In some areas, courts may offer an offender the opportunity to erase a minor traffic violation from his or her record by attending traffic school or a traffic safety class. Most regions allow drivers to do this once within a set time period such as 18 months. Erasing a traffic violation from your record means that it will not impact the price of your car insurance, which can go up significantly, especially in response to speeding violations. In areas which revoke licenses on a point system, traffic school can also reduce the number of points counted against you.
Online traffic school may be an option in some courts. To take traffic school online, a driver should be prepared for approximately six hours of work including taking quizzes, using interactive animations, and watching short videos. Online traffic school is designed to remind offenders of basic traffic safety rules and in some cases may also offer a defense driving course. Defensive driving courses may be required for certain types of traffic violations, while in other cases an ordinary traffic safety course is sufficient.
Not everyone can take online traffic school. In most cases, when a ticket is mailed to the offender, it will include a list of options that he or she can pursue. Contesting a ticket in court may result in removal of the ticket from your record, and is always worth a try. If you do not have time to do this and you have not had a recent traffic violation which would make you ineligible, pleading guillty, paying the fine, and taking a traffic school course is recommended.
The court will provide offenders with a list of approved traffic schools which may include conventional classroom courses and an online traffic school. In some cases, courts work with multiple online traffic schools to offer you more options. Usually the court also includes information about fees for traffic schools, which vary widely although they are generally below $50 US Dollars (USD). The cost of the traffic school is usually balanced by the potential increase in your insurance costs.
When you access the website of the online traffic school, it will take you through a series of questions to make sure that you are eligible, including the county and court that your ticket originates from, and how recently you have had a traffic offense. After you have answered these questions, the online traffic school will take you through a quick registration process so that you can start taking the course immediately. Online traffic school can be completed at the user's pace: either all in one sitting, or within a set period of time such as thirty days.