General
Traffic School Information
Traffic
school is a generic term that
describes a short course (usually between 4 and
8 hours) designed to educate drivers in defensive
driving strategies and concepts. Other common terms
for traffic school that mean the same thing are
defensive driving, driver improvement, collision
avoidance, and accident prevention. Furthermore,
some states have specific names for traffic school
courses; for example, in New York, traffic school
is referred to as the Point Insurance Reduction
Program, and in Virginia traffic schools are called
traffic clinics.
Why do people attend traffic school?
The reasons for attending traffic school are
many and varied. In most cases, people attend traffic
school in order to "dismiss" a traffic
ticket, mask points (i.e. keep traffic ticket points
from negatively affecting their insurance rates),
or because they have been ordered by a judge or
court to attend a traffic school course. The latter
reason is commonly referred to as court ordered
or judge ordered traffic school attendance.
In some cases, people attend a traffic school program
voluntarily in order to reduce their automobile
insurance premium or to accrue "safe driver
points." Safe driver points are permitted in
some states to offset negative points that a driver
receives from a traffic ticket. This type of traffic
school attendance is often called insurance discount
attendance.
Some states, such as Florida and Virginia, require
that an individual complete traffic school in certain
situations. For example, in Florida, drivers who
have caused two or more crashes within a two-year
period or who have caused a crash resulting in more
than $500 damage are required to attend a Traffic
Collision Avoidance Course (TCAC). TCAC is not a
special type of traffic school course, but rather
the same 4-hour Basic Driver Improvement course
that a person would elect to attend to dismiss the
points from a Florida traffic ticket. The only difference
is that the reporting school must note TCAC attendance
on the student's traffic school completion certificate,
or the completion will not be registered properly
with the State.
Another type of traffic school attendance is voluntary
attendance to fulfill the requirements of an employer.
This type of attendance is most often required of
people who drive a company vehicle, and it enables
the employer to reduce losses and possibly gain
a fleet insurance discount. This type of voluntary
traffic school attendance is usually known as fleet
training or business and industry attendance.
Is the traffic school industry regulated by
the government?
In most states, the traffic school industry is regulated
by a state government entity such as the Department
of Motor Vehicles. There is no federal oversight
of traffic schools, nor does the federal government
develop minimum standards for the approval of traffic
school programs, as such standards are developed
at the state or county level (if at all).
Many people (and even some state agencies) erroneously
believe that traffic schools are regulated by the
National Safety Council. The National Safety Council
does offer traffic school programs, but it is not
a government entity. In addition to the National
Safety Council, most states have multiple safety
council chapters that serve their local area (these
might or might not be part of the National Safety
Council). While many of these chapters are non-profit
organizations, they are not government entities.
The National Safety Council does not have any regulatory
authority over any traffic school programs other
than the programs that it owns.
Many online sites that are owned by private traffic
schools are designed in such a way that they appear
to be official government websites. These sites
typically mimic the design of a site operated by
a state DMV, and often contain the phrases "stateof"
or "dmv" as part of their primary URL.
Consumers should be advised that information found
on such sites is not monitored by any state government
agency and could contain inaccuracies. Legitimate
state agency websites will usually end in a .gov
extension and will include information confirming
that they are the official site for that particular
state agency. (For example, see
http://www.flhsmv.gov,
the official state site of the Florida Department
of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.)
Whom should I contact if I have a complaint
about a particular traffic school?
Since most traffic schools are privately owned businesses,
you can direct your complaint to the Better Business
Bureau chapter in your area. If traffic school is
regulated in your state, you can also contact your
state's Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) or the
equivalent (sometimes the Department of Transportation).
Complaints can also be directed to the office of
the attorney general in your state, particularly
if you believe that you are the victim of a scam,
bait and switch advertising, or unfair treatment.
