Virginia Commercial Motor
Vehicle (CMV) Course Details
The Virginia Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) course has
been developed by DTA to reduce traffic fatalities and
injuries on Virginia roadways by training Virginia commercial
motor vehicle operators in defensive driving strategies
that have been proven to reduce both crashes and
violations among course participants. Since 1977,
millions of drivers have benefited from the training
they received in our courses.
Who Can Take the
CMV Course?
The CMV course can be taken by a Virginia driver who
holds a Commercial Driver's License (CDL) and who has
been ordered by a Virginia judge or court to attend
a driver improvement clinic as part of the deferred
adjudication process (ticket dismissal). This course
can also be taken by Virginia CDL holders who have been
ordered by the Virginia DMV to attend a driver improvement
clinic.
Other common names for this course include:
What Does the CMV Course
Teach?
The CMV course teaches participants to use DTA's IPDE
(Identify, Predict, Decide, Execute) strategy to anticipate
traffic hazards and deal with them in ways that minimize
risk for the driver. Simulated traffic crash scenarios
are used to demonstrate how the IPDE strategy should be
used in situations such as a rear-end collision, a side-impact
collision, and a passing maneuver collision.
Other course topics include an overview of the highway
transportation system, the dangers of driving after drinking
alcohol, and how to respond properly in emergency driving
situations. Additional information pertaining specifically
to CDL holders has also been included in the course, such
as large truck characteristics, maintenance recommendations,
no-zones, driver fatigue, and state laws addressing CDL
holders.
DTA's CMV course is the only Virginia defensive driving
course that teaches students how to control their emotions
and attitudes through the understanding of the concept
of Attitude States. Using Dr. Eric Berne's groundbreaking
theory of Transactional Analysis (TA), the CMV course
teaches students that each of us has three Attitude States
-- Parent, Adult, and Child -- that constantly influence
our behavior. Learning how to identify these Attitude
States is the key to controlling them, which can be critical
during potentially hazardous activities such as driving
a motor vehicle. Students learn that by remaining in the
Adult Attitude State, they can reduce their chances of
being involved in a crash or of committing a traffic violation
that could result in a citation.
