Traffic School Information

What is Traffic School?

Traffic school is an elective program that offers students further education on driver's safety and updated traffic laws. In addition to the driving instruction, students can benefit from the possible removal of violations or points from their driving record.

Who Attends Traffic School?

The majority of students attending traffic school have received a traffic violation such as speeding or running a red light/stop sign. For some of these students, their court makes this refresher course in traffic laws mandatory, while others return to the classroom as an option to avoid adding any costly points or notices to their driving record. In addition to preventing damage to students' driving records, traffic school also can have the positive impact of preventing future violations, making the roads safer for everyone.

Driver's Responsibility Programs

Across the US, many states have implemented some version of a driver responsibility program. Where these laws have been passed, points are used to keep a numeric record of the number and severity of traffic convictions that drivers accumulate. Upon being convicted of a traffic violation, a number of points are added to a driver's official record determined by the seriousness of the infraction. For example, a driver causing a traffic accident while breaking the law is assigned many more points than someone forgetting their turn signal. Once a driver has received a predetermined number of points, they face stiff penalties. While the requirements for the numbers and consequences of points vary from state-to-state, driver's can face steep annual fees to retain their driving privilege, increased insurance requirements and rates, and even license suspensions and revocations.

Eligibility to Attend Traffic School

State motor vehicle departments determine a driver's eligibility to attend traffic school for driving infractions. The elapsed time since the driver's last violation, the specific law broken, and the driver's complete driving record can all be taken into account for determining traffic school eligibility. Once a court grants the option of traffic school, drivers must enter a plea of guilty or no contest and have a set deadline by which they must complete the course. Upon successfully earning a certificate from traffic school, the case -along with the points accompanying it - is usually dismissed. Drivers who fail to receive a certificate of completion by the deadline have their original plea stand.

Traffic School Accreditation

Many states require that the traffic school program be recognized or approved by the same agency that licenses drivers in that state. Further still, depending on the state, it is possible