Traffic school is the generic common term for remedial courses in traffic safety and safe driving practices. In the United States, these are offered as part of pretrial diversion programs to traffic violators by traffic courts, in the interest of improving general safety.
Incentive
Opting to take the course may cost the violator anywhere from slightly less than the fine for the violation to significantly more, but successful completion will usually either completely remove, or significantly reduce, the violation's effect on the violator's driving record, which in turn will at least reduce the violation's effect on the violator's insurance premiums. Typically, a traffic violator will be offered the opportunity to take such a course only if he or she has not done so within a specified number of months prior to the violation ; this keeps frequent violators from abusing the system to avoid the consequences of their recklessness, while encouraging participants to pay attention, and to put what they learn into practice.
What to Expect
Traffic school is typically an eight hour course held in a courtroom or classroom on one day. The course may however, be split into shorter sessions spread over a number of days. The total "in class" time is the same either way and must equal eight hours. If a violator shows up late to class they will be required to stay after for the amount of time they were tardy in order to complete the full eight hours. The county where the traffic violation occurred determines where you will/may attend traffic school and if an internet course is allowed to be taken instead. Known for being about as entertaining as watching paint dry, modern traffic schools offer incentives to attend, for example, coupons to a comedy club or discounts on a future traffic school course. The average cost for traffic school is $35 is addition to what is paid to the court as indicated on the initial citation. The course instructors are not always law enforcement, and have no special training or higher education in respect to traffic laws and safety. The typical traffic school course consists of several lectures about the traffic laws and safe driving habits as printed in the DMV driver manual. Some short videos on the subject matter may also be shown and a quiz/test is usually given at the end of the eight hours. Passing the test is not mandatory but it must be taken. After the eight hours are over the violator will complete a form distributed by the traffic school instructor. The instructor also distributes the receipt of payment and certificate of completion of traffic school which must be submitted to the courts.
"Home Study" Courses
Starting in the early 1990’s, a few courts in California began allowing traffic violators to complete their traffic school outside of the traditional classroom setting. These early “home study” courses were in the form of workbooks and videos. Their purpose was to provide the equivalent of a classroom curriculum but afford students the flexibility of completing the traffic school requirement according to their own schedules.
Internet Traffic School
In states like California and Florida, internet or / web traffic school has become the preferred method for traffic ticket holders to have their tickets dismissed. In California, for example, almost all state courts allow online traffic school for most traffic violations (such as speeding, rolling a stop sign, etc.) Many states offer internet (web) traffic school in one form or another. The incentive for people to do traffic school online is the flexibility and time savings it offers, most people choosing to complete their course from home. Also, as the internet has progressed, so has the quality of some online traffic safety courses. Most internet traffic school providers also handle the court certificate processing for you. (i.e. http://www.internettrafficschool.com , http://www.dummiestrafficschool.com , http://www.freetrytrafficschool.com , http:
Florida Online Traffic School
State-approved online self-study course offered by Livingston North Group, Inc. Links to each county's clerk of courts.
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