New Florida Laws for Late 2026

As your traffic safety education curriculum provider, Traffic Safety Consultants, Inc., (TSC) is always committed to providing the finest and most up-to-date instructional materials available.

Earlier this year, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) issued a notice of required curriculum updates. New information includes:

• updated crash reporting requirements
• e-mail notifications for licensing actions
• updated vehicle registration requirements
• career offender registration requirements
• updated definition of habitual traffic offender
• notification of interagency agreements with tax collectors

Internet Curricula Updated

TSC has already updated all internet-based programs, and your students are using them now. No further action is required for this modality.

Classroom Curricula

Those of you who are delivering classroom instruction must ensure that you teach students the updated curriculum. You can access all of the latest curriculum materials for download via the Classroom Materials page on your affiliate administrative Web portal (login required). The files are available now, and you should begin using the updated materials immediately.

Please make sure that you and/or any instructors you employ are explaining the new laws to students and distributing the latest versions of the classroom materials, as you will be responsible for teaching/testing students on this new material!

Booklet Curriculum

Those of you who are delivering 4-Hour BDI booklet instruction must ensure that you provide students the updated curriculum. You can access all of the latest curriculum materials for download via the Classroom Materials page on your affiliate administrative Web portal (login required). The files are available now, and you should begin using the updated materials immediately.

Please make sure that you mail student materials that explain the new laws, as you will be responsible for teaching/testing students on this new material!

New Florida Laws for Late 2024

Curriculum Updates

As your traffic safety education curriculum provider, Traffic Safety Consultants, Inc. (TSC) is always committed to providing the finest and most up-to-date instructional materials available.

Earlier this year, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV) issued a notice of required curriculum updates (the "CY2024 Update Letter to Providers"). Most of these had been added proactively prior to notification from DHSMV. We were required, though, to resubmit all curricula for reapproval. Official approval has been issued and materials have been translated, as necessary, and are now ready for use.

Changes, as appropriate for the type of course, include:

• Latest Driving-Without-a-License Laws
• License Required for Under 18 to Operate a Golf Cart on Roads
• Enforcement of School Zone Speed Limits
• Enforcement of School But Passing Infractions
• Latest "'Move Over' Act" Information
• Latest Racing and Exhibition Driving Laws
• Serious Bodily Injury/Death to Vulnerable Road Users Penalties

Internet Curricula Updated

TSC has already updated all internet-based programs, and your students are using them now. No further action is required for this modality.

Classroom Curricula

Those of you who are delivering classroom instruction must ensure that you teach students the updated curriculum. You can access all of the latest curriculum materials for download via the Classroom Materials page on your affiliate administrative Web portal (login required). The files are available now, and you should begin using the updated materials immediately.

Please make sure that you and/or any instructors you employ are explaining the new laws to students and distributing the latest versions of the classroom materials, as you will be responsible for teaching/testing students on this new material!

Booklet Curriculum

Those of you who are delivering 4-Hour BDI booklet instruction must ensure that you provide students the updated curriculum. You can access all of the latest curriculum materials for download via the Classroom Materials page on your affiliate administrative Web portal (login required). The files are available now, and you should begin using the updated materials immediately.

Please make sure that you mail students materials that explain the new laws to students, as you will be responsible for teaching/testing students on this new material!

Florida Curriculum Update for 2019

Recognizing that texting behind the wheel presents a serious safety hazard, Florida has enhanced its texting-while-driving ban, effective July 1, 2019.

In order to ensure that traffic safety students are getting the latest and most accurate information—and staying safe behind the wheel—Traffic Safety Consultants, Inc., has updated its Internet-based programs to account for this change. Further, inserts for the booklet and video/DVD modalities are provided via links below; please include a copy of this insert sheet with each product that you ship, in addition to any other applicable inserts. Classroom instructors, meanwhile, should familiarize themselves with the new law and include this revised material when presenting similar information during class. (Flipcharts/slide presentations, workbooks, and all testing materials remain unchanged.)

The Details of the New Law

Florida's texting-while-driving ban is as follows:

It is against the law to operate a motor vehicle while manually typing or entering multiple letters, numbers, symbols, or other characters into a wireless communications device, or while sending or reading non-voice communications (text, email, instant message, etc.). Further, a person may never use any wireless communications device in a handheld manner while operating a motor vehicle in a designated school crossing, school zone, or work zone area. These prohibitions do not apply to communications with law enforcement/emergency services or to emergency/weather/traffic alerts, or to a device used for vehicle operation, navigation, or radio broadcasts. This is a primary enforcement infraction, and conviction for a first offense is a non-moving traffic violation with base fine of $30 (plus local fees). A second conviction within five years is treated as a moving violation with base fine of $60 (plus local fees) and three points on the license.
(Florida Statues 316.305, 316.306)

(Note: Effective July 1, 2019, enforcement of the existing texting-while-driving ban is changed from a secondary offense to a primary offense; effective October 1, 2019, drivers are prohibited from using a handheld wireless communications device while driving in a designated school crossing, school zone, or work zone area. From October 1 to December 31, 2019, law enforcement officers may provide a verbal or written warning and beginning January 1, 2019, may issue a uniform traffic citation for a violation.)

Curriculum Materials

Please click on the links below to access the files you need. You may read/print them online or download them to you local computer for easy access whenever you need them.

• BDI insert - English
• BDI insert - Spanish
• Classroom Lesson Plan materials
• TLSAE: Incorporate this new material under the section "Dangerous Distractions" in "Chapter 5: Florida Traffic Laws" (under the header "Inside-the-Vehicle Distractions").
• BDI: Incorporate this new material at the end of the section "Distracted Drivers Have a Bad Attitude" in "Unit 4: Driver Psychology" (under the header "Cell Phones: Dial 'C' for Collision!").
• ADI: Incorporate this new material in the section "Distractions, Distractions" in Unit 4.

