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Can Anyone Take Online Traffic School?

Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon

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.

After receiving a traffic violation, a person may be able to take online traffic school to have the incident removed from their record.
After receiving a traffic violation, a person may be able to take online traffic school to have the incident removed from their record.

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.

Most jurisdictions now offer online traffic school in addition to conventional classroom courses.
Most jurisdictions now offer online traffic school in addition to conventional classroom courses.

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 a ticket is issued to an offender, it will include a list of options that she can pursue, including online traffic school.
When a ticket is issued to an offender, it will include a list of options that she can pursue, including online traffic school.

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.

Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon

Ever since she began contributing to the site several years ago, Mary has embraced the exciting challenge of being a WikiMotors researcher and writer. Mary has a liberal arts degree from Goddard College and spends her free time reading, cooking, and exploring the great outdoors.

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Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon

Ever since she began contributing to the site several years ago, Mary has embraced the exciting challenge of being a WikiMotors researcher and writer. Mary has a liberal arts degree from Goddard College and spends her free time reading, cooking, and exploring the great outdoors.

Learn more...

Discussion Comments

Inaventu

I'd say signing up for an online traffic school is a bit like volunteering for jury duty. It might be a noble idea, but there's a system in place already. I don't think signing up for an easy online traffic school would provide much protection against a graduate's next traffic citation. The police would probably expect a person to attend an approved online traffic school, not the cheapest or easiest one available.

Reminiscence

I can see taking an online defensive driving course or an online tutorial on the driver's license exam, but I wouldn't think most people would want to take an online traffic school class voluntarily. I had to do it one time, and once was enough. The class itself was not very enlightening or useful, and the exam was basically an open book multiple choice test. I only did it to keep my insurance premium from going up.

I will say that there are some drivers out there who might benefit from a refresher course on traffic rules and proper driving techniques. If there was such a thing as a free online traffic school, I'd probably see the point of certain people taking it.

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    • After receiving a traffic violation, a person may be able to take online traffic school to have the incident removed from their record.
      By: Lisa F. Young
      After receiving a traffic violation, a person may be able to take online traffic school to have the incident removed from their record.
    • Most jurisdictions now offer online traffic school in addition to conventional classroom courses.
      By: Ljupco Smokovski
      Most jurisdictions now offer online traffic school in addition to conventional classroom courses.
    • When a ticket is issued to an offender, it will include a list of options that she can pursue, including online traffic school.
      By: LukaTDB
      When a ticket is issued to an offender, it will include a list of options that she can pursue, including online traffic school.