Traffic school rules vary in different states, although there are many common aspects to the rules that are followed in most locations. Therefore, it’s important to be sure of the rules applicable to your state before you enroll for a course at traffic school. Traffic school is a program that allows you to erase points on your driving record, (for violations) by receiving instructions in driving and traffic safety.
The Department of Motor Vehicles allows one traffic school dismissal in 18 months, in most states. If you have attended a traffic school course within the last 18 months, you aren’t eligible to attend traffic school to remove a citation from your driving record. Within 2 to 3 weeks of your receiving a traffic ticket, the court sends you a courtesy notice advising you whether you are eligible to join traffic school to have the ticket dismissed or not. You should only attend traffic school if the courtesy notice states that you are eligible for the same. A list of traffic schools is attached with the courtesy notice. The amount that you need to pay to the court is also mentioned in the traffic school section of the courtesy notice. You must choose a school from this list, as only a course completed at an approved traffic school is considered valid. If the traffic school isn’t an approved one, you may have to take the course again from a school certified by the DMV. Before enrolling for the course, you should pay the amount for the bail and traffic school fee, and provide proof to the court.
The traffic citation will be continued for 90 days. This gives you enough time to complete a traffic school program to have the citation dismissed. You should show proof (such as the receipt for the registration fee) that you have enrolled for a course within 2 weeks of receiving the courtesy notice. After completing the course, make sure the Certificate of Completion is received by the court before the completion of 90 days. If the driving school doesn’t take the responsibility of submitting the certificate to the court, you should do so. If the certificate fails to reach the court within the stipulated time, the fees paid to the court will be converted to bail and will be declared forfeited, and the citation will be reported as a conviction to the DMV.
In most states, you no longer need to attend dull classroom traffic school courses. You can now take such courses online, in the convenience of your home, according to your own schedule. You can complete the courses within 8 hours and take the online tests on the same day. Not all online traffic schools are approved by the court and the DMV. Check with the court whether the school of your choice is recognized.
Attending an approved traffic school not only helps remove citations from your driving record, but also helps reduce your car insurance premiums and helps you to become a more responsible and safe driver.