Remember that these revisions are applicable to all modalities of these programs.

Please make sure that you ship the latest home study inserts and discuss this material in class, as you will be responsible for teaching this new material to students!

Florida Curriculum Update for 2014

In response to the "Aaron Cohen Life Protection Act" (SB 102, 2014 legislative session), the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV) recently mandated that all 4-hour Basic Driver Improvement (BDI) and 12-hour Advanced Driver Improvement (ADI) programs present information on "Vulnerable Road User" (VRU) safety. Such instruction is particularly valuable to Floridians, as walking and bicycling are unusually dangerous in the state.

Going forward, BDI and ADI courses are required to describe and provide statistics on vulnerable road users, specify what laws and infrastructural trends have been implemented for their protection, and explain driving techniques that can enhance VRU safety. Toward that end, Traffic Safety Consultants, Inc., has updated Internet-based programs to account for these new curriculum requirements. Further, inserts for the booklet and video/DVD modalities are provided via links below; please include a copy of the VRU insert sheet with each product that you ship, in addition to any other applicable inserts.

Classroom instructors, meanwhile, should familiarize themselves with the "VRU Lesson Plan materials" content (link below). BDI instructors are to include this new material with their discussion of "Sharing the Road," which has always contained some of the content presented here. ADI instructors are to include the entirety of this all-new content between the sections "Is Speeding Really Dangerous?" and "Driving While Fatigued." This material is intended to be lecture-only, and there are no revisions to the workbooks, Flipcharts, or exams for either of these courses. (If you would like a complete, fresh copy of the revised BDI and/or ADI Lesson Plans, please contact Donna.)

Please click on the links below to access the files you need. You may read/print them online or download them to you local computer for easy access whenever you need them.

• BDI VRU insert - English
• BDI VRU insert - Spanish


• VRU Lesson Plan materials
• BDI: Incorporate this new material into your discussion of "Sharing the Road," which already contains some of the content presented here.
• ADI: Incorporate this new material between the sections "Is Speeding Really Dangerous?" and "Driving While Fatigued." This is all-new content for the ADI program.

Remember that these revisions are applicable to all modalities of the 4-Hour BDI and 12-Hour ADI programs.

Please make sure that you ship the latest home study inserts and discuss this material in class, as you will be responsible for teaching this new material to students!

New Florida Laws for 2012

The latest legislative session produced changes to a number of driving-related laws. The good news is that the vast majority of these changes were administrative edits and will minimally impact how driver education and driver improvement courses are presented to the public.

Nonetheless, revised insert sheets are available for the booklet and video/DVD version of Traffic Safety Consultants' 4-Hour Basic Driver Improvement (BDI) Course. Please include a copy of the appropriate insert sheet with each product that you ship. Note that the insert sheets are cumulative; if you've previously been shipping insert sheets, you may replace your old stock with this new version.

Please click on the links below to access the files you need. You may read/print them online or download them to you local computer for easier access whenever you need them.

• 4-Hour Booklet insert - English
• 4-Hour Booklet insert - Spanish
• 4-Hour Video/DVD insert

Make sure that you ship the latest home study inserts, as you will be responsible for teaching this new material to students!

With seasonal temperatures nearing their peak, now is also a good time to emphasize one of the legislative changes. The law regarding parents who leave young children unattended in the vehicle has been modified as follows:

A parent, legal guardian, or other person responsible for a child younger than 6 years of age may not leave that child unattended or unsupervised in a motor vehicle for a period in excess of 15 minutes, or for any period of time if the motor of the vehicle is running or if the health of the child is in danger or the child appears to be in distress. (FSS §316.6135; emphasized text added)

Children (or pets, for that matter!) should never be left in a vehicle on a hot day—whether accidentally, or consciously and negligently while their parents run errands. While anyone can experience a memory lapse and forget a child (it's the most common reason children are left behind), that little slip could be deadly. Vehicles heat up quickly on a hot day, and a child might die of hyperthermia in just minutes!

Share with your students these helpful tips for avoiding a hot-vehicle mishap:

• Place your cell phone, purse/briefcase, etc., on the floor of the vehicle's rear seating area. When you retrieve them at the end of your trip, you'll notice your child as well.
• Seat the younger (or quieter) child behind the front passenger seat, where he or she is most likely to catch your eye.
• Keep a teddy bear or other stuffed animal in the car seat when it's empty. When you put your child in the seat, move the toy to the front passenger seat as a reminder.
• Make a habit of always opening the back door of your vehicle after you park to make sure there's no child back there.
• Ask your child's babysitter or day care provider to always phone you promptly if your child isn't dropped off as scheduled.

Mandatory Reporting for 12-Hour ADI

Students who must complete a 12-Hour Advanced Driver Improvement (ADI) course are serious hazards on the roadway—and the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV) is understandably serious about those students' obligation to complete their traffic safety education. DHSMV, therefore, requires traffic schools to report certain students who enroll in, but fail to complete, an ADI course.

The reporting requirement applies to students who are taking an ADI course because they have had their license suspended for exceeding the point limit or because they have been classified as an habitual traffic offender (HTO). If these students reserve a spot in an ADI class and subsequently fail to attend the class for which they enrolled, DHSMV requires the traffic school to report the no-show. Traffic Safety Consultants, Inc., (TSC) conveniently makes the reporting form available to its affiliates via the link below. You may download this PDF (Adobe Acrobat) file and print the form as needed; each printed sheet will contain two copies of the form. Reporting will be performed on a monthly basis, using Form 77057: Student Status Report. Completed forms must be mailed to DHSMV by the 3rd business day of each month, reporting no-shows for the previous calendar month.