What is Traffic School?

A traffic school is a classroom based or online program that gives you driving instructions, and teaches you safety on the road, increasing your knowledge and driving skills. If you complete the course successfully from a licensed traffic school, your violation might be hidden from public view, and the accumulated points will be removed from your record.

What’s the benefit? Insurance companies no longer can see your violation, and thus, don’t charge you higher insurance rates.

When can you attend traffic school?

State courts may allow you to attend a traffic school for your current valuation, provided that you haven’t attended any for your previous traffic violations; this previous violation should be within 18 months of your current one.

So if you are eligible, should you always attend traffic school? Yes, definitely, because if you don’t, your instance would be significantly affected.

But are you always eligible to attend traffic school?

And get your points removed in the process? Nope; if you were driving a commercial vehicle or transporting some hazardous material, you won’t be eligible.

You also can’t attend traffic school for non-moving and equipment offenses, offenses in which appearing in a court is mandatory, drug and alcohol related incidents and misdemeanors. If you have already attended a traffic school in the last 18 months for a previous ticket, then also you aren’t eligible.

Which should you attend: onsite or online?

Traffic schools can either be onsite or online – attendance is mandatory whichever type of program you choose to attend. But with the latter case, you do get flexibility in the sense that you can complete the course at your own pace.

What’s the aftermath of attending traffic schools?

Generally, you don’t get points on the records if you attend and complete traffic school by the allotted data for a qualifying violation.  You’ll have to appear in the court though, before the due date, and share you intention of attending the school.

Even when you do attend, you unfortunately, still have pay the fines, along with administrative course fee and the tuition fees of course. Attend the school doesn’t waive of any of these costs or fees; the only affect is points removal your driving record.

And what if you don’t show up at the court? You’ll still have to seek permission before the date on your ticket. When your request is approved, you’ll be allotted a timeline within which you have to finish the program. Once done, the traffic school will send out a notification to the court and DMV.