Traffic school
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.
Contents |
[edit] 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 [[1]]; 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.
[edit] Course curriculum and environment
The traditional traffic school scenario typically involves six to eight hours of instruction, either on one or two Saturdays, or spread across several evenings, and may take place in a courtroom or a classroom. The instructors are frequently off-duty police officers. The instructor will typically ask the violators about their violations, then discuss ways to avoid repeating them; they will usually also lecture on general traffic safety issues, show one or more films or video programs, and possibly conduct various educational activities. Finally, the violators are typically tested on the material presented in the class, and if they pass the test, they may be issued some sort of completion certificate, which they may be required to present to the traffic court, in order to have their driving records adjusted.
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.
[edit] 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 [[2]]; 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.
[edit] Course curriculum and environment
The traditional traffic school scenario typically involves six to eight hours of instruction, either on one or two Saturdays, or spread across several evenings, and may take place in a courtroom or a classroom. The instructor will typically ask the violators about their violations, then discuss ways to avoid repeating them; they will usually also lecture on general traffic safety issues, show one or more films or video programs, and possibly conduct various educational activities. Finally, the violators are typically tested on the material presented in the class, and if they pass the test, they may be issued some sort of completion certificate, which they may be required to present to the traffic court, in order to have their driving records adjusted.
[edit] "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.
[edit] Online Traffic School
In states like California and Florida, online 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.) 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 online traffic school providers also handle the court certificate processing for you.
