About Online Drivers Ed

How the online driving school industry began

FOUNDER STEVE SOLDIS

The story begins in 1996 when Online Drivers Ed owner Steve Soldis received a speeding ticket while driving a stretch of California highway between Los Angeles and Sacramento County. Steve, a California native, was given the option to take traffic school or suffer the high-priced insurance premiums that accompany a moving violation. Soldis like millions of drivers in California elected for traffic school only what he learned would cause Soldis to invent an online industry.

DRIVING SCHOOLS GO ONLINE

After being cited for speeding Steve Soldis learned that to clear his violation and keep points off his record he would have to attend a traffic school course more than 300 miles away from where he lived in Northern California. Steve facing forced time off looked to the Internet to find an alternative. After thorough research, Steve realized there wasn't a home study course available. It was at that time that Steve Soldis created the industry of online traffic school and offered this course to drivers on his website Traffic School Online.

Steve's goal was simple, if you want to punish drivers have them pick up trash. If you want to help them refresh on driving rules and the latest laws then educate them. Anyone can sit in a class and listen to an instructor lecture or listen to fellow traffic violators complain one by one about why they didn't deserve their tickets. Instead of conforming to industry standards Steve along with a team of professionals wanted to create a course for drivers to learn at their own pace, and that is exactly what he did. California was the first state in the nation to accept online traffic school and since 1997 Traffic School Online.com has opened the door to home-study driver education across the nation and continues to work with legislators throughout the U.S. for a nationally recognized program.

THE BIRTH OF ONLINE DRIVERS ED

In 2002 Steve wanted to take driver education a step further, and this time he was going to take it to the teens and parents of teens. Based on feedback from his traffic school graduates the request for an online driver education was overwhelming. Using his expertise in delivering online content along with the support of driving safety professionals Steve launched OnlineDriversEd.com in Nevada in 2004 and California in 2005. His mission was to create an online driver-ed environment that brings parents and teens together in a self-paced learning format.

Today Steve continues to work with legislators, industry professionals, teens, and parents across the U.S. to develop a program that will create better drivers and reduce young driver accidents on our roadways.