is guaranteed to be accessible for the student
during reasonable periods of time daily and shall guarantee the student
toll-free access to assistance from a person, provide online responses to
inquiries, or assist with technical content of the course;
11) Provide documentation identifying all
validation sources that will be used to ensure that the student is the person
actually completing the course;
12)
Establish and maintain a website with a registration portal which must;
A) Display the name of the online course
provider organization;
B) Have a
secure web server to host the online course;
C) Post the fee for participating in the
course;
D) Provide instructions for
completing the course;
E) Provide
fields for entering the following student information:
i) Full legal name (first, middle, last) no
nicknames may be used;
ii) Illinois
Driver's License Number; and
iii)
Email address
F) Post
the following statements on its course website:
i) "In order to benefit from this course, you
must be able to work independently and be comfortable with using a computer";
and
ii) "The online accident
prevention course must be completed through an approved Secretary of State
accident prevention course provider."
iii) "The accident prevention course is based
on best practices in traffic safety and the "Illinois Rules of the Road" and is
designed to better prepare drivers with defensive driving tips and techniques.
The course must be successfully completed in its entirety prior to the issuance
of a certificate of completion."
G) Send the Electronic Certificate of
Completion to the student using email address provided by the student taking
the course and using the following language:
Subject Line: "Online Accident Prevention Course"
Message: "Your electronic certificate of completion is attached
which indicates that you have successfully completed an Online Accident
Prevention Course that is equivalent to the National Safety Council's 8-hour
defensive driving course."
c) Course and Provider approval must be
renewed every two years by submitting a completed application for approval to
the Program Administrator